How to Make Money WRITING Online
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Do You Want to Write Spam, or Do You Want to Write?
Do you dream of earning your living writing for the internet, but so far all you have earned is $3.62 from Google Adsense through your blog? Would you like to turn that $3.62 into $3,620 in only four weeks? Well guess what?
You can't !!!
No, seriously, you can't. At least it's not very likely. Not if you really want to be a writer. If you want to be a spam writer, you might be able to do it, but you will hate yourself in the morning even if you succeed.
I write web copy for this British guy who has an affiliate marketing website. Every week I review 10-25 websites that promise people they can make $5000 while they are brushing their teeth, just by setting up a dummy affiliate site and promoting a product. Then, they are told they can kick back (or brush their teeth) and watch the money roll in. Often the product is a CD or E-book on how how to make money setting up affiliate marketing sites. (Are you dizzy yet? Good!)
At first, I didn't even know this kind of thing existed. This particular writing job was one of my first, and the guy I do this for is a nice guy and pays me on time. The work is easy if a little boring. So, even though I have plenty of other more interesting projects now, I still write these reviews once a week. It takes me maybe 20 minutes, and it get $65 for that. That's $195.00 an hour, but if I did that for an hour I'd shoot myself. So I don't.
I soon realized that there is an avalanche of this crap on the web--that's why my guy has a whole website devoted to nothing but reviews of it--and 99% of it is dreadful, boring, hyped-to-the-nines garbage. I also realized that a lot of people would like to earn money actually writing for the internet as opposed to paying money to someone else to learn about MLM or affiliate marketing scams.
I am no expert on how to earn money writing, but I do currently earn more than I did at my day job just by writing for the web. So I know it can be done. I made $440 a week gross at my day job ( that IS gross! But hey, I live in Michigan...), and last week, I made $560 writing online for that week. I've got another $500 or so lined up for this week. And I still have my day job, only half-time now because I have too much writing now to work full-time elsewhere, and the writing pays better. I've only been doing this writing since November of 2007.
So, in the spirit of sharing (for free) what I've learned so far about how to earn money writing online, here are some tips. Please feel free to add your own. I'm always looking for good advice.
Plan to Work Hard I spend a LOT of time writing. But I love to write. When I'm not writing, I'm looking for new writing work or keeping track of my finances, or visiting other writers' sites and networking, or emailing my regular clients and setting up projects. This bit of advice may sound kind of silly, but if you don't love to write, I mean LOVE to write as in eat, breath, sleep, dream about it, don't try to earn money as a writer. It's not easy money, but if you keep at it, it can be good money.
Establish an Internet Presence Join several writing sites that pay-per-click like HubPages, Helium, Triond, PrintnPost, or Associated Content. You should also start your own blog with Blogger or Wordpress. Then write your ass off. Do this for at least a month, and garner any cudos you can at these sites. At Helium, you can win weekly writing contests and you can also sell articles outright in their Marketplace section. The negative there is that you are peer rated for Helium contests, and that system can be crushing to a delicate ego. But then, if you have a delicate ego and want to write for money, toughening up is a good idea anyway.
Start Your Own Website My favorite place to do this is Weebly, but there are lots of places you can set up a website without shelling out any money. The nice thing about Weebly is you don't have to know anything about HTML or code or anything, it's all done through templates and WYSIWYG functions. Although this may sound like an egomaniacal thing to do, once you start applying for freelance work, its amazingly effective in nailing projects. Buyers will often ask for samples and you can just refer them to your website. Post a real photo of yourself and a professional bio, and post four or five samples of your writing. You can also post a link to your blog. Think of this site as your online resume. Resist the urge to be flip or coy about your ambitions, and pass up avatars and animated .gifs in lieu of a real photo of your real self. Buyers want to work with a real person, not a sparkly porpoise jumping over a rainbow over and over again.
Set up a Profile at Several Freelance Sites I get most of my freelance work at Elance, but I've also heard good things about Guru.com. My daughter sent me a site called ODesk, but I don't much care for it. A lot of the work posted there is horribly underpaid. The same rules for your website apply to your profile at these freelance sites. Be serious, not flip. A sense of humor is fine, but present yourself the way you would for any job. Take some time with it and don't be modest about your accomplishments, as this is what will get you work. Some sites offer to validate your credentials for a fee, which may or may not be worth it to you, depending on your credentials. Think of any money you have to spend on this sort of thing as an investment in yourself. And remember, a lot of it will be deductible on your taxes as a business expense.
Bid On Some Jobs Bid cheap at first, and keep at it until you get something. Most of these sites allow you to bid a certain number of times for free, and after that you have to pay a membership fee. I bid for free until I got work, then I joined and paid the fee. Lots of people balk at paying the fee, but I look at it like this: The fee I pay at Elance is less than what I currently spend on gas to get to my $12/hr day job five days a week. Once you successfully complete a few jobs, you can start upping your price and being a bit more selective.
Decide What You Want to Write and What Your Boundries Are Actually I just got this piece of advice here at HubPages. It's GREAT advice. I was having trouble sporadically with clients who would advertise one thing, then ask for 12 more things once I committed to the work, without any extra pay. I don't like to use contracts. If I can't trust the person I'm writing for then I don't want to write for them. It may well take you awhile to learn what you like to write and what you don't, when and how you want to be paid, how much rewriting you are willing to do, how much pestering you are willing to take, and so on. Once you complete several projects, you will begin to see a pattern emerging regarding what goes well and what doesn't, and you will be able to sniff out the clinkers faster and faster.
Expect to Get Stiffed Occasionally Actually I'm amazed at how seldom this happens. I've been stiffed once and underpaid twice, but on all of those occasions I could see trouble brewing and did not act quickly or decisively to head it off. I try to stick with 'escrowed' work--that is, work that is set up so that the buyer puts the money up front into an escrow account through your third party freelance site, then releases it to you when you've completed the project. I have done work without escrow, and I still get paid. It just makes me nervous. The one time I got stiffed was a non-escrowed project, and to make matters worse it was an E-book so I'd already written about 12,000 words whe nthey buyer backed out. This kind of thing will happen, and you will learn from it. Don't take it personally.
Exit at the First Whiff of Trouble If a client is a pain in the butt and very demanding and unpleasant, graciously fire that client as soon as the project feels 'off'. My three unpleasant experiences (out of dozens of good ones) were all drawn out way too long in my naieve efforts to please unpleasable exploitive clients. I back out by thanking them and saying a lot of positive stuff that basically, underneath the schmaltz says, "Go away, ok?" Don't be nasty, don't be emotional, just exit ASAP. One of the best things about working for yourself is you get to fire your clients if they mistreat you.
Keep Searching for New Venues New sites spring up almost daily, so when you are bored or need a break from writing about whatever it is you are currently writing about, search the web for other writing sites. Search HubPages and sites like it for articles by people who write for money and read about what works for them. I've found so many good things this way.
Self-Publish Back in the day when you had to self-publish on real paper there was a certain stigma to doing it. However, some of the best-selling books ever were initially self-published. Here are just a few best-selling books that started out as self-published (on paper) books:
Remembrance of things Past, by Marcel Proust
Ulysses, by James Joyce
The Adventures of Peter Rabbit, by Beatrix Potter
A Time to Kill, by John Grisham
The Wealthy Barber, by David Chilton
The Bridges of Madison County
What Color is Your Parachute
In Search of Excellence by Tom Peters
The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield
The Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr. (and his student E. B. White)
The Joy of Cooking
When I Am an Old Woman I Shall Wear Purple
Life's Little Instruction Book
Robert's Rules of Order
Today, it's a lot easier to self-publish. You can self publish for free or a nominal fee at Lulu, CreateSpace, or BookSmart, just to name a few, and you can charge buyers by the downloadable .pdf file. If you wanted a printed paper book you can do that too. You can even order services through these sites like cover art & illustration. For a small fee you can purchase an IBSN number for your book and market it through Amazon, and also make it searchable in any library or bookstore data base.
So if you are sitting on a book you've been sending around to slushpiles for years, think about just publishing it yourself instead. If you do well, publishing houses will approach YOU. Wouldn't THAT be cool?
Keep at It Most people who succeed at what they do are relentless. They don't slap up one MLM website and lay around and collect money, they do something they love and they keep on doing it no matter what until it works out for them. They can't NOT do it; that's how much they love it. They don't take failure personally, they learn from it and keep doing whatever it is they do. The same is true of writing.
My own personal feeling about it is that, while you can teach people to write or to write better, you can't teach anybody to be a writer. You either ARE a writer or you are not a writer. If you are a writer, you know this already. If you aren't a writer and aren't sure if you are one, but you think you might like to be one, then what you need to do first and foremost is start writing, then never stop. Never stop. One day, boom, you will realize that you are pretty much writing all the time, and at that point you will also realize, that, duh, you must be a writer after all!
So that's my free advice, for what it's worth. (Which may not be much?!) Take a chance, learn and love, live and let live, be happy.
Life is too short to waste it doing anything besides what you love.
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Comments
GREAT site! I have tried this but never got behind it... I just thought it was all SPAM i hope we get paid well because there is a lot of fraud going on!
I'm really interested in your findings, PJ, having given serious consideration to look for such jobs. Nothing is easy - my problem with my present job is that it's temporary and part-time. I will investigate your links when I get a moment but have bookmarked and RSS-ed this hub - many thanks and a hearty thumbs up.
Another fabulous one pg--exxcellent, timeless advice. I love the idea of the escrow--I free-lanced newsletters years ago and used to say I spent a third of my time pitching the clients and another third trying to collect the money and only a third of my time doing the writing. These days, with a site like elance it is all sooooo much streamlined....as is the self publishing option. BTW I didn't know all those great books were originally self published--hmmmmmmmmm very interesting :-)
This is terrific information. I also loved the list of self-published books - a lot of those are really important ones! Sharing the practical experience of what it's like to write and how the industry works is so valuable to people who want to actually go out and do it. When people share this kind of experience, the writing community can avoid repeating the same mistakes as new people enter the fray, and the whole industry becomes a lot more streetwise about it all. And nobody shares ideas like writers do! I was just thinking today - I wonder if we should start syndicating? You know how Fox News uses its collective media megaphone muscle to hurl venom and promote ideas that don't work? I looked at that and thought - hey, we could do that, but better! Instead of selling wars and fast food, we could emphasize really good ideas and startups that don't yet have any champions. I'll probably yammer about this some more about this later when I've pulled the idea together a little better. Great stuff!
good solid advice...motivating too! Enjoyed seeing that book list... who knew? Thanks for this hub!
