Freelancing Success with Constant Content

If you are a freelance writer who hasn't realized much in the way of success working through the various freelancing websites - where the competition is tough, and the bidders are tragically cutting their rates to win projects, you may want to give Constant Content a try.

I only joined the site on July 21st, which was just ten days ago. In that time, I have written and submitted 7 articles. Of those 7 articles, three have sold. Two were sold under the usage license, which means that they can be sold again and again, and they will retain my byline, and one was sold under the full rights license, which means that the buyer can remove my name, rewrite it, or do whatever they want with the article.

I've read what a lot of other writers have had to say about Constant Content, and I feel very confident that as I add more articles to my inventory, my sales will increase, and my income from that site alone will greatly increase as well. I'm just writing and submitting one article per day at this point (5 days per week), because I'm still working on other projects, and doing other writing work as well.

I'm happy to see that the little bit of time that I am dedicating to this endeavor each day is paying off :)

New Freelance Writing Website

Today, I've received two press releases about a new freelance writing site that is being widely publicized. When freelance websites that are writing specific advertise, that's great for the writer's who work through that site, but that may not be the case this go around.

First, I went to check the site out. The company is Real Writing Jobs. I clicked on the FAQ and read what it was all about. There's really not a lot of information there, but I was able to get a few vital bits of information from what I read, which lead me to not recommend using this website for freelance writing.

1. While the site did all of the proper things to protect itself against being accused of making false claims, they do tell you that you can make up to $10,000 a month. As a freelance writer, I know that to be extremely unrealistic, and I will even go so far as to say false.

2. This site does not pay you for your work, the clients/companies in their database pay you.

3. There is a membership fee for joining, even as a writer. Especially as a writer. You see, this isn't actually a place to find writing work. Instead, this is a membership website, where you will find links to sites where you will find writing jobs. I haven't joined the site, but I suspect that you will find the usual freelance sites listed inside, such as freelancer.com, vWorker, iWriter, etc. You do not need to pay for this information. You can easily find it on your own.

4. The company claims that even if you only have an eighth grade education, you can make big money writing. In fact, there are additional services that the company will direct you to if you do not write well. You can bet that this company will get commissions when you pay other companies to teach you how to write. 

Don't get me wrong. I'm not against anyone making money online - not even this company. What I am against is the way that they worded their squeeze page, making it seem like you will work for them, regardless of your writing skill, and promising big money for it - for a free of course, when in reality, it is just a database of links to other, free writing sites.

It just feels sleazy.

What Kind of Writer Are You?

I think one of the biggest mistakes that I've seen writers make is to not to have a definition for the type of writer that they are. For example, I am a writer. That is a very broad term, and could mean just about anything in the writing world. If I had said I am a healthcare worker, that could mean that I am anything from a Candy Stripper to a World Class Surgeon. In order for others to understand what you do, you have to be more specific. Additionally, if you are new to freelance writing, it is essential that you define - for yourself - the type of writer you are, and the field or genre of writing that you are interested in.

Here is a list of various types of writers:

• Freelance Writer
• Staff Writer

As you can see, there are only two types of writers. As you probably know, a freelance writer writes for various clients. They are not employees of any of these clients, and are usually paid by the job, and not by the hour. A staff writer, on the other hand, writes for one client or company. These writers are usually paid a set salary, or paid by the hour, and are rarely paid by the job or written piece. A freelancer rarely works in the clients place of business, while a staff writer will either work in the physical workplace of their employer, but may also work from their home, or at a location specific to what they are writing about for their employer. 

Now, with that cleared up, what kind of writing do you, or will you, do? Here is another list: 

