Freelance Writing

Before you even consider writing as a profession, I would advise you to take this free proofreading test and some of these free grammar tests before you even consider writing as a way of earning income. You might be the most knowledgeable person in the world about a subject, but that is pointless if you can't communicate yourself clearly. At least, that is what I always told my students (I used to teach English).

Please note: I will not post jobs that require writers to write essays, term papers, and research papers. It is my believe that these sites make their money selling these papers to students, which in its own way a type of fraud. Also, this is one of the few pages where I list jobs based upon my own feelings and experiences of them.

Constant Content
I have been writing for Constant Content since November (and that is my affiliate link). The trick to this site is coming with keyword articles that people will want to purchase. You can set your own prices, but writers only keep 65% of what they sell. Constant Content keeps 35% (of which 20% goes to affiliates and 5% goes to referring authors). It is totally free to sign up, and you are not required to submit anything. The trick to being successful is writing the right articles. I am having a lot of success with them. They do pay via PayPal routinely around the 1st and 15th of very month. They specify a $50 minimum before payout, but have been known to pay out at less if someone has difficulty reaching that mark. Although they can be frustrating at times, I generally like this company. They recently made some improvements to the site and it has continually earned me some money each month. Success for this site is based upon the type of articles you write and the quality of your writing. I highly recommend them.

How to Do Things
Five to twenty five points are given per 400 word article and each point is worth a dollar (reedemable through giftcertificates.com. You can only write articles for which your "areas" and will have to prove you are knowledgeable about those areas first. After submitting an article, an editor reviews it, suggest revisions if necessary, and then you are rewarded your points. I see this site as the most promising so far. That is my affiliate link. So far, I have made $20 with them. It takes a while for them to review and approve your articles, but the payout has more of a guarantee than Constant Content.

Suite 101
I am actually a writer for Suite 101. It is legitimate, but it takes a while for you to build up your audience. You get paid $2.00 for every 1000 page views your site receives. That is about how much I made the first month. If you are accepted, you will be required to produce at least one article and one blog per week, although more are allowed.

About.com
I have applied with About.com several times. Most times, I never receive an answer, but once I received an email stating that they had already filled the position for which I was applying. I do know people who work for About.com and they are legitimate. If your application is accepted, you will go through three weeks of training as you build up a site. At the end of the training, you may or may not be hired. You do not get paid for your training. Amazingly, this site has an usatisfctory rating with the BBB (under the name Primedia Publishing) because it failed to respond to one or more of the complaints.

EditFast
I recently signed up with them, so I will know more about this company later. I can tell you that you will be required to take a 100-question grammar test before you will be approved. They keep 30% of what you make and payments are made once a month through PayPal. Considering that they state they have 1200 proofreaders, I am not holding my breath waiting for an assignment.

Rent a Ghostwriter
I signed up (which was annoying because it kept popping up some search engine tool. There were only 17 open projects. Most of them had numerous bids and no indication if any were selected. I low-balled one item to see if I would get it. I didn't.

CyberEdit
CyberEdit is currently looking for freelance admission essay editors and resume writers. They state that they pay $20-$35 per hour, depending on qualifications. I have applied and will let you know more when I find it out. They are members of the BBB.

Writing Assistance, Inc
You're allowed to set your own rates, but they will add a small markup to the client that Writing Assistance keeps. They take care of billing and you will receive payment within five work days after the client pays them. If you are a writer and would like to be considered for client projects, please email your resume to jobs@writingassist.com in an MS Word format.

Associated Content
I've heard mixed comments about them. Basically, if your pages don't get enough hits, your rate starts to decline. Payments range from $3-$20 per article. When I was browsing through the site, I noticed that one of their feature writers had a post from an Associated Content producer which started out, " Manda, a little more editing would go well." The rest continued to criticisize the article. The next comment was also a pretty brutal comment stating that she was an "inadequate" writer. I did register with them, but after several days have not heard back from them. I will let you know more when I find out more.

Families.com
This site states that they pay $3 per 300 word blog/post for beginners and US$4 per post after completion of the 90 day probationary period. The price seems a little low for my taste, and I would suggest you can make more money with your own blog.

Reviewstream
This site tells you that they will pay you to write reviews. Essentially, you can review anything. They have three rates. The regular rate varies (it was $1.50 the day I visited). However, the will only pay you this rate if it matches their "criteria." What that means, I don't know and they don't say. What bothered me most was when I decided to ask them I discovered their email was: reviewstream@yahoo.com. If the review doesn't match their criteria, you can either choose to revise and resubmit it or have it published at the bulk rate. The bulk rate is only 1/5 of the regular rate. You can choose to bypass this by being a "self editor," although the rate is only $0.20 per review. Minimum payout through PayPal is $50 for regular rate, $20 for self-editors. I have the feeling that you will be writing at least 100 reviews before seeing a payment.

A/V Tronics
This site is looking for proofreaders with knowledge of legal terminology and prior experience in a legal industry. If this fits you, you might consider them. I tried looking them up in the BBB. They were listed, but no information was given.

Method Shop
Method Shop did not interest me, but if you're a technical guru, you might consider it. They are looking for reviews, tutorials, humor and lifestyle articles relating to the iPod, Palm Pilot, or just general technology. They state that they pay $20-$200 per article. The price depends on the the depth and quality of content.

Proofreading and Editing Jobs

The following is a list of a companies that frequently hire proofreaders and editors.

Morningside Partners, LLC

AccuTran Global