Holy cow! I guess I struck a nerve. I tossed this hub off this morning before heading out to breakfast with my in-laws for Mother's Day. I'd just read the umpteenth make-a-gazillion-dollars through affiliate marketing hub and I thought, oh good Lord, so I wrote this sort of in rebuttal. I really appreciate all the positive comments and feedback. Thank you so much!
As usual Satori you have a really cool idea there! When you are done digesting it, I would love to hear more. What a great idea. Faux News needs a good counterweight!!
Great hub. Thanks a lot for all this useful info. I'm gonna try Elance.
This is indeed an excellent job. Thank you for imparting these things to us.
Good for you pjgrundy! Surprising how the best hubs are those off the top of your head! You've got me going and I need to take some better steps to make things happen. Thank you for a great read and inspiration! Steph
Thank you for such excellent advice! I love the list of books that started out self published - very inspiring. :) I agree with your opinion about Odesk, too. And deciding what you will and will not write at the start is a great suggestion.
Thanks you guys! The issue I have with Odesk is all the buyers who are out there asking to hire people at $3 or $4 an hour. This is probably good money somewhere in the world, but not here. We need a global union to put an end to this kind of thing. A global labor union would instantly create a level playing field for US workers of all kinds.
Thank you for taking the time for writing this article. I'm just getting started myself and just joined a few freelance sites, but didn't know what to do or how much to bid on jobs. Thank you for this information!
Good advice for writers. But on the flip side there are a lot of crappy writers out there that would take your money and produce utter nonsense or unintelligible crap. However, a good writer is worth his/her wait in gold and should be treated with kid gloves.
One of the most informative and motivating hubs I've read on this topic. I greatly appreciate your effort. Keep up the hard work. You're doing great!
Great piece! A LOT of useful info. Thank you.
Thanks for the tips! I'll be sure to put them into use as I get started!
Very interesting Hub - really enjoyed reading it, lots of good information. Looking forward to your next Hub!
I am new to blogging. great information shared thanks
Thank you for the wonderful hub. Lots of info to follow up on. And yes, life is too short to anything other than what you love. I love to write also. And, I've spent a lot of years doing jobs I hated. I'm going to follow your advice and see if I can't make enough money to keep doing what I love.
really good tips for writer who wants to earn ... and for those who have the choice of subject and good control over writing too... where to put the writing!
Nice hub dude.Keep posting.
A good load of information.
I am a writer. I love to do it and am working on a book at the moment. I write every chance that I get and hope that people like it. I have gotten a lot of positive feed back and some negative but I take it all in stride and do my best to write what people will read. Thank you for this hub.
Great information. But are there some statistical evidence or pattern in relating earnings by writing and the efforts made, websites written for and the articles written
Wonderful Hub! A Thumbs up to you.
Statistical evidence or pattern? msms, I don't understand the question. Are you asking if there are statistics available showing how long to takes people to write and whether or not it is worth the effort given the amount of time it takes? I think this would depend on the person. In general through, it does take a lot of time. I spend 8 to 10 hours each day writing, and then I have a four hour a day outside job too at a big bank. So yes, I work really hard.
Thanks for this hub! You give great advice with a humorous voice. I'm going to Digg this!
ROTFL - I saw this hub come up on the hot hubs feed I have on my http://hubpages.com/hub/HubPages-Internet-Marketin and the teaser got me: WTF I thought scammer on hot hubs; love this hub its so true; and exactly the same as I feel about 95% of the internet marketing industry! My hub was the same as yours I was furious when I wrote it and it didn't take that long to write.
I have seriously thought about doing the freelance writing gig: in fact thanks to hubpages I have been asked to apply for (paid) gigs. I decided not to though: I love to write, but only what I am interested in: the rest of it I can procastinate for days and days on: not good if you have a deadline! Instead I am trying the affiliate marketing route: but ethicaly, but hopefully profitably!
Oh and blogger.com is another good place for a free blog: its owned by Google and rumour has that it gets very quickly indexed and featured: completely free and you can add Adsense if you wish
Thanks wennie & Lissie! I know what you mean about deadlines Lissie--after awhile freelancing starts to feel like any other job, but the 'real' job I have right now is so bizarre and I hate it so much it motivated me to try, and so far it's working out ok. I read your marketing hub for new hubsters (how not to get kicked off)--it's awesome. Right now, I feel like I just work 24/7--I'd try affiliate marketing if I thought for a minute I had the time and patience, but at 55 I think my skills are less web-savvy and more paper & pencil savvy. Too bad I can't retire--I'm Sooooooo ready!!!
I am new to this freelance stuff; you posted some good information. I will definitely look into your suggestions
Thanks for sharing all this great information.
regards Zsuzsy
great advice here, glad I stopped by.
I think I have a new experience for your hub. Thank you.
I have just joined hubpages and this is the first page i am reading. I love and submit articles online. I think I will to your hub from time to time.
This is great advice! I have been blogging about the Real Estate Industry for free on Active Rain since November 2007. Recently, I have been doing some Pay Per Post as well. What do you think of Pay Per Post? Thanks for your great advice!
Yes , you are right.
There are lot of people who copy paste content from websites to their blogs and sending out mails to everyone to visit their blogs.
Thanks everyone!
richd--I have not been able to stay at a blog long enough to qualify for pay per post, but I did look into it. I started out blogging for free at Blogger.com at Google, and switched to Wordpress because I like using it better. Then this guy hired me to write a financial blog for him so I've been doing that. How is Pay Per Post working out for you? I thought it was a cool idea, but I never qualified and now I'm getting income off the guy who promotes the finance blog.
An intriguing article all in all. Very detailed and informative. I can see you put some good time into this Hub and can appreciate work like that.
Anyways, good job on the hub. Well done!
Great article--your article description definitely drew me in and I had to see for myself what you would say. As a book coach and well-paid freelancer I heartily agree. It took me quite some time to make great money at this work. Those who follow your advice, particularly about being picky about the clients they take on will find the road to success much faster than those who take any work that comes their way. Focus on the people you enjoy working with. If you love what you do, you'll find the money comes over time--and just gets better and better.
Thank you for such a fascinating and well-researched hub! I will definitely refer back to your suggestions as I write more. Good luck continuing to do what you love!
Pgrundy, you are an expert obviously. I was trying to understand your views or experience
1- what in your experience should be the number of websites a writer should write for,
2- What quantum of articles one should post per week or per month in order to earn (say $ 200 a week)?
3- What is the earning potential of different sites individually in relation to the number of articles posted per week (i.e. rate of posting of articles on different websites)
Though you have answered most of my questions very well. Thanks
Very good Hub - Thanks for all the work you did on it! i am emailing my daughter the link to this hub - it is something she would be interested in doing herself.
Lisatener--thank you the validation! It doesn't come easy at all but it's so worth it when we love doing it. My experience is turning out to be similar to yours--started slow, gets better all the time as I hone in on 'good' clients.
msms--at first I wrote regularly for three sites nd sporadicallly at others and didn't make much at all. To make $200 per week all you really have to do is bid for a win a project each week that pays $200, or four that pay $50, or any other combo. It may take a long time to learn the best way to achieve this for you personally. You just have to keep at it. As for the earning potential of various sites--I think Elance is highest, Guru.com is next, then Helium.com--but Hubpages is my favorite hands down, and I do see my Adsense revenue steadily increasing here.
Informative hub. I am new here and information such as yours is very helpful. I wasn't aware there were sites like this online to write for. I did an extensive search and found several. Your information explains in great detail how to begin a journey into the world of writing, while making some bucks doing it.
Thank you so much for all the work you put into writing this article and for giving tips and plain advice, with no trimmings! I have been stydying self-publishing quite a bit, so hope to be able to share as clearly as you have what I have learnt so far... Thanks again!
Very good!
good info
Good information and great ideas!! Sooo glad I found it!! I love to write and hope to get to the same place you're at and then--well, beyond!! Really want to try writing a book!
Very very helpful and well written hub. Thank You for the advice.
Very good hub.
It always comes down to hard work and persistence
This is great. I'm definitely going to visit the websites you suggested. Thanks!
Nice. OMG! John Grisham self-published!
A GREAT HUB. i AM DEFFINITLY GOING VISIT THE WEB SITE YOU SUGGESTED THANX
Great advice for the budding writers.
Your article is most generous. Thank you. You mke your own luck. Nice job.
Great hub! Lots of information for us writers on how to do well at what we love doing.Wonderful style you have and I'll be checking out those sites for more information- Thank-you!
Great tips. I would love to wrok solely online, but insurance is a problem as is paying taxes off of what you earn.
Great hub. It is especially good advice for me since I already have self published a book, and I love to write. Unfortunately, my day job (Chrysler) take up so much of my time I can hardly find time to write. But I will look into it more. Thank you for sharing this with us.
Excellent work and advice here. You are more aware than many who have been at this longer. I know the $10/hr jobs in MI (friends) == may you be able to quit your job
This is a great article for those of us that have been using our talent offline. I will try to apply your information and hope to get better result. Thanks! Keep it up!
This is the best and honest opinion about writtiing and making money so far.
Thank you so much for such a rich hub. I'm on it!
tDMg
LdsNana-AskMormon
Thanks hubbers for your views and ideas, an interesting way to enrich a person. What a great idea! I love nature and the outdoors, and would like to share my experiences through writing.This is a good idea to start sharing my experiences. Wow! and what way to make money.
Very impressive, well done article. i enjoyed the list of self-published, great authors! It WAS a stigma to publish yourself in years past. I spent too much time and money sending manuscripts off to irritating publishers and agents.
I just want to write. I don't want to do the marketing...but, if I can publish those novels sitting on my shelf without an agent or trying to get the attention of some snooty publisher half-way across the country, I'm thinking this might be an OK idea! Also, I set out to write my last book with the idea that I would self-publish because it was not fiction. I still intend to do just that, without a publisher or agent.