• Copywriter - A copywriter typically writes content such as sales letters, short ads, scripts for commercials, sales copy for websites or brochures, and things of this nature. They may be freelancers or staff writers. 
• Journalist - A journalist usually writes about current events or less current events for periodicals. There are many different types of journalism, such as investigative journalism. Sports writers, who only write about sports, are also journalists. Journalists may be freelance writers or staff writers. 
• Academic Writer - Academic writers are rather hard to explain. These writers are usually already employed or studying in a specific academic field, such as science or a subset of science, and the writing that they do relates to the field that they work or study in. They are, for all intents and purposes, freelance writers, but they rarely write for money. Getting published is important to them, as their future in their chosen field depends on it. 
• Columnists - Columnists are another tricky breed to explain. They may write about one specific topic, or many topics in one field, or a variety of topics in a variety of field. They may write facts or opinions. They usually write for periodicals, such as newspapers, but may also write for online magazines. They may be staff writers or freelance writers. 
• Ghostwriter - A ghostwriter is almost always a freelance writer. They may fall into many fields of writing as well. The main thing that sets a ghostwriter apart from other types of writers is the fact that they do not get credit for the work. They get paid for it, but they do not get a byline or any other credit. Instead, they are paid to write something, and another person gets the recognition for the work. The ghostwriter goes into the assignment or job knowing this is to be the case. 
• Grant Writer - Grant writers are typically freelance writers, but they could be staff writers as well. They are typically employed or contracted by universities, non-profits, research labs, and things of this nature for the purpose of writing grant applications for government grant money. 
• Novelists - Novelists are also called authors, but not all authors are novelists. They usually write fiction, and their work is almost always found in the form of a book. These days, that could include an electronic book. Novelists are freelance writers, and there are many different types of novelists, based on the types of fiction that they write. One example of this is a romance novelist. 
• Play Writers - Also known as play-writes, these writers write scripts for plays or theater productions. They are freelance writers in almost all cases, and they typically only get paid for their work in the form of royalties. 
• Screen Writers - Screen Writers write scripts for television and movies. They can be staff writers or freelance writers, and they may work in groups with other writers for one television show. 
• Speech Writers - As the name indicates, these writers are in the business of writing speeches. Those speeches are written for other people to deliver. They may be freelance writers, but they usually work for just one client, or at the very least, one client at a time. Most politicians or those running for public office have a speech writer on staff. 
• Technical Writers - Technical writers write things such as manuals for products. They may also write documentation for products that are being developed, as the product is being developed. They may be staff writers or freelance writers. 
• Content Writers - Content writers write content on a wide range of topics or on a very specific topic. They may be staff writers or freelance writers. I am a content writer. Additionally, since I write content that is meant for use on the Internet, I am known as a web content writer. Some may even refer to me as a SEO Writer, or Search Engine Optimization Writer, meaning that I write content that contains keywords used in a certain way, not only for the purpose of engaging and informing the reader, but also for the purpose of getting the search engines to rank the web page higher in search results when that keyword is searched for. Content writers may also be staff writers for print magazines. 
• Business Writers - Business writers write about business. They may write about a specific aspect of business, or about a specific industry. Typically, they must have vast knowledge and personal experience in business. They may be staff writers or freelance writers.
• Game Writers - Game writers are a relatively new breed of writers. These writers write story lines for video games such as role playing games. 
• Poets - Poets, of course, write poetry. They are freelance writers in most cases, but may also be staff writers for greeting card companies. 
• Resume Writers - As the name indicates, these writers specialize in writing Resumes for other people. They may be staff writers or freelance writers, and they usually have copywriting skills as well. 
• Reviewer - These writers write reviews, and little else. They also specialize within their field. For example, a food critique is a reviewer. After they have eaten at a restaurant, they write about their experience with the food and the atmosphere of the restaurant. A reviewer can be a staff writer or a freelance writer. 

So what kind of writer am I?

I am a Freelance Web Content Ghost Writer when I write for clients, and a Freelance Web Content Writer when I write for my own projects. 

What kind of writer are you?

iWriter Ratings and the Support System

One of the things that many writers do not like about iWriter - aside from the low pay - is the rating system, and how requesters, also known as buyers or clients, use the system so unfairly. As I stated in a previous post, I have been compiling a list of iWriter requesters that should be avoided, and I'll be happy to share it privately with other writers, but aside from avoiding those requesters, there are a couple of other things that you can do to protect your iWriter ratings.

1. Avoid doing work for clients who reject work more than they accept it. Some writers won't write for anyone with an approval rate below 85%. Personally, I feel comfortable writing for those who have an approval rate of at least 70%.

2. Just as a requester can leave a bad star rating for writers, writers can leave bad star ratings for requesters. Make sure that you look at those star ratings before you pick up a requester's job. See what other writers have to say about that requester. If the requester consistently gets great reviews, and has an approval rating that is acceptable to you, there shouldn't be any problems providing that you do have command of the English language, and you can string sentences together well.

3. If you get a bad rating, do not fly off the proverbial handle. Instead, read over the article that you've submitted, and see if you really deserved a better rating. If you honestly feel that the rating was unfair, contact support, and ask them to review the article, and to determine whether the rating should be adjusted or not. Before you do this however, make sure that you met the requesters requirements and that your spelling and grammar were perfect. Let support know the name of the requester and the title of the article so that they can check it.

For my first - and only - article rejection so far, the requester left me an extremely unfair one star rating, which I wrote about yesterday. I did not rate this particular requester, and said nothing to him or her. Instead, I looked over the article, made sure that it was indeed to spec, with proper spelling and grammar, and then I sent a very nice message to iWriter's support. Today, I received a reply from support, and happily, they changed that one star rating to a five star rating.

What to Do with Rejected Articles

As a freelance writer, you should expect for your work to be rejected from time to time. If you work one-on-one with a client, or through one of the freelance sites such as vWorker, and a client wants you to make changes to the work, this is easily done, and usually has no affect on your rating. Once those requested changes are made, the client generally accepts the work, and you get paid.

This is not the case on freelancer sites like iWriter. Once a client has rejected an article, the article is rejected. They may ask you to make adjustments, and to resubmit it, and you should do this, providing that the requester has not given you a bad rating. If the requester has given you a bad rating, you don't want to submit any further work to that client.

You should, however, give that client a bad rating as well - especially if you know that the work was good. Do this with the star rating system, without using words. In other words, rate them at one star, and do not leave a message with your rating. Your words could easily get you banned from the site, and this is true for any freelancing site out there. You should also keep a list of clients who reject what you know to be good work, or clients who give low ratings for good work.

I'm not sure how iWriter would feel about me publishing the names of requesters that should definitely be avoided, so I won't do that here. However, if you want my personal list, you can contact me, and I will be happy to share that list with you.  If you have such a list, feel free to share it with me as well!

So, what should you do with your rejected articles? Publish them as fast as you can. Set up a free blog or submit them to an article directory. You can also use them to make Squidoo Pages or Hub Pages. It doesn't matter, as long as you publish them fast. This way, if the requester or buyer is trying to steal the work - and there are many out there who actually do steal the work by rejecting the work - they will be publishing duplicate content, since yours is published first.

A day or so after you have published the work, run it through CopyScape to see if the requester/client was stupid enough to use the work anyway. If they were, report them to their Webhosting service, any company with which they are affiliated, and of course you should report them to the freelance site as well. Do not let them get away with it if you can stop them - but if you can't stop them, rest in the knowledge that Google knows which work was published first, and their site will be penalized for duplicate content.

What You Should Know about the Polar Heart Rate Monitor 2

This was an article that I submitted to a requester on iWriter. It was rejected, because the requester claimed that the article wasn't complete because the bottom sentences were cut off. I viewed the article, and the entire content was there and viewable. I will publish all of my rejected articles here, to protect the work from being stolen, and to prove that I stand behind my work 100%. 

Here is the article: 

With more focus placed on health and physical fitness today, it is important to have the right tools at your disposal to help you to achieve your personal fitness goals. Monitoring your heart rate before, during, and after physical fitness is essential not only for optimum health, but for effective workouts as well. This is why so many people today depend on the Polar Heart Rate Monitor 2.

Keeping your weight down, and building strong muscle, including the heart muscle, is essential when it comes to preventing and even curing many health issues that we face, which is why we not only have to do the physical work to stay fit, but we also need to invest in tools that help us as well.

A big part of achieving overall physical fitness is understanding your heart rate, and monitoring it carefully. Top athletes know this, and their heart rates are constantly being monitored so that they get the most out of every training session or workout that they have.

Regardless of the type of physical fitness that you participate in, or the level that you are at, you need to monitor your heart rate for optimal performance, and optimal results. Every type of athlete will benefit from heart monitoring, including cyclist, runners, walkers, and even weight lifters.

It doesn't matter whether you are training for endurance or strength. By monitoring your heart rate during strength training, you can easily find out the best time to rest between sets, also known as a cool down period. You will also know when it is time to stop resting, and you won't have to guess when these periods are, or use complicated math formulas to figure it out.

One of the best things about the Polar Heart Rate Monitor 2 is that it is very small. It can be used on your hip or your chest, depending on what is more comfortable and unobtrusive for you and your workouts. Additionally, it can be used with smart phones and other devices, and integrated with other tracking applications, such as distance trackers or calorie counters.

The Polar Heart Rate Monitor 2 also has the capability to connect to smart phones and other devices via Bluetooth technology, for wireless connectivity. This makes it easier to track everything concerning your workout, including your endurance, which is based on your cardio-respiratory output. This type of endurance can only be measured by monitoring your heart rate during physical exertion.

With your purchase of the Polar Heart Rate Monitor 2, you will also have access to the Polar Personal Trainer Service. This service will give you a complete analysis of the progress that you are making with your continued training or workouts.

The Polar Heart Rate Monitor 2 is useful for all levels of athletes, and it should be as important in your workout or training arsenal as any other fitness equipment or technique that you may use. With today's time constraints, it makes good sense to get the most out of your workouts and training sessions by using the right equipment and the right tools.


Copyright ©2012 by Shyley MacFarland. All Rights Reserved.

Taking Action and Moving in a New Direction

As I have stated in previous posts, I have Lupus. This has demanded that I cut back on the amount of writing that I can do significantly, and because of this, I have been looking for a new direction that will still allow me to do what I love - write.

I've finally decided on a direction, and I'm taking action on that decision. Today, I started a new blog, The Lupus Way of Life. I am also working on plans to publish a Kindle book, and to start writing and selling original PLR (Private Label Rights) content. These activities will allow me to continue to write about topics that interest me, while also allowing me to write on my own schedule. This also gives me greater control over my income as a writer.

I still plan to write for clients on a limited basis, and to write through freelance sites, again on a limited basis, but the majority of my time, energy, and focus will now be on this new direction that I have chosen. Sometimes, you have to get past your fears, step out of your comfort zone, and jump!

Over Thinking Your Writing

You may not think that it is possible to over think when you are writing, but in some instances, it really is. One prime example of this is when you are writing for a client who will use the work in article marketing, or for the purpose of moving up in search results with SEO content. This is why it is so important to have a clear understanding of how your client intends to use the work that you provide them with.

That is not to say, under any circumstances, that your work should be less than perfect. It must be perfect when you are being paid for it - or if you are OCD like I am. What over thinking means, in this context, is that you do not have to get in every nitty, gritty detail on the topic.