I've been hearing some serious whining from recognized writers lately because they have little respect for on-line writers. They consider the work we do as "unsubstantianted, not well researched work." Of course they're whining! The tables have been turned a bit...seen what crap is on the best seller lists lately? The writers who have the name don't even write anymore; a team writes for them! Sorry if the rest of us are tired of playing the game..I want to write and I want someone to read my work. Some over-worked publisher's assistant can't accomplish what we can in a day, on line.
Again, really good piece! Thanks for the tips
I liked your candid responses to the questions asked, it gave us an uncommon glimpse into what it is really like to earn from writing online. I'm going to look into all 3 of your recomended sites. I have only heard good things about elance. I'm glad it wasn't another internet marketing aricle.
Great Advice! I'm sure this article is going to prove very useful to me. Thank you!
Thanks everyone! I'm so happy this was helpful--I kind of wrote it in a snit, so it's cool to see it was useful anyway.
Madison--I know what you mean about writers and the new stigma of writing online. I never fit into 'serious writer' communities because like you, I just want to write and be read, I don't really care if I impress anyone. So much of literary publishing is glorified vanity publishing, and then these same people turn around and get snotty about anyone who doesn't go through the same channels. To them I say, hey, get over yourself! Some of the best writers ever--including Shakespeare--got no respect in their time and especially not from their peers. So bring on the stigma! And best of luck on your soon-to-be self-published novels!
Thanks, PG!
I'm with you on all of your comments! I heard a Wall Street Journal writer just the other day on CNBC complaining that on line writers "write for free," and that it is hard to compete as a "professional Journalist." True, there is a lot of crap on the web, and one needs to NOT believe everything one reads on line, for sure. However, there are some excellent writers on the web. The quality varies from channel to channel, day to day, but in this evolving media, there is REAL talent.
As for the Journal guy, I do hope he's polishing up his resume. I think there may be a day when newspapers will go the way of the dinosaur. I doubt books will see their demise because so many of us still love the feel, look and smell of books and old book-shops! (I could get lost all day in a vintage bookstore!)
Anyway, great article, keep on keepin' on, great job!
Wow, pgrundy! This hub really caught the attention of appreciative readers! Great tips you have give us!
Hey pgrundy, Very motivational hub. Thanx, C.S.Alexis
I AM VERY INTERESTED IN WRITING AND I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHAT YOU HAVE TO OFFER ME ONLINE
ALMANAC1
I had to smile at your use of WYSIWYG. The phrase that represents, What You See Is What You Get, was first penned by Phil Hahn for Laugh-In, the show for which he won an Emmy award. Phil retired to Coos Bay, Oregon, where I met him attending my church, and he is now a member of my dedicated, hard-working writer's group, and my very good friend. We frequently tease that he should be getting royalties on the phrase.
Thanks for this great hub - have favourited you!
interesting info, ill have to look into it $500 ontop of your actual wage is pretty good :D
Thanks, great hub!
Glad you used other tips than just Adsense writing. I mean make some REAL money with your work writing about your own products and services, and your affiliate products and services, oh yeah!
Great advice! Thanks.
Thanks for the great hub!!!
I really enjoyed your hub. I write a lot. I have my own website and write at least two articles a week. I am currently working on my second book.
I have also had two poems published. However I have not gone into the avenues that you have. They are very interesting! You have done well for yourself.
Writing, I believe is something that you feel. I can pick up an article or see a headline and the juices start to flow. I am looking for facts and figures. Getting data and writing away.
May your head always be filled with words!
Extra ordinary. So many people benifitted. Long list of comments. I voted it up.
can you advice me where should I write seeing at my hubpages?
Waiting for your advice. Seriously!
Thanx,
Jyoti kothari
hubpages.com/author/jyoti+kothari/hot
Honest and direct. How refreshing! Thank you for all the good tips. I am going to tag this page.
A professionally-written hub by a professional! And so nice to read real content not about: tatoos, MLM, How to make 100 gazillion dollars through Adsense, or pseudo-sex!
Good advice.
:-)
thank you everybody! I continue to be amazed at this hub--it's funny in a way that this turned out to be helpful, but I'm glad it did. And it's so great to hear from other writers. Thanks!
Great article. Sounds like you've really checked out the Internet writing scene. There are some great sites to sell your writing to out there but you really have to be careful not to sell your hard work for peanuts. Will be interested in reading more of your hubs!
Thanks dsletten!
It's so true--there are sites that think nothing of advertising for an 'experienced writer' and want to pay $3 or $4 an hour, and want to know how many articles you can pump out in an hour. Incredible. But I guess in some countries this is good money, so I can't be too snotty about it. If $3 bought my groceries I'd do it myself. We need a global union.
I really thank you for this article. I know I am a writer and I know it, I am just an elementary online student. Thanks for sharing this information with us. There are a lot of things I am, and persistent is one of them. It gives me hope to think that one day that annoying persistence might pay off. (Don't even talk to my sweet husband about my persistence.....)
:0)
Thanks again ~
Interesting article. You made some very important points for anybody who wants to be successful as a writer. You said "if you don't love to write, I mean LOVE to write as in eat, breath, sleep, dream about it, don't try to earn money as a writer. It's not easy money, but if you keep at it, it can be good money." What that means to me is if our driving force is the love of money rather than the love of benefiting others through our writing we are bound to fail. Great Job!
These are superb suggestions.
There is a big difference between Get Rich and Get Rich Quick. You can get rich, but, surprise surprise, it takes work.
fantastic piece of realistic truth and honest tips in a mumbo jumbo world of writing. keep the good work going
Great ideas. Much continued success to you.
Thank you so much for creating this hub it was informative and well written. I have completed most of the objectives in your hub but have a few more to go before I will be even close to getting paid enough to cut down to part time at my day job! Thank you again! You have given me hope!
i am just wondering , i just keep a look at comments for every hub, ohhhh
for me its a real shock that this hub got so many comments that i cant complete
thank god , i go the reason for comments, its fantastic thanks for the great advice
My dear friend you have provided very useful and suberb information in this hub. I think your tips are genuine and interesting. I will definitely follow your steps and will try to start earning money writing reviews. Right now, I am writing articles for several web portals but the research and writing takes a lot of time and money according to that is less. You have helped me and changed my mind. Thanks for the effort. Thumbs up to you and you are in my favorities.
Great info and hub! Along with everyone else...thanks for sharing!
THANKS FOR ALL THE VALUABLE INFO! YOU REALLY LAID IT DOWN
Awesome hub. You've nailed everything I could think of, including the most important - hard work.
Do you have any idea how far I had to scroll to say excellent hub?
Ditto on the scroll, lol. Perfect advice! To the point with no punches pulled.
very very useful tips.so much of response.realy it diserves.my hearty wishes for you.definitely i will follow your advices. thank you very much for your guidance.
If I decided that I wanted to be a writer I would certainly follow your advice but what interested me the most was that you seem to be the kind of writer that I like to hire.
I have hired writers in the past that advertised extremely low rates and They almost always cost me more in time to watch them,tell them what to do and correct their errors than if I had done the writing myself. I did not want spammy junk.
Today, my writers write what I need without any supervision at a reasonable price. The writers do need to like what they are writing about to do a good job and not be bored.
Good job done !
great hub 100%
Thanks for the wonderful article pgrundy! i am very new at this and i am having difficulties in determining whether a writing job i see on the net is fraudulent or not. i also like the advice that you gave on becoming a better self-sufficient freelance writer. good luck!
Those are some great tips for writing online. I've done a few of those but some are ideas I never thought of!
i really enjoyed reading this article and i learned more about writing too. i recently started writing online so i'm still learning how things work here. =)
Enjoyed it....Indeed, I believe that many people don't (or are not able to) appreciate good writing. It is like great acting. A great actor makes acting look easy. They can make it look so natural that one may think that acting is easy. The ones that can do that are great actors---great artists indeed. So it is with writing. A talented writer can write in a way that can seem effortless and yet effective. This will lead many to think that they too can write. Writing is a craft (like acting) that takes time to develop and perfect. There really aren't that many great writers when you consider how many writers there are. thanks again....
A very real approach that touches a lot of the truth of online writing. Many will benefit from this.
great advice
Thanks for a Hub that is honest about how much real work is involved in making money.
Thanks for the GREAT advice--this is an excellent hub!!!
Excellent hub indeed! Thanks for all the info :)
This was very inspirational and very helpful! Thanks you!
i really like the picture at the top... the one with the guy and his typewriter... holding a pencil and paper.
Excellent information! It´s hard to find honest people online really looking to make a living from writing.
I found thias interesting and inspiring and it is useful to have practical information on the payment sie and how to manage clients.
Awesome advice. Thank you!
Solid, simply Solid. I've never seen this type of generousity go unrewarded. The amount of work you put into this article illustrates how Pros do it...and why they make the big bucks:) You're a Class Act PGrundy. Thank you for being here!!
Very motivating from the people who really know about life as a writer. Excellent !
Thank you for the great advice and I will have to follow up on some of your tips seeing as I spend a lot of time writing for nothing or a real pittance whilst dreaming of one day making some decent money!
A very useful and inspiring article. Thankyou very much pgrundy. You have a new fan.
This is is exactly what we do with our website http://www.movingcompanies.co.il
Thumbs up! Great hub!
Awesome - you have a great viewpoint and shared valuable and insightful information. Thanks!
Darn it! I thought you'd found the magic formula for instant riches! :)
Excellent job! Thx for sharing this helpful information.
This is great information! Thanks for putting in so much effort!
Strong, solid advice. I know it can be overwhelming for people looking to start writing online, but you have outlined some great steps. Thanks for the heads up on Weebly. I had never heard of that before. (I wish I had known before paying for a website.)
Computer glitch duplicated post. Oops.
Makes me want to pull some of the dribble from my own blogs. Excellent advice and keep up the writing tips.
I can only agree with what has already been said. This hub is likely to do even more for your career. Quality work, you deserve the praise you've earned. I too will chase down some of the links you mentioned. Thanks.
Thank you for the advice. I am new to the Hubs and found this very informative.
Cheers!
Thank You,Very Much! Great Work! Thanks,for all the tips,and information!
Who Dares Wins
Terrific information for a starter like me. Thanks.