Most clients in the online freelancing world are not looking for Pulitzer prize winning content. They know, for their purposes, how long the article should be in terms of how many words it should contain. They know what the topic that they want to cover is, and they know which keywords and keyword phrases they want used, and usually also know how many times they want them used. Beyond that, they want proper spelling and grammar, and they want the article to make sense (good flow of content and good sentence structure).

Their purpose for this content is to get traffic to their website and/or to sell a product. The website or product is where the in depth information is, if in depth information is even required for their purposes. This isn't usually what they want you to write, and if it is what they are wanting you to write, they are going to be requesting a great deal more than 500 words or less - and they better be willing to pay a great deal more for that type of writing.

I once hired a young woman to write for me, to help with some overflow. She did not last long. This wasn't because she wasn't a good writer...she was! It was because she took too long writing articles, simply because she was over thinking them. It would take her three or four days to write one five hundred word article. I'm not kidding or exaggerating. The girl went to her local library to do research for articles that simply did not require that level of information (or work). I could not get that idea across to her, no matter what I said.

As a freelance content writer, you cannot over think the content. If you are finding that it takes you more than thirty minutes to do one 500 word article, you are most likely over thinking it. Ideally, you should be able to do this type of article in 15 minutes or less, including the time it takes to do research.

Topic Ad Nauseum...Writing About the Same Topics Over and Over

I love being a freelance writer. I love the fact that I can sit on my behind, at home, and make money. I would  never - could never - go back to leaving my house to work at a regular 'job' after enjoying the freedoms of being a freelance writer. Some days, however, writing just makes me want to throw up.

These days generally occur when I've spent several days doing a bulk article job on one topic. I hate jobs where the client requests 50 articles on a specific topic, and wants me to come up with the article ideas for that topic. I can do it. I do it all of the time. I do it well. I just don't like it. I hate it even more when the topic is incredibly boring to begin with.

So, what do you do when you've written about a topic to the point of feeling nauseous? Well, I don't know how you handle it, or will handle it, but I can tell you how I handle it.

I suck it up and keep writing until the job is finished. 

The sooner I can get the job finished, the sooner I can get paid and move onto something else. If I am especially sick to death of the work, and the work is not finished, I take a short break, and then get back to work.

Once the job is finished, I take a deep cleansing breath, close my eyes, and just enjoy the feeling of accomplishment that always comes with completing a clients work - but that feeling of accomplishment somehow feels even better when I'm absolutely sick to death of the topic.

The next thing that I do is make sure that the next job I take has a more interesting topic and that it is a smaller scale job (fewer articles on a specific topic).

Being a freelance content writer is absolutely wonderful, but as with any other career, there will always be days or projects that you simply do not enjoy doing. You have two choices - quit or suck it up and keep writing!

Why I Don't Use Speech-to-Text Software

As a writer who has Lupus, I have been asked why I don't use speech-to-text software, such as Dragon Naturally Speaking, to make things easier on my hands and fingers.

I actually have tried several different brands of speech-to-text programs, and I simply do not like them. They slow me down, and they interfere with my creative process overall, but I also have very specific reasons why I don't like them and won't use them.

Here are my reasons why:

1. I have to turn off my Big Brother Feeds to use the software. For a Big Brother fanatic, that is torturous.

Strike One.

2. I am a Southern gal, with a heavy southern accent. Training the software seems to be next to impossible for me. I've been told that it can be done, and it just takes a while, but I'm just not that patient, and I just don't want to spend the free time that I have training software. I type 96 words a minute with 100% accuracy, and that time is better spent writing or doing something else that I love to do - and being southern, you can be sure that I type way faster than I talk anyway.

Strike Two.

3. I'm a thinker, not a talker. I am almost ashamed to admit that I simply do not speak as well as I think. I'm not talking about the use of proper grammar. I can speak in proper sentences when I choose to or need to, instead of speaking in the southern slang that is the norm for me. I am talking about the fact that when my mouth is engaged, it seems like the thoughts get stuck in my head, and I cannot get them out in the way that I want to. I've even been told that I do not express myself very well verbally, and that is 100% true. I wish I could communicate with everyone through writing instead of speaking.

Strike Three.

You're Out!

While speech-to-text software has not worked well for me, or made me happy, this doesn't mean that it wouldn't be beneficial for you or someone else. I think anyone who does a great deal of writing should give such software a try to see if they have more success with it than I did. Who knows, it may improve your writing - especially if typing doesn't come easily or quickly for you.

A Typical Day in the Life of Shyley

I've been asked lots of questions about time management - especially when someone finds out how much work I accomplish in one day. What most people do not realize is that there really is not a 'typical' day in the life of Shyley.

First, my days are actually nights. My husband works nights, and I usually keep the same schedule as him. Monday through Friday, I'm working nights - but some Monday's I'm up earlier than usual, so I can be found during the daylight hours. On the weekends, I'm up during the day more, but I seldom do any work for clients on the weekends UNLESS....

This brings me to another thing that few people know about me. I have Lupus (SLE). Sometimes, I wake up only to go right back to bed. I have to deal with Lupus flares, where my finger and wrist joints are swollen and painful. I have to deal with Lupus Fog, where I have extreme problems concentrating or staying focused. When I have flares, I feel absolutely drained and exhausted, on top of everything else going on with my body. It sucks - make no mistake about that - and it can, and often does, interfere with my work schedule. This will cause me to work on a weekend...if I need to make up for lost time during the week due to a Lupus  issue.

Luckily, I've learned to watch for signs of a potential flare. I can still have a flare that catches me by surprise, but that happens less often now. What I cannot predict is how long a flare will last, or how severe it may be when it hits. I've learned not to have ten or fifteen open jobs through any of the freelance websites. I only bid on two at a time. If I already have a bid that I've won, I'll only have one open bid, and I resist the urge to bid on anymore work until that bid has been accepted or rejected. I have to be very careful not to overload myself. This way, when a flare hits, I can still meet my obligation to the client.

Bless my husband! I have had instances where I've had extremely bad flares, where typing wasn't possible to any extent. He does the two finger typing thing, but he has actually brought my laptop into the bedroom - where me and my fifty pillows have found comfort for a moment - and I talk while he types my articles. He turns the screen so that I can proofread, makes corrections and changes as I request them, practices a great deal of patience for me, and gets my work submitted by the deadline if and when I need him to do this. Without that extent of help, I wouldn't even attempt to still work with this condition.

My Lupus thing is why I really like iWriter so much. I don't have to bid on jobs, and if I have a flare, I simply don't work. That works out really great for me!

A typical day (or night) when I am not having a Lupus flare, however, actually is fairly 'typical.' I wake up, fix the coffee pot, and make my bed while waiting for the coffee to make. I drink a cup or two sitting at my kitchen table, or in my living room watching CNN in order to catch up on the news of the day. I make it a point to brush my hair and put on actual clothes. It's so easy to get out of that habit when you work from home, and even more so when your entire life takes place at night, so I make sure that I do this every single day (night).

Following this, I do whatever housework needs to be done, which usually isn't much, since it is just me, my husband, and our three cats that live here. The housework generally takes less than fifteen minutes, except for Saturdays. On Saturday, I do the laundry, sweep and mop the floors, scrub the bathrooms, change cat litter, empty garbage cans, change sheets, and things of that nature. Saturday housework usually takes about an hour or so, and that is also the day when my husband and I run our errands and buy groceries. When we get home from buying groceries, we cook for the week, so for the rest of the week, all we have to do is heat something up in the microwave, rinse our plate after eating, and stick it in the dishwasher, which I turn on right before I go to bed each morning. We are highly organized at my house. We have to be because I have a touch of OCD. If my house isn't clean and neat, I can't think about anything else.

Once my daily (nightly) housework is done, I move into my room where I have my laptop. My husband and I are both blessed to have our own rooms. We have a bedroom that we share, and then he has his room, where his computer, television, gaming systems, stereo, etc is all located, and I have my room where all of my craft stuff, sewing machine, laptop, stereo, television, etc is all located, and we respect each other's space. Of course the house also has a kitchen, living room, two bathrooms, a laundry room, and a den. The den doesn't have a stick of furniture in it, and we've never actually decided what to do with that room. Right now, the only thing in there is the treadmill, and a few empty boxes that the cats really enjoy playing hide and seek with.

Once I'm ready to move into my room, I get that third cup of coffee and take it with me. If I haven't already watched a little CNN, I fire up the laptop and see what the daily news is, check the weather for the day, look at my facebook page, check my email, and visit the freelancing websites that I use to see if there is anything urgent that needs my attention. I am organized enough to already have a list of the actual work that I need to do. That list is always made before I quit work the day before. After all of that is done, I make it a point to close out all of those websites, and I do not open them again until the work that I have planned for the day is done. This keeps me on track.

Because I have Lupus, and I have to be careful not to overtax myself, I am careful about the amount of work that I schedule for myself. On a good day, I can knock out anywhere from twenty to thirty articles, depending on the article topics and how much research is involved. For harder or longer articles, I plan fewer for the day. I do not allow anything to side track me from the work that I have planned. This is essential for me! However, if the articles I'm writing are easy, and really don't require an abundance of thought and concentration on my part, I will fire up my Big Brother Live Feeds, if it's summertime (like it is now). Yes, I'm a Big Brother Fanatic! I can listen to the feeds while I work. If Big Brother isn't currently in session, I turn the television on and listen to reruns of things like Law and Order while I work. If I find that the feeds or the television are distracting me from my work too much, I am disciplined enough to switch them off and return my full focus to work.

What if I have no jobs in progress? Well, that's rather rare. I almost always have at least one job in progress. But if I'm waiting on bids to be won, or if I'm waiting on a client for something, I will go to iWrite and knock out some articles there while I'm waiting. I start each day knowing how much money I want to earn for that day, and I know how much work I need to do in order to earn that money...and I make sure that it gets done.