Great hub, I can see big potential here. Thanks for your efforts. Appreciated.
great hub and I am sure you are the one who has a chance to make living online by writing. Seriously. I was reading your hubs before and I remember that you are currently looking for any stress-free job and I seriously believe that you can make (not probably thousands) but some additional income by writing. There are sites where small businesses and bloggers hire full and part time blog writers and web content writers. Looks like writing is fun for you, and everything that you write is great!
You have given a lot of good information and advice here. I have been writing website content for several websites for the past 2 1/2 years. I shave to admit I am not making $500 a week but I hope to someday be ablle to. I have written about many different topics and love searching and writing the articles. You are never too old to learn as the saying goes and that is so true. I have learned so much through the information I have researched and written about. I have also written and submitted articles to ConstantContant.com I have made as much as $100 for on a single article. The only problem I have with them is they only pay once a month and they also take 35% of your money made. They have a $50 minimum so if you do not make that in a month, it will be carried forward until you do make at least $50. The articles also have to be very well written.
You also have to be very careful. Just last week I was scammed or cheated you might say. I responded to an article on Craig's List for a content writer needed. The party needed 10 articles on the subject of real estate and how to make money investing in it. I wrote the articles and emailed them to the person who agreed to pay me through PayPal for the articles. They never contacted me again. I tried to contact them about my payment for the articles and the email bounced back to me. The email account had been closed. Needless to say I spent time writing articles which were never paid for. So I plan on selling them somewhere else.You just never know who you can trust and who you can't. Good luck to you all and I hope you find your niche in the writing world if that is what you are looking for. b
I just discovered HubPages and you, PGrundy. Your article really hit home. I'm bookmarking it (is that old-fashioned to bookmark?).
hi.. im new at this annd i want to earn some money for financial needs in order to graduate. and i will be very thankful if someone will teasch me or show me how. thank you so much. you will be a blessing to me
This was very well written, very informative and the article I have been looking for but didn't realize! LOL Thank you!
This is an awesone article! Loads of great advice that I will use and I didn't have to pay a $9.99 s&h fee to a pop up website to get a book filled with garbage. Seriously, thanks.
I'm going to have to jump on this bandwagen and also say GREAT HUB. I am going to be diving into posting for a writer on Elance within the next month or two because I currently have a full time job and not enough time to do proper research and write good articles for a new site I've put up.
As far as someone thinking they're going to get a writer for $3-$4 an hour.... well, you'll get what you pay for. Maybe some quick and dirty bum marketing articles. I'm sure there are some good writers in India and elsewhere that would be happy to get that kind of pay. And maybe there are some who have excellent English but they're probably charging more.
Anyway, I digress. Great hub and nice comments, too. I actually read every one. BTW, I have the book Letting Go of the Words. Good book, I'd recommend it to anyone writing for the web.
Cheryl
Excellent Hub with great advice on making money writing online and your description of the sites you write reviews for had me cracking up :-). I've had some success writing for Associated Content in the past but I haven't submitted anything to them in about a year. Your article is just the inspiration I need to write a few articles to test out AC's performance pay plan. Thanks!
Wow, thank you for all the positive feedback! I continue to be amazed at how many people have read this hub. Seriously, I just wrote it in hissy because I was annoyed by some MLM hub. Thank you so much for all your kind words.
bjjp--I know what you mean about Craig's List. I've never used it for the reason you mention--there's no intermediary, no way to know who these folks are, no way to even sort of insure you get paid. I get an email list of freelance job postings too and I've never answered any of them either, but maybe I shold--some of them, you do know who is asking for the work. Hang in there. Not everyone is a thief.
lavenderstreak--You deserve some kind of award for reading every single one of these comments! That alone shows you will go far!
wolfedp--I promise to answer your request with a hub on how to get organized--but I do want you to know that I'm one of the most disorganized persons I know. My work station at the bank and my writing station at home both look like I sleep in them, and I've been putting off talking to my accountant for weeks. But thank you for asking! I will do it.
I feel I have been bleesed by your knowledge. Thanks wise one! :)
Great article! Thanks.
Just wanted to say that I've been watching the comments on your hub since you published it, because it's a most informative and helpful hub, and because the comments are so interesting. I see that the score for this hub is 100. So, congrats! I think you set an example here. This is extremely good work.
This is a very encouraging hub for writers who may want to earn money from the internet. Great!
Great info. I didn't know about some of the resources above. It's true to be successful you have to be relentless. If you have a wishy washy attitude nothing good or useful gets accomplished.
Excellent. The hub projects lot of information for the writers. Thanks for providing useful information. This hub will motivate all the writers who want their presence in the online community.
Very thorough job. I'm impressed, and I'm bookmarking this page!
Jim Henry, aka crashcromwell
Thanks Everyone! Sally's Trove--I show a lower score than 100 but I don't really understand all that anyway. I used to spend a lot more time at Helium but I don't like their scoring nonsense and the stars and all that crap, it makes me nuts. It's so much friendlier here.
Crashcromwell--just read your bio and a few of your hubs, what an interesting life you've had! I applied to Phoenix/Axia and they said thanks but no thanks, but that's ok I guess. Every time I try to teach writing I get shot down so maybe it isn't what I'm supposed to be doing. Tried to teach writing at the university after grad school years ago, and again, got shoved off into women's studies and taught film and philosophy in their department instead. Even the head of the WS department went to bat for me for teaching freshman comp, but they had a new head of the composition department back then who was all about the latest method and just wouldn't hire me. I felt so bad about it at the time, but once I got to teaching in WS, I realized I hated teaching anyway. Half the students would read none of the assignments and then ask if they could turn their papers in in pencil (why not crayon! watercolors! finger-paints!), and every semester some sweet soul would come up to me and say adoringly, "How can I be what you are? That's what I want, I want to do what you are doing!" And I'd think, you mean you want to work three jobs and still not be able to afford a car? Why would you want that? Why would anyone want that? Instead, I'd just tell them to go to grad school and specialize in a single disciple (not several) and be ruthless so they could earn a decent salary. I always felt like I was doing them no service, and I was so miserable there.
I guess things have a way of working out. I guess I'm more of a perennial student.
Thanks for the kind words everyone.
Excellent resource. Very helpful. Thanks for sharing you ideas and discoveries.
I was looking for you on elance, but nothing came up. Do you use another name?
Hi elliebiscuits,
My Helium profile and articles can be found at http://www.helium.com/users/344796
Thanks for asking!
Great post. I recently turned down a second job, inspiring me to get off my ass and get my writing career going. Will definately use the tools you gave, great advice!
This is very usefu.Thanks
Thank you for some very helpful information. It sounds like you know what you are talking about.
I thought I'll never get to the end of the comments. I'm so ready to retire too, and I'll keep this as a handy guide when I decide to start that path. I am now your grateful fan! Thanks for writing this hub.
As someone whom helps people get set up in a home business successfully, I will make it a priority for my new team members to read your post. Very truthful, straight to the point and is an excellent blueprint for success online. Well Done!
Great job with your continous writing. Care to visit my hubs.
Thanks for all the information on writing sites and making money as a freelancer. Currently my regular job pays net considerably more than the $400 or so you mentioned so I have to stick with that for a couple of more years at least which limits how much time I have to write, but I am bookmarking this for future reference as I get more time. Excellent hub.
Very nice writing style, informative and easy to understand. Also a fun read.
great advice. now if I was only a writer already. :)
Very Good Hub. and Great Advice.
Someone in his/her comment above said 'tips look genuine' or something like that. I second that.
Great Info! I came across a few of rec's and never heard of few. Checked them out and they look good....thanks
Pgrundy you've got another fan. I've always wanted to be a writer but never knew how to go about it. You've given me some powerful information and a renewed interest writing. Thanks for YOUR time.
2 thumbs up!
Good hub I would have to say you can start small like focus on the specialized sites like what u know and u can do? Something you know well like your cities and stuff around you . Than choose the best site for your you .
I can tell you what i do . I travel a lot so i write about traveling even without great traveling skills I get my hits - the idea is to choose the website designed for your content , I have choosen www.worldpolis.com it suits me well
Like hubpages dont give me much its more designed for news and genraql advice
Great Article! I know about Elance and Guru.com. Info you provided is correct.
I use MultilingualBookstore.com so that my books are published is several languages (2 right now, except for a short Pastry Making book that has already been translated into a dozen languages because they are making it into a kind of collection) and then they use Lulu for the printed versions. It works very fine for me.
Great Advice. I DiGG it!
Liked your opening - "it can't be done" This is a good look at what's involved for serious writing on the web.
Hey, man. I just joined the Hubpages. Very nice article. Thanks for the insight. I look forward to reading more from you. Enjoy mine when you can.
Excellent article and very informative for aspiring writers!
After 3 weeks of joining Hubpages, I finally found this Hub. Great. Thanks for sharing.
Its nice work and much useful.. i can write wel.. can u help by saying any sites r individuals ll pay me for writing..
Hi pgrundy,
Your hub encourages a newbie like me. Thanks a lot.
franciaonline
What a great hub page! This is a refreshing change from what is out there on the web in general. (Present company excluded).
Great Hub,
I went from being laid off from a job as a systems analyst making close to a 6 figure income to my current venue (working at a bank Uggghh!) for about what you are making. I enjoy writing but have been sticking to topics close to my heart. I will soon expand my horizon because of the limited success I'm experiencing. Thanks for the pep talk
hi higlick--I'm so sorry that happened to you. I hate my bank job, I hate it so much I can't find words to describe how much I hate it--I'd do the writing bit all the time instead if we didn't live in the kind of country where you can't have health insurance unless you are a wage slave. God it makes me mad.
All the best to you. Good luck!
well said.
Great hub! It's good to see another writing telling the truth about the trials and tribulations of writing online, and not promising very unrealistic goals. Thanks for helping clear the fog of deceit on Internet writing.
Thanks a lot.
excellent hub!
This is awesome!
Writing online articles is not a 'blue ocean' business anymore, but 'red ocean' already (too many competitors). There are many people now writing articles online to make money. We should be aware of this and start to make innovation of other way to make money online.
I don't say that we should stop writing; we can make lots of money from writing but it takes time. If you have a great idea, hire a web designer, and run your own website like this HubPages.
What do you think?
Well written hub and great opening...it made me laugh :-D I like your witty, humorous - yet informing writing style!
Excellent information and very well written. A bit of personality mixed with alot of information...kept me reading. It certainly is the most useful information I have found regarding online writing and, believe me, I have looked. Keep up the good work!
Excellent. Just my type of story too...lol. Wonderful work. I think you have a fan!
Ronald--I think you are right, it's very very competitive. But it's also the case that there are a lot of different buyers and a lot of different writers. I think if you write well you will be able to make money if you can find you niche and the right group pf buers, but you will work hard for the money. It's definitely not easy money by any means. Also, I think the internet in general is changing so fast it's very hard for anyone to keep up with it. The minute anyone comes up with a 'surefire way to make money online' it's already not a surefire way to make money,
Thank you everyone for you positive comments!
This is a great hubpost.. very informative.. thus far this is the best post I have seen. Thanks!
This one is STILL getting hits. Mind you it was also the first of yours I read. We all want to know how to make money writing on-line. But then you made me laugh in paragraph two and I've been a fan ever since.
Hi CJ! The admiration society is mutual!
Ironically, this hub gets more hits than all my others combined, even though (I think) it basically says yeah you can make money writing online if you work your ass off. You wouldn't think that was all that inspirational. I still take on paid projects but I am beginning to hate many of them. I just fired a major client because he caused me no end of grief running up fees at Elance and changing up the project constantly--I found myself writing for him day and night--do this, no do this, now do it on your head, now do it on your head backwards-- and I thought you know what? I hate this. So that was that. He got mad when I bowed out and stiffed me for all of last week. Bastard.
It's so much more fun writing here at HubPages isn't it? Really I don't want to work at all, I just want to do what I want to do. I'm two years old all over again.
FANTASTICALLY INFORMATIVE post!! Thank you so much for this =)
Its an excellent Post! I think for every good start there has to be some effort put in...it is important...Thanks for the information.
nice info thanks see yah
You've inspired me to go and reach for my stars. I know where to start now. Open a profile without my "relaxed-lounging-on-a-couch" cartoon avatar.
Thank you for your sound advice.
You've inspired me to go and reach for my stars. I know where to start now. Open a profile without my "relaxed-lounging-on-a-couch" cartoon avatar.
Thank you for your sound advice.
Fantastic hub, I`ve only really started to look at my writing as a way to make money. Thanks for the tips!
I like the fact that you are brutally honest with your writing. I jumped on hubpages, helium, printnpost, today.com, and 8,000 other sites about 2 weeks ago and so far I've amassed $28.06. I'm excited! My hat's off to you and what you've done so far and I hope to follow that up with my own success.
Thanks for this hub! The realism is refreshing. I've made 20 cents as a writer so far (a far cry from the $100 threshold for Google to actually mail the check :) ) Maybe someday they'll say "Oops there goes another ruber tree plant" about me.
A nice article. I have been looking into actually following my writing carreer again, thank you for taking the time to write about it.
Great advice thank you
Nice work. There are a multitiude of ways to earn an income online, you have found your niche. In truth nothing comes easy, in spite of our company name, everything good comes thru diligent study and taking daily action towards your objectives.
Great advice, more people should be realistic about there internet incomes.
Excellent, informative hub on how to make money writing. I'm a writer too and use many of the techniques listed here. The only difference with me is that I stopped using sites like guru to get work, but only because I don't need to (and I stopped doing that kind of writing work). It is an excellent place to start, though.
This is great! I been also into writing for more than 2 years now but most were paid-to-post and blog advertising. The best I made out of blog advertising is around $150.00 in month. The projects I get for that depends on my blogs ranking. Nice for giving tips about online writing.
I'm glad to see that someone is spreading the facts, not just a bunch of those internet scams promoting themselves. I especially agree with and commend you for your pointing out the fact that a writer should write as a wholistic and enjoyable experience, free from expectations of monetary gain. Like you also said, however, a determined writer can make it in the world with a lot of perseverance and a careful eye for new opportunities. I am fairly new to the writing world but I have searched vigorously for any opportunity I can get for recognition and remuneration. Therefore I greatly appreciate your advice and your ability to inform other people in a concerted manner.
Great info! Craigslist under employment and writing could be another source for writing jobs.
Great advice! Very
Great advice! Very informative
Great advice! Very informative and detailed!
Hello there! This is a wonderful hub, and thanks for writing it :D
You certainly wrote a great hub for freelancers, and I want to comment on the Self publishing advice. Over 10 years ago, I left the print book,agent and publisher route to form a new way--Independent publishing of how to write books, and how to market books and businesses. My advice to those who want to self publish is
1. Write a short book first-gets finished and makes money in not 5 minutes, but a few months if you market it. ( 30-100 pp)
2. Bypass print books and write an edocument (means that the ebook is printable and downloadable)
3. Write a book your audience wants and needs.
4. Post a short sales message about your book on a "one page" site
5. Write articles and submit originals to hubpages and ezinearticles.com
6. Record the increased traffic and sales!
6. Take that long-needed vacation.
http://www.bookcoaching.com
Great tips. I have not used Elance as of yet, but with the economy hitting a bump, I may just have to give Elance a try.
Another avenue you haven't mentioned, which really isn't to get paid but as a way to market your services for free, is article marketing. I write and distribute one article a week to several free content directories with the stipulation that they use the exact byline (err ad) I provide. It really helps increase my sales of e-books and only costs me a couple of minutes a day plus the half hour or so to write the article. Here's a free article on this: http://www.thedabblingmum.com/business/marketing/m
Also, the idea of self-publishing book is fantastic. I write and sell e-books and make great money doing it. There is always income coming in thanks to them--even when freelance writing gigs are dry and/or slow. Here's a free article on it:
Thank you everyone for posting your comments!
Dabbingmum and Judy, thank you for the helpful advice and the great links! much appreciated. I am especially interested in checking out your self-publishing advice. Can't wait!
I write for my city's newspaper and a couple of other music websites, you offered some really good advice. I also take myself d@mn seriously and if someone's notr trying to pay me, i'm not trying to hear it! Some folks have had the nerve to offer me T-shirts and CD's, like I don't have enough already....please!!! If you can't even have some gas $$$ for me, then like Beyonce once sang, 'to the left, to the left!' appreciate you, keep writing!
You are right about writing for a niche content. It's exactly what Susan Peters is doing.
it'd great to hear a piece of advice that start with 'work hard' - so many people forget that earning money means putting in the hours.
These are all great ideas for making money online I just posted a new hub explaining how to make a ton of easy cash on the internet using linkbid script.
how inspiring for the rest of us, you really can make money by writing online, that is not a gimmick. Thanks for sharing the realistic represenation of it.
Hi again PGrundy,
You have started a blaze of interest here. I said over 10 years ago, I'm leaving traditional everything-publishing and marketing. And your piece was also savvy for the free lancers!
Thanks again,
It's a very good hub and useful for me.
Hi,
Great hub. I am a writer too but I am making very little money if compare with your earning.
I have a new hub, I hope you could visit to have a look. :)
Greetings... a quick $3.62 comment. You cannot turn $3.62 into $3,620 because one cannot earn income from Google adsense until they reach the $100 threshold.
That said, here's a possible source of seed income. Professional poker player Chris Ferguson turned $0 into $10,000 in nine months, starting with freeroll tournaments.
P.S. This method is not suitable for most people due to the time, skill, luck, moral, and patience factor of poker.
No hype, personal experience and honesty - thumbs up to you!
Bravo!
Hey, you couldn't be ANY more RIGHT, RIGHT, RIGHT! I agree 100% on your sentence: YOU CAN'T at least not EASILY.
Thumbs up!
Good article ...thank you for sharing ...will be back for more information ...thank you and good luck with your writing! My best to you and your success!
Fantastic Hub. I am going to look into all of your recommendations. Keep up the awesome work and quit your daytime job. :)
I can only join the chorus of praise! Thanks, truly meaningful and pragmatic. unformation
Thank you very much for your great hub, for good advice, good wishes and support. Thanks for sharing your experience with all of us.
Thank you for your time in preparing such an informative article. I'm interested in writing for humor publications is that viable? I already blog and have picked up a few fans but only a few. I would like to expand that. I write for the pleasure of it and am not sure deadlines are my cup of tea. Good luck with all your endeavors and please feel free to read my hub and offer critiques if you have the time.
HEY Thanks a lot.
I have daily 2-5 articles to write for our company, with your guidelines i now make my mind to write by my own. You had did good job.
This is a great Hub - especially for a newbie like me! I have seen many "how to write for money online" spots - but yours has the ring of truth (and experience). I will print this one up to refer back to.Having used my writing skills in my work with nonprofits for many years (program design, presentations, handouts, grant proposals, etc) I've had a rude awakening recently as I find myself without any "day job" at all for the first time. I am looking for regular work in earnest at this point since I can't delude myself that I'm going to pen the next bestseller anytime soon. But your down-to-earth tips about your experiences creating and maintaining a web presense - with the goal of building up to a steady income doing what you love - encourage me to keep working toward my similar objective and also will help me avoid the get-rich-quickscams you speak of.
Thanks again - I will return!
Marina
Thanks Marina! Good luck to you on the writing. It's hard to find yourself suddenly jobless--at least this is something that you can do while you are looking.
Great advice
Very nice hub inspiring and informative
Strait shooting and right to the point. You write with heart. Thanks for sharing this information with us here.
very helpful and reassuring.
thanks
Really good info. Thanks for sharing.
Pgrundy, oh boy, I would like to give you a great big smack right now! Here I was wondering last night how and where I could find a site where I could create a simple website for our preschool minus the complication of html and codes and all..and wham! Today I read your hub and weebly is offered to me! THank you so much! It is what I need. You are my angel for today pg! All the best to your writing and thanks for sharing all these marvelous tips! :)
I just joined Hub Pages. How wonderful to find you right off...I can relate to what you are saying. Thanks, Marlene
Very interesting, Thanks for all of the info.
Wow -- I join everyone else in thanking you for the great information and for your no-nonsense approach. Thanks!
Thanks PG so much to absorb here, again thanks for sharing your information.
Well presented information, clear and concise. Thanks! JV
Excellent hub! Thank you very much for the advice.
Really good info! I'm definitely going to take some of your advice!
Two thumbs up!