Once I've done the work that I planned for the day, and I've earned the money that I want to earn for the day, I work on my blog, a squidoo lens, or something of that nature. Again, this requires typing, so it depends on how much work I've already done, and how I feel, but I try to limit this activity to an hour or two each day - and no more.

On a typical day, I spend about an hour waking up, drinking coffee, doing housework, and getting myself together in general. I then spend about four or five hours doing actual paying work. By that time, it's around 10pm, since I'm usually up by 4pm. Now, it's my time. I make it a point to plan my work for the next night, and then I decide what it is that I want to do. My husband doesn't get home until 6am. We go to bed about 8am, so I have lots of hours left to do the things that make me happy. I might read a book, watch a movie, fire up Netflix, work on a quilt or some other needlework project that I have in progress (depending on how my hands feel), or take a nap. When I get hungry, I heat up a plate of whatever we've cooked for the week, and just do what makes me happy in general, and that is a Typical Day in the Life of Shyley.

You Want a Writing Sample?

I've got your writing sample right here. It's right here, where you cannot use it as your own work. It's already published, and it probably does not contain your keywords.

I'm not trying to be sarcastic, and this isn't really a sample that I use for clients.  I'm trying to help other freelance writers avoid potential scams. As I've stated many times before, I've been in this online content game for a lot of years, and I've figured it all out.

I can understand a potential clients need to see a sample of your writing before he or she hires you or accepts your bid. However, I will never write and submit a writing sample to a client, based on their keywords, unless it is something that I've already published. That is the only way that I have to protect myself and my work from scams where the 'buyer' really isn't interested in buying anything at all.

On sites where there is a good record kept of my work history and ratings, like vWorker or iWriter, I don't need to provide any writing sample what-so-ever. Those buyers can easily just look at my work history. If they still ask for a writing sample, I become suspicious, and I direct them here for samples of my writing. If that isn't enough of a sample for them, I no longer want their job.

If you are asked for a writing sample, direct the potential client to work that is already published by you - with your name on it. Do not direct them to work you have done for other clients - especially if you did ghostwriting for that client. Do not send them work that you have done for another client either. That is unethical, and I avoid potential clients who specifically ask to see work that I've done for past clients.

If you are sitting there reading this right now, and thinking ''I don't have any published samples,'' then you should immediately stop reading, set up a free blog, a squidoo lens, or a hubpage, and start writing. These can - and do - serve as writing samples for potential clients!

Difficult Clients

Most of the time, as a content writer, I get clients who are absolute dreams to work with. There is the rare occasion, however, when one comes along who is quite difficult. Nothing makes them happy, or their expectations are very unreasonable - or even worse, they want far too much for the money they are paying. I especially get a kick out of the ones that come off really nice and friendly, you do the work, and then they try to get far more for their buck by asking so very nicely for extras before they will release your payment. Those are actually the really hard ones to deal with simply because they are so nice.

What I've learned over the years is to hide my soft heart. I've also learned not to form friendships with clients. When you become friends with a client, even if that friendship is completely online, you will find that they are constantly expecting you to do them special favors: i.e. work that they do not want to pay for. I've learned to keep it all on a professional level, and not to allow it to go to any form of a personal level. 

In the past, when I was younger, and I came across a rude client - and there are plenty of them out there - I was quick to let them know that I can also be rude. There are those that really do not know how to conduct a professional relationship in a situation where they are the 'boss' and it simply goes to their head. They get a mindset that I am their employee, instead of someone who has just contracted to do a specific job for them for a very short time period of time. 

What I had to learn is that no matter how ill mannered those people are, you really don't know who their contacts are, or what they may say about you to their contacts. This can hurt you in the long run. So, I've learned to keep my personal feelings and remarks to myself with those types of clients, to finish the job to the best of my ability, and then not to take any further work from them - usually stating that I just have too much work on my plate, effectively ending the relationship on a good note - where they cannot honestly say anything bad about me to others, and I am no longer subjected to their lack of manners or professionalism. 

What these clients have yet to learn is that even though they were the 'boss,' and to their way of thinking I cannot possibly be successful without them, and I'm really just a nobody ghostwriter, is that I also have tons of contacts. I am a ghostwriter, after all. They have no clue who I am ghost writing for. For every client that I have, the chances are good that I am either currently doing work for one or two people that they know - or more, or have done work in the past with those contacts of theirs, or will be doing work in the future for those contacts. The chances are even good that I know exactly what those contacts think of them personally and professionally. 

I am often asked whether I know so and so, or if I have done work for so and so. Of course, as a ghost writer, I cannot always answer those types of questions. But if a client has not honored their agreement with me, or made my life especially difficult, I can say things that will make those who ask such questions stop and think about whether they want to get into business with that difficult client, without giving any 'work related' information away :)

In the end, when it comes to dealing with a difficult client, simply stick to your guns and give the client exactly what they have requested, as they have requested it, as long as that work was included in the price. Be as nice as possible, do not take anything personally, get through the job, and move on with a smile on your face with the knowledge that what goes around, comes around. The client may currently think that you have no worth or importance in their world, and that you are just a 'nobody,' but in the end, they usually figure out that they were quite wrong on both accounts when they have trouble getting other good writers to work with them, or have more difficulty getting other people to joint venture with them on any of their projects.