WOW! Some real advice from someone's own experience. Great hub, and very helpful
Thanks for the advice and the inspiration!
Very exciting newd for me. Think it is a very valued Report.
Nice Article. But writing for own website can make money too.
wow!!! great hub you have! I'll try to take your advise and try to find out if it works! thank you again, you made a good job!
Great hub with good advice! While I am not a "writer", I can do it fairly well. I thought about what you said about writing on different sites a good idea i did not think of before. Don't think I am going to toss my hat into the freelance/ghostwriting business though. I am already a demanding boss to myself, I don't need anyone else doing it. Thanks for a great hub.
I just wanted to let you know that you have inspired me to keep on writing. It's a great hub! I have published a book and have another manuscritpt that i had laid aside. I'll get started again and keep on keeping on!
Good advice. My additional advice is to also aim for long term passive income. Instead of just writing for others try to build a network of websites (free and paid) with a topic that you like and has a commercial value. Time wise this will help you get more money per hour as well as offer more stable income than writing for others. If know a certain aspect of your topic and have a genuine interest in your subject search engines and visitors will love you. Even though you may not be a talented writer you can still earn their trust and of course, their money.
I absolutely love this hub, great insight from personal experience.You should make more hubs like these, Because i will read every single one of them! Do you have a blog? If not you should look into getting one.
Thanks for the tips. will check on Guru.com
Yeah thats crazy and cool! Are you crazy to be a spam writer?Its better to write a love letter to Miley Crush hehehe
Well keep learn something new and develop your skill in whatever you're doing so that must be a major key of your success
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Thank you for the advice. I'm sure this comment wont even be read, but that dosen't mean you don't diserve it. Nice work.
Great info. I do write for $$ online, and your info is great. I do it for clients, not just AdSense revenue. There are some great opportunities for "writing" for money online.
Pam, great info. I need to get really serious about my online writing. I am way too sensitive to criticism. I get ticked off when people reject my work based on two commas out of place. I know, perfection is everything, but when I look at some of what DOES get accepted, it makes me angry.
I'm trying to discipline myself as to how many hours per day I write, but right now, it's hard. Thinking that $4 an article from Associated Content sounds pretty good right now. It's a good old standby if you need money in a reasonable time, I guess.
Hi dafla, I know what you mean. I take work sometimes I don't want to take because it pays so poorly just because I'm able to get it, and then other times it goes better. I'm finally to the point where I rarely take it personally, but it isn't like it's easy getting there. I feel one way about the online stuff for money and another way about the stuff I write for love. If I can keep them separate, I'm fine. Good luck to you. And good luck all the rest of you too.
Thank you all for you comments!
hey this is grat information. i am sitting on a book and need it copy written thanks for the info
Great hub!Very informative with a sense of humor. I am trying to be a "writer" myself. I 'll put your advice in mind.
this is great!! I think am gonna put more effort into written. keep it up
Earning a living online by writing has become a trend now. Many internet fellows doing that. Thanks for the few writing sites source.
Great tips with incredible resource.
this is great!! I LOVE YOUR STYLE, WE OPEN A NEW WE SITE, SPECIAL TOYS EDUCATION, AND WE NEED A GOOD WRITER. WE THINK ITS GOOD EXERCICE AND FANTASTIC EXPERIENCE. COME TO WRITE FOR TOYSID.COM. THE PROJECT START AT 01/01/2009 MORE INFO @ TOYSID.COM.
Thanks P. Great hub! Great advice...
Nice work - A lot of really useful advice.
Excellent advice, I'm bombarded with mlm, make it rich quick on the internet, but now i know a lot more on how to achieve my aims. Thanks
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Excellent advice, I'm bombarded with mlm, make it rich quick on the internet, but now i know a lot more on how to achieve my aims. Thanks
www.top-bannana.com/spanish
Am I imagining it, or have you updated this Hub since you first wrote it? The advice is SO great. I've given up on trying to make a living online because I came to the same conclusion as you - that you can make a living but you have to love, love, love writing because you have to do a heck of a lot of it. I do enjoy writing but I don't enjoy working alone, so sitting in front of the laptop all day was driving me insane.
As I said, every word of your advice about writing online and freelance writing is spot on - but I hope you don't mind me saying, I don't agree with the self-publishing bit. I've seen your list of "self-published" books before but I've also seen other articles which say that if you research them, most of these books were not self-published in the way we know it, or that their success wasn't as a result of being self-published.
I don't know who is right, but I do know that I've spoken to mainstream publishers who say they are LESS likely to publish a book that's been self-published than an unpublished one - unless the writer can prove it has sold more than 5,000 copies. Actually I wrote a Hub about it.
How brilliant! You put a lot of useful information here that I can use. I'm also a writer and planning to put my skills online. Great tips and excellent job. Thumb's up. :)
I'm just starting out writing for the web, but I love writing in all forms. I do a lot of poetry, and have sold some of it in the past. Thanks for the informative hub, and I'll definitely be checking out the links you provided. Bookmarking it right now. :)
thank you, pgrundy! this is very interesting hub with a lot of information. Frankly speaking i just come across this place and after reading this hub i become to understand "What HubPages is Actually" and decide to stay here for a long time :D You have +1 new fan! :)
Hi everyone. Thank you for your thoughts and comments!
Marisa, thank you for your take on this. No, I haven't updated it since I first put the hub up, but I am getting closer to where you are--I'm kind of burnt out on writing for Elance at the moment, and I appreciate your take on self-publishing. I've never actually tried self-publishing, so I could way off base.
After awhile writing for money gets to be a job like any other, except, as you mention, you don't have coworkers which can drive some folks bats. I currently make about half my income writing, and the other half at my part-time bank job.
Thanks for all the feedback! Good luck to all of you!
Dear where is the URL of these usefull websites ??????????
terrific hub and terrific advice - thanks
wow great stuff! Of course right now I am feeling a little bitter cause you get 65$ for a 20 minute job and I get 65 for one that takes hours. Oh well...I guess it is like you stated, first do it for chump change, build it and then ask for more. I really hope a certain someone doesn't read this cause she might take it personally. (No worries yo!!! I still love ya) -sorry, tange.
Thanks for the great advise.
lol! Don't be bitter Sandra! I've gone six weeks without making a dime. It's up and down. Hang in there. You'll have good weeks too.
Thanks everybody. All the best to all of you.
Good hub. Thanks for being realistic.No pie- in- the- sky- hype here.;)
Great hub. THANK YOU for being honest and being so free with information. I enjoyed reading this, and I am picky! :>)
(Also from Michigan)
Nice Peace of information. GREATE HUB
You did an excellent job. Very good information you provided for all. Here you can get information on mortgage http://hubpages.com/hub/MortgageCalculator
Your findings are nice. I am so much impressed by your hub. Really nice one. I am also very interested in writing.
really good information. I'm very interested in writing too but I have bad English skill. :P
good share i found at hubpages. I'm so curious how can be a british guy who gives you a routine job.
You know, when I first started out writing online, I signed up with Associated Content, and thought it was ridiculous how little you made there. I didn't want to work with their system, where you spent an hour writing an article and another 10 hours promoting it to make any decent money. Now I use it to sell things that aren't selling elsewhere when I need money quickly, so if you work it right, it can be a big plus.
Nice job on this hub. Great advice and thanks for the book links. :D
Hi Pam. Excellent, as usual. I have been acustomed to hustling my butt for freelance writing gigs, but not on the internet, so thanks for all this great info. It's a little intimidating to me (but then, so was everything else I ever did.) I find myself in a position where I really need to take my writing to the next step business wise. I write from wake-up to bed time, so I don't have a problem with committing to it, but now write for two sites, hubpages included, that pay only Adsense money.
I hope you wont mind if I contact you sometime for advice if I get stuck somewhere. Thanks a lot for the hub. You rule, by the way!
P.S. You can add Leaves of Grass by Whitman to the list.
Thanks for your comments everyone.
Christophe, contact me anytime. I appreciate you sharing your struggles as a writer. It would be helpful to have some loose writiers league or something here--somewhere we could all go and share knowledge and tips. You probably know things I don't about how to hustle those word bucks and vice versa--plus we could offer each other moral support.
To tell you the truth, I am at the same place with my writing--it's time to take it to the next level. I have two books I want to write and I need to just write them. I also have been (very slowly) working on my own website so I can learn about ad revenue outside Google and driving traffic and all that happy horsecrap, ugh. But I think that's where the real money is--for the few who figure it out, and that might not be me.
If you have any thoughts regarding such an association shoot me an email. I know Madison Parker had expressed a similar interest, and I think Constant Walker and Shadesbreath would be involved too. Oh, and good luck! (And if you get famous, remember us little people!)
Thank you for this hub! It's worth reading! :)
elance.com I should try this website to make money
Dear Pgrundy,
Yours is the best, most generous article I've seen on this topic. I would like to be a part of a writer's group that comes out of this.
I used to publish regularly in print, then got hung up in the grind of trying to make a living in a rural area. I got excited about Hubpages only to find out that Google won't accept PO Box addresses (another challenge of country living, I have no mail delivery). I keep thinking there has got to be a better way, and then tonight I found your article. I hope to hear from you about that writer's group. Best, Trent
Wow, you have a LOT of comments! Well deserved too, this is a great hub indeed.
The only thing I would add is - invest in your own domain for your own site. Have your blog on that, as well as your portfolio and your work samples. All you need is to have Wordpress installed there, and then you own your site, rather than Wordpress.com or Blogger.com. It's under $10 a year for the domain name and hosting is fairly cheap these days too, at under $5 a month. Many hosts will install wordpress for you, and if not, just ask a geek somewhere and they will - it really is easy ;)
Thanks for the comments everyone.
Hike Guy, good luck on your writing! Maybe we could all start a writers group thread on the forums page here. I'd like that.
anne.moss--thanks for the good advice. Got my domain name, I'm just taking forever to get my website up on it. I'm going to check though and see if I can get someone to install Wordpress on it--that's a great idea. I never thought of that.
Great information. I'm looking to start earning money for my wrting too.
My family is from Portage too.
"Life is too short to waste it doing anything besides what you love." This is so true! That's why I quit a high-paying high-stress job in the big city, and down-sized to a smaller town. Now I'm going to college, earning a degree, and freelancing whenever possible.
Thanks for the great information, and even more for your personal reflections. Good advice, and good luck with your efforts!
- Mike
Thanks for the informative Hub. However, there's something I don't understand. Given a short 24 hour day, if you spend 8 to 10 hours a day writing and 4 hours on the job, that comes to 14 hours. Reduce that by an estimated 6 hours for sleep and your left with 8 hours. In that 8 hours remaining you have to deduct time for showering, dressing, commuting to work, shopping, household chores, social obligations, paperwork, etc. etc. That's all doable in 8 hours, but there's that missing time. The time you spend editing, researching, and marketing.
I write for the Web and butter bread as a full time freelance writer. My freebie is the new Hub I write as Political Girl. In the past, magazines have been my primary target market along with some copy writing. I find that big chunks of time go to research, polishing copy, and marketing. Do you consider these activities part of that 8 to 10 hours a day? If so, that answers my question. If not, where do you fit them in?
If my calculations are correct, you earn roughly $40/hour gross. Out of that must come writing associated expenses which I assume are small, but they still exist. You then have to take an additional 15% off for self employment tax. For many full time freelancers, there are also expenses relating to transportation needed for their interviews and other research and yes, that's even if they're writing for the Web. They also have to take out of their fees the cost of insurance and possibly state income taxes.
Oh how I would love to hire a marketing manager so I could spend 100% of my business time coming up with brilliant ideas, doing the researching, and writing polished prose. Unfortunately, anything I earned would be chewed up by my marketing manager, so I'm relegated to this task.
For those of you out there that think the writing business is going to be easy, a word to the wise: It isn't. If you want to pursue freelance writing as a career, do so, but with your eyes wide open. If you think you're going to produce wondrous literature then sip Mai Tais on the beaches of Hawaii while the money rolls in, you're wrong. That is, unless you're a celebrity who has a jump on the rest of us. If you are a celebrity, you can afford to hire writers to polish your prose then hire marketers to sell it.
In spite of it all, I'll just keep on as a freelance writer because, I, as you aptly put it because, can't not write.
Thank you for your thoughts Political Girl. It's been awhile since I wrote this, but basically, I work all the time, constantly--I'm almost never not working. I don't say this to garner sympathy, I'm just affirming your suspicions that yes, it's harder than I make it sound here, and I tried not to make it sound easy--but yeah, it's harder than that.
I've cut back a bit since I first wrote this hub. I write for money for someone who owns a blog and I have a few regular freelance clients. I'm learning about putting up a blog of my own and earning ad revenue, and I'm considering sending out more pieces for print publication now that I'm leaving my bank job.
This summer I went four weeks with not much in the way of writing income, then was deluged with projects in August. It's like that sometimes--too little or too much.
As you say, I do it because I can't NOT do it. As an 'easy' way to make extra cash, it's pretty labor intensive.
Thank you for your comments and all the best to you!
Not really impressed, nothing new but well presented.
Hi Pam,
Just thought I would comment that this is what convinced me to finally start writing online. I had your article saved for quite some time, the other day, I finally sat down to do some research and FINALLY joined. I put up three hubs so far, got some comments (that's encouraging), but am still learning about all this online writing and google adsense shit.
Anyway, great article you wrote here! It got me going.
Later,
Chops
Hey there, what a great Hub! I am COMPLETELY new to Internet writing (I've published humorous articles on paper and some short stories) and was a little surprised at the opportunities available for online writers. Is it REALLY possible to make a living writing online? Or are some stories just all hype? Anything that exceeds 700 a week qualifies as a full-time living in my opinion. Your Hub is probably the most helpful articles I've come across so far on the subject. Thanks a lot - I'm brand new to this type of writing but fired up already after reading this!! Many thanks, Kieran
That was really helpful. A dose of reality, but not a dream-crusher. Thanks for info.
-Vicki
I do humbly admit that I should be benefited.
Thank you to throw light on this domain that remained beyond my conception till today.
I am obliged.
Yes, I shall try to work hard and prepare myself fot the next.
Writng involves PASSION! Without PASSION onw writing, then you can't write well..
great article! I write a bunch of articls for Bright Hub, they pay $10 per article and have made some really good money. Anyone out there looking to write and earn a decent pay should check them out.
What a fantastic, informative article! I just started writing at Associated Content a few months ago, and have been exploring similar sites. I'm so glad I found Hubpages, and you! Thank you so much for these tips.
What a nice hub. I think I should start to make one as well.
After many tries with affiliates and other jobs, I've made no more that 8$... You are very right about all of this things. If you want to make money, you have to work hard. Great, great hub!
Do you have any suggestion on attract traffic to website? i am curious about this problem. Give me some good ideas, thanks in advance
Hi, Pgrundy:
I found your post helpful... I am a published writer with 3 books to my credit (I lived in Iowa City, and got a tip from a fellow writer I worked with--sometimes it is like that), but I've had a hard time knowing where to go for work on the internet. Yeah--there seems to be a lot of crap out there--people writing 20 articles for SEO for $5 and the like. And I agree with you--writing is about writing. I wouldn't have it any other way, and I'm sure I can do it, if I can just find the legitimate sources.
I think books are also where the money is--definitely was before my editor left w/o saying good-bye--I'm having a hard time adjusting as a (ahem), paid writer, after that.
Thanks everyone. Good luck to all of you.
Isoren, sorry about your editor! Hope the next one sticks around!
One of the best hubs around. Thank you....
One of the best hubs I have read. We have a few things in common. I too have a B.S. degree in Psychology, love to write and I am from Michigan (now living in Alabama) Please keep the great hubs coming. I look forward to reading more from you.
I wish I had good writing skills. Is it somthing that you can learn or maybe its just a given talent? IF anyone knows somthing about a good program on the issue, I would be very thankful. Thank you so much great great hub
Thanks for your good and nice advice...so sincered
Hi pj, THanks for the great, well-written and very practical hub. I've been writing for a while. Have selfpublished a book (Simplicity and Success: Creating the LIfe You Long For) that's sold 2500+ copies and brought me a lot of coaching work (and $'s). But I love to write, and want to write more, just for the love of it, and maybe pay the rent! Your hub will be very useful, as I try to shift my ratio from 70/30 coaching/writing to 30/70 coaching wriiting -- and eventually, I hope, to 100% writing. THank you!
Great Hub. Thanks for sharing this rich info!
What a great hub! awsome information. keep it up!
Great summary with some site recommendations that were new to me. Thanks!
p.s. I bailed from Michigan due to that economy! :)
I am fortunate that I have chanced to go through this hub. I shall try to get benefited. A good amount of info should definitely assist me and I have been badly in need of them. Thank you very much.
I love to write but it is always so hit and mis. I can write a 1000 or even 2000 words a day and then nothing for a week or more. I love this hub and would like to see more hubs on the consistency of writing.
Maybe that is one I should research and write myself
Great stuff! I'm glad I found this again. You got some really good advice and I agree mostly that you have to be thicked skinned. No matter how good, or bad in my case you are, you will have many critics. Writing can be a fun thing for anyone to do. We certainly all like to express ourselves. http://hubpages.com/hub/Creating-An--Article-Title
This was really great. The information you provided is wonderful. Thank you for time spent putting together this article.
Great article. Absolutely love it!
http://www.gamesofourlives.com
This is full of great advice, and I'm definitely going to keep it around and refer to it in the future. Thanks for all the great tips1
Love the article thanks very much! I will bookmark it and keep all these points in mind and set up some of the sites you provide! Keep up the good work.
Brian
Dear PGrundy, as i've learnt, power respects power, heart respects hearts, wise respects wisdom so i respect you, cause i love to help fellow being and love to write. Though i never wrote anything for living till my rendezvous with hubpages. Still its not my arsenal to earn my lively hood as i am a corporate trainer and enjoying the captive days with my teaching responsibilities. But I liked you because I liked your views, I liked your views because they are enlightening and they are generous. I read your personal sufferings and hope the love of friends and balm of time will subdue the bad experienses. Keep the good works going on.
A valuable, well written hub. Thanks
You definitely have given wonderful advise and I was not aware of CreateSpace until now and this I wish to thank you for. :)
Love this! An article I will refer back to time and time again! Thank you.
great article. please keep writing
Thanks for writing this!
I have read through this hub twice! Good advice for the new hubber.
Thanks for nice advice
I just read this hub again. What a lot of responses you have to this one and a high score but very well deserved! Seems everyone is looking to be successful as a writer. I am keeping at it and am getting a bit more than I did which is encouraging!
Hi Steve! Yes, this hub gets more hits than all my other hubs combined. I finally got my first Adsense payout here at HubPages--it only took 11 months! LOL! But I'm already halfway to the next one, so it's piling up faster. Lissie said that would happen, and it is. I'm glad it's going better for you too. It's not a good way to get rich fast, but for those of us who love to write, it's really satisfying to actually make a few bucks doing it!
Wow. this was the first Hub that I read when I came to this sight and I thought that it was great and exceptionally well writen. I see that you are the type of individual that I need to network with and stay in contact with at as well. I would like for you to check out my first hub entitled "Your mind is not your brain" and tell me what you think about it.
Great advice. Thank you for sharing!
Hi pg, I am also new to Hub Pages and just found your hub. I found it very informative and to the point. I will check out some of the sites you referred us to as well. I am a writer but just starting out so I am looking for more opportunities to write and get myself out there into the writing world. Appreciate you sharing with us and I'll keep track of your other hubs here as well.
Thanks again - Robyn
Thanks Pamely for sharing. This is great information.
Excellent Hub. Thanks for the Info!
Thanks for the info! Great Article!
I hate it when I think I know everything and someone educates me. Great hub. Thank you!
This hub is a great service, Peg. Thank you so much for taking the time to write it down and share it with us. It's the kind of information we all go looking for, but rarely find.I will definitely be looking forward to more from you.Have a wonderful day.
That was the best Hub I believe I have read on HubPages. Much of your information here could be packaged and sold in a book. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
Thanks for the excellent advice, straight and without self interest it is appreciated. I am just getting off the ground but your advice and help is of immense value.