London Brokers Review

London Brokers is a site that operates much like iWriter, but to tell the truth, I've never done a single job through the site, and I honestly do not intend to, even though I did sign up as a member.

My first impression of the site, after signing up, was not good. When I finally got my email and logged in, the first thing that I felt was depression. There is a depressing video to watch, and for me, the narrator was very hard to understand. Then, you see the bulletin board where the jobs are listed. The whole site design completely turned me off, but what turned me off the most was the fact that while it operates like iWriter, it isn't at all the same.

At iWriter, there is the opportunity to advance and to earn more money for the work that you do as you build your reputation on the site. At London Brokers, there doesn't seem to be any real room for advancement that allows you to make more money. You can earn more money for jobs that are marked urgent, and you can earn a little more money if you complete jobs quickly - but the amount of extra money that you can earn in these two ways doesn't amount to very much.

Maybe I'm missing something, but I simply wasn't impressed enough to go any further than I went on this site. If anyone has a different opinion or experience with this site, I'd love to hear about it.

What is My Writing Worth?

If you look around the Internet, on various writing related forums and blogs, you can easily find tons of writers complaining about the rates that a) buyers are willing to pay, or b) writers are willing to write for. In fact, you can spend hour upon hour reading these complaints, which in the end is really a huge waste of time. You may as well go play Farmville for all that you are accomplishing.

With that said, let's talk about what my writing - or your writing for that matter - is actually worth. As with anything else in this world, what you think your writing is worth really doesn't matter at all. In reality, your writing is only worth what someone else is willing to pay for it. That's it. If you were selling a refrigerator, and you thought it was worth $100, but you couldn't find anyone willing to pay more than $50 for it, then the refrigerator was only worth $50.

Creative people - myself included - often let their pride get in the way of success. Success is achieving a goal. If your goal is to make a living as a writer, then you have to be willing to set your pride aside, look at the going rate for writing, and write for that amount. You can choose to 'hold out' for the rate that you think your writing is worth, but I can tell you that you won't have much success in reaching your goal if you do this. There are too many people who can write well and who are also willing to write what a buyer is willing to pay - and there are even too many buyers who are willing to accept lower quality work in order to pay very tiny prices in the market.

If you want to earn the really high rates for writing, you need to do your writing in a different market, such as for an offline magazine. Those actually pay fairly well, but getting your work accepted, or getting assignments, is extremely difficult. If you want to write online or write online content, you had better get used to the fact that you are not going to make hundreds of dollars from one article. It simply is not going to happen. A few years ago, the going rate was about $1 for every 100 words in the online marketplace. There are still buyers who are willing to pay this amount, but they expect a great deal for that dollar. They expect superior writing skills, proper usage of grammar and spelling, and precise keyword density.

If you look at the freelance sites today, however, you will notice that buyers don't even want to pay $1 for every 100 words. More often than not, they want to pay about .33, but they still have the same high expectations. Now, when I'm working at a freelance site where I'm a newcomer, or if I am working with a buyer for the very first time, I may be willing to work for that tiny amount of money in order to prove myself. But, once I've proven myself on a site, or with an individual buyer, I won't write for less than $1 for every 100 words.

How long does it really take to type 100 words? I personally type 96 words per minute, and I tend to get jobs where I already have a great deal of knowledge on the topic, or the topic is very easy to research. So, I look at it this way. If the article is to be 500 words long, I plan to make $5. It will take me a total of 5 minutes to actually type the article, including the title. If it is a topic that I do not know well, and the research required will take ten minutes, I will make $5 in fifteen minutes, which amounts to $20 in an hour, spread out over 4 articles (1 article every 15 minutes).

As you can see, you can make a living writing - even when the rate sounds incredibly low. Many 'wanna be' writers who let their pride get in the way scoff at the thought of writing 500 words for a measly five bucks. Back when vWorker would actually let all bidders see what other bidders were bidding, I would scan through the bids and laugh at some of the ridiculous expectations of writers. Some would bid $200 or more for five three hundred word articles on the simplest of topics. Of course, those writers had no ratings, and no work history listed on their profiles. This was, of course, because they put too much value on their writing - far above what any buyer was willing to pay for the work.

What is my writing worth? The going rate, whatever that may be at the time.

iWriter Review

I've just started using iWriter, and I think I may like it a lot. Of course, I haven't had time to get a full grasp of it - so this is more of a preliminary review, but so far, I'm really impressed with what I see. If you haven't heard of iWriter, it is a website where you can go and see articles that are requested, and simply write the articles that are available. You do not have to bid on jobs. The price for the job is already determined, based on your skill level on the site. Obviously, since I am unproven on the site, I am currently at the lowest skill level, but with enough writing that will quickly change.

I've already written and submitted one article, and am awaiting approval. As a new writer, I must wait 40 minutes between articles until I have been rated five times. After that, I will be able to write one article after another. Additionally, they will deposit my pay into my PayPal account each week, on Tuesday, which I especially like. To me, this is a no muss, no fuss website, and it takes the work out of getting the work. The minimum payout is $20, and the buyer or requester has 72 hours to approve or reject your article - and if they do nothing, the article is automatically approved and you get paid.

You can write the article directly on the site, which is really nice, but it is suggested that you copy your article and paste it into your own text editor before submitting in case something goes wrong - so you don't completely lose the article. The editor on the site is really nice, as it not only counts words for you, but also keyword density - and it is automatically run through CopyScape when you hit the submit button.

As a beginner on the site, the pay is incredibly low - it could even be construed as insulting. But if you haven't proven yourself, you have to work your way up from the bottom. I've been in this game for a long time, working through many freelance websites, so I know how this works, and I'm willing to accept it. What I can see through the interface at iWriter is that the more I write, and the more my articles are accepted (and I know that my writing is good enough for this), the more I will be paid per article. Therefore, I am willing to take the short amount of time it will take to work my way up to the better paying opportunities on the site. So, before you kick and scream over the low, insulting wages that are offered, think this through. So for now, I will take the lowest paying articles, requiring the least amount of words, on the easiest topics, so that I can quickly knock the work out, and gain the required ratings to be eligible for the high paying articles - and I will not be insulted. Too often, writers and other creative people let pride get between them and ultimate success - especially in the freelancing world.

Again, I'm really impressed with what I see so far. The site is very clean and easy to navigate as well. Watch out vWorker...iWriter could give you a serious run for your money!

VWorker.com

I've been working through vWorker.com for years. In fact, when I started with the site, it was still called Rent-A-Coder. I have to say that I've never had any problems at vWorker. This does not, however, mean that I don't fear potential problems. I have, to date, always been paid on time, and I have a perfect 10 rating.

I've never had an issue getting work through the site, and in the past I was so fearful of not winning bids that I often bid on too many jobs - and then won them all, overtaxing myself quite a bit. That made for a lot of all-nighters on my end to finish all of the won bids in a timely manner!

There are drawbacks to VWorker. First, the competition is stiff - but not in the way that you may think. In terms of writing skill, I don't feel that I have an overwhelming amount of competition at the site. The problem comes from the fact that so many people will bid very low on jobs. This forces me to either bid low as well - agreeing to do a substantial amount of high quality work for very little pay - or to bid at a decent rate and win far fewer jobs. Unfortunately for the buyers on the site, those people who are bidding incredibly low on articles really do not have a full grasp of the English language, and are usually found lacking when it comes to writing skill.

I've learned to value my time and my skill. I've learned that VWorker is not my only option for finding work. Therefore, I'm very choosy about the jobs that I bid on at VWorker. I look at the topic for the requested articles to determine how much research I will need to do, and how hard that research may be. I look at the number of words that the buyer requires, and all other requirements of the buyer. If the article request is one that I consider to be quite easy - it requires very little research and very little time to write - I'm okay with bidding low, because I know that writing such an article won't take more than ten or fifteen minutes in most cases, and because I know that I can do x number of articles in x number of hours, earning x dollars, I can easily determine whether bidding low on a job is worth it to me or not.

I am happy that VWorker now offers an additional payday during the month, for a total of three paydays. I'm happy with the fact that my earnings are transferred directly to my PayPal account on those paydays as well. I am ecstatic that VWorker is no longer charging the worker 15% of the bid amount when a project is won. Instead, the only thing that VWorker charges me is $2 for transferring funds to my PayPal account. I am totally against having to pay to work, and I hated having to pay that fee.

Another potential fear of mine is the rating system, and the arbitration process. I've heard all of the horror stories out there, and so far have been very lucky in that I've never had a negative rating, and only two arbitration's that were self mediated. Those two arbitration's took place because my mother passed away, and I needed to travel out of state for that, and of course I needed time to grieve. I contacted the buyers immediately and let them know the situation - that I needed to cancel those jobs - and they were quite understanding and accommodating.

I am careful to take a close look at the work history of the employer or buyer before I bid on a job. I need to know how many arbitrations they have had. If they have a ton, and it looks as though they are constantly looking for any reason to get out of paying for work that has been done for them, I simply will not bid on that buyer's jobs to avoid that potential risk. I also look at the work history and ratings of the people who have done work for them and have given them less than perfect ratings - in an attempt to be fair and in an attempt to get a clear picture of what may or may not have happened. Sometimes, the bad rating for the buyer simply is not justified, and a bad rating for a worker, or an arbitration is completely justified. You have to go into it with an open mind.

As for the rating system, the concept itself is great. Unfortunately, even with changes to this system through the years, the system is still geared towards coding type work. It really isn't designed for employers (buyers) to effectively rate a writer, and I can see where a buyer may be confused by this, and end up not giving a writer the rating that they truly deserve - which could hurt that writers overall rating significantly. Again, I've been fortunate not to run into that problem, but I've heard about those writers who have had this problem.