Great hub; you r right it is possible to earn money online as a writer; check out my lens on this subject
http://www.squidoo.com/freelancewritingoninternet
Great article
pgrundy! It shows that you have done your homework. I appreciate how you presented the information in this article.
marketingmergenow
you've earned my rare personal bookmark for a super written and well researched hub. Thanks!
Nice Hub. I write on Elance as well as private freelance jobs (mostly sent to me from happy customers), and cleared nearly $20K since May.
Quit the day job, and things keep getting better and better. As a dedicated work at home mom, this is my best job yet!
Helium is absolutely fantastic, too - I started a writer's collab there to encourage other would be freelancers.
Great suggestions! I especially like: Decide What You Want to Write and What Your Boundries Are
All too often, we take on any assignment because of the pay and later regret the choices we've made. It's better to do what you love because then the work will shine.
Once again I want to say thanks. I read this blog twice and then printed it out. Good stuff and I plan to put it to use. Thank you.
Thanks. I just found your article. Lots of good advice and info. I especially appreciated the part on self -publishing. thanks.
thanks for the information
Excellent hub chock full of valuable suggestions to make the writing career go a bit more smoothly. Having articles at Associated Content, gather and Trion, and now muy first hub today here, I see keeping up and persevering will be well worth it. Millions I want to make, no but a decent income, sure and you have offered ideas that give amazing results.
Again, thank you and pleasure to make your acquaintance.
Thanks for this informative article... Lots of hubbers would really appreciate it.. Specially me..
That was good, and I've given it a well earned bookmark.
Thank you Pam, a very informative article. I know there is a lot of money to be made writing online, and through affiliate marketing. However, I think perhaps the difficulty is that people write as a series of one-off articles on things of interest and not as part of a marketing plan.
If you want to make money writing, your writing has to market focussed. The classic example is the business to business information marketing that dan kennedy does. If you have not come across DK I suggest you buy one of his cheapest books from the net, and sign up at his website for the three months free trial of his audio CDs. Be sure to sign off before he starts billing though, he does not come cheap. However as far as the information business goes, (which is basically what article writers are running) his marketing ideas are a great source of information.
I am just of to Satori's hub's, having read her comments that she posted 7 months ago.
I'm new to hub pages and have recently published 2 hubs. I want to get into it alot more and your article is great--gives alot of good information.
Thank you for this informative and realistic hub. After many years of doing other work and saving my writing for when I had time (which was usually never!) I am finally at the point in my life where I am actually going to give it a go and see what happens. I love to write and I thank you for all the great ideas!
Great hub, it's going into My Favorites!
I do that for a living- not the crazy affiliate ebook thing, but I do Web writing full time. It's tough and it's scary sometimes when you're paid late or a project falls through, but I wouldn't do anything else.
A really good article. I think newbies should definitely read. I like when you say flat out it is not very likely that we can make 5000.00 a month or week. No one ever says that.
Good advice, for the most part, but I'm curious as to what motivated you to offer this information for free?
Hi Jim,
I wrote this quite awhile ago in response to yet another HubPages article from some MLM zombie explaining how to make $1000s in passive income blogging if only you buy his marketing class. It just gets under my skin, all that get rich quick crap.
I'm not giving anything away here. All this info is on the web for free if you look for it--it's no big secret, and as I point out, you have to work your butt off to actually make any money from it. Thanks for asking and good luck to you.
Best HUB on all of hubpages. Got me started thank you. I recieved a well of information. Keep on keepin' on. Yeah, girls from Michigan ROCK!
Hi P, Thanks, that's really useful information. How long did it take you to write this articel?
Hi Shaun,
Between half an hour and 45 minutes. I can't remember exactly. Thanks for the comment.
Great Hub. Thanks for sharing :)
Wow, this hub really got alot of hits PG, I liked the hub too, it is nice how you write in such a conversational manner, I am still trying to get the hang of doing that, I seem to be too technical in my articles.
I started with hubpages 13 months ago and it actually started by me wanting to have some sample writing for the freelance bidding sites, and what ended up happening is that I now prefer to write on hubpages, especially when I find interesting topics to do research on.
At first I wrote on things that were universally popular and now I am writing more tutorial type hubs, I enjoy it and would do it even if I did not get paid for it. Its funny just like you mentioned about adsense, when I first started using adsense I made just a few cents at a time, now I am making hundreds of dollars a month and its cool to get the checks from Google, because I call it my FREE money, but it really is not free because I did have to do a lot of writing to get it... so I guess I should call it my FUN money!...
I am glad you explained about the affiliate sites, because I had heard people were making 6 figure incomes from having multiple niche sites, I always wondered if this was really true....
I have to admit I am somewhat of a nerd because I read through all your comments, it is always interesting to me to read what others say on a popular hub. and by the way PGrundy, I think its great you are able to leave your day job at the bank.
Your inspirational to us freelance writers..(smile)
Hi Research Analyst! The same thing happened to me at Hub Pages! At first I just wanted to build up samples online so I could get freelance work, but lately I've been getting tired of freelancing and much prefer to write here at Hub Pages because I can write what I love. I'm not making hundreds a month from Adsense though. It is building up quicker though. The first payment took about 11 months. It looks to me like I should get another one in January or February--so that's 11 months for the first payment, two or three for the second, maybe after that they weill get to be once a month. Thanks for the encouragement and best of luck to you!
I am very happy because this website has given me the opportunity to display my talent in article writing. we need more of this website on yahoo. I am indeed grateful to be part of this
Dear pgrundy,
What a job ! This article helped me a lot otherwise I was swimmimg to reach nowhere.
Thanks
Research Analyst - pgrundy is a good writer isn't she? I feel awful because I tend to follow her around reading whatever she says - I'm scared I'll show up in a report somewhere like a stalker... but honestly I'm not! :-)
Great information! Brief, complete and useful! Thanks a lot for this!
Very good overview. There are no 'get rich quick' solutions for making money by writing. You have to be a good writer and you need to write a lot if you want to make money. I write part-time and make $5,000 per year doing so. The site I like the most is Helium (www.helium.com). There are lots of writing sites on the web. I've tried several and find that Helium works for me.
Helpful info. Thanks for the candid info and comments.
This is very helpful information for a person like me who wants to make money writing. Thank you very much. I am going to visit all the sites listed in this hub.
Thank you for presenting such a realistic perspective about making money writing online. Your passion for writing definitely shines through and adds sincerity and credibility to the information you provide.
I could really relate to your experience with review sites. Too often they are "hyped-to- the-nines-garbage." Sadly, many new people coming online are taught this technique to promote affiliate products.
True enough, many of us promote products and services to generate and supplement our income. However, I would truly like to read less hype and more authentic reviews that give both pro and con information - And, not simply the content provided by the product owner.
I recently started a review blog because I wanted to provide useful information in this niche area. It does take longer to write, but I am much prouder of the end result.
Your spirit of sincere sharing was extrememly refreshing to read. Kudos to you!
Thanks Christine! Good luck to you on your new site too! (o:
Wow! I really like this hub. You gave me a lot to think about. I am just getting started with Hubpages, so it takes me awhile to think about what I am going to write about and make sense. As far as O'Desk, I share the same feelings as you do. This site is time consuming, but I guess it is worth it for some people. I have not had the time to figure O'desk out yet. Your hub gave me a lot of good tips! Please keep on writing more hubs that are business/entrepreneur related, because this helps me out a whole lot!
This is great info. Thank you! I am going to join Helium (I have the blog already, write for AC and here at HubPages, and once I have a decent amount of articles I'll try elance and other Frelelance sites) You also have me thinking about self publishing a novel I wrote... Again, thanks. This is just the type of info that we starting writers need!
Fantastic straightforward advice, waaaaaaay better than reading a book about freelancing - seriously! Many thanks. One question: I am a conservative, do you think that a blog that spouts right wing philosophy have as much impact on the author's overall success as those with more popular leftist views? I see a definite liberal leaning in your writings here at Hub, but how does that affect your money making potential with the freelance sites you mentioned? Thanks again, this is the most informative article/advice I have ever seen on freelancing on the web.
Hi Anna--Good luck with your writing. I'm glad you found this useful.
A;exander--In answer to your question, my political views don't seem to have any impact on my earnings--although since I can't compare them to the earnings I'd have if I leaned to the right it's hard to say. I think the main thing is to be who you are and write your best. People can always tell if you are not sincere so there's no point in trying to be someone else. Good luck!
It a great article, I really find it useful, I will like to be your friend, please dont discriminate me because am black, I promise you, you could learn from me as well, I will make some reseach soonest and i will come out with a hub, like yours, About the union you were taking about I think it a great Idea, how do you think we can go about it?
It a great article, I really find it useful, I will like to be your friend, please dont discriminate me because am black, I promise you, you could learn from me as well, I will make some reseach soonest and i will come out with a hub, like yours, About the union you were taking about I think it a great Idea, how do you think we can go about it? http://marry2her.blogspot.com is a nice blog I wrote about nice things for any family to live happily.
Hi isaac--If you want to unionize your workplace, all you really have to do is Google the tyoe of work you do with the word 'unions' and then contact that union. They will gladly contact you about how to get started organizing. It can be dangerous though so you'll want to make sure you have worker support before plunging in headfirst. Good luck!
I didn't know you could publish your own work. My daughter loves to write poetry, and is actually really good at it. I am going to check this out for her. Thanks again!
great advice - you are definately a natural when it comes to writing and conveying your point easily.
Great advice on How To Make Money WRITING Online. Cutting through all of the chit-chatting and creating quality content helps many people. Keep doing what you are doing.
WOW, this is a great hub! Great advice and a very inspiring written piece as well! If someone is not a writer I think this may be able to inspire them to be a writer. Great job and keep it up!
PG, after all of these great comments regarding your fabulous Hub, what more could one possibly say?! I've always loved writing. I worked almost 40 years in project management, land development and, finally, marketing VP for a regional IT services company. Now I'm semi-retired and trying to supplement my meager savings. Writing has always been a passion. I joined Hubpages just a few days ago and spun off 4 Hubs (one used an article I authored a few years back while I was doing some consulting). I probably don't have the "quality" factor to make any money but, after reading your Hub, I have some tools to help me get started. Thanks again!
Your Hub is sensational and you provide very good information. If you want to recommend one more place to publish books, Blurb is a good one. You can 1) download the software for free, 2) work on your book and 3) send your book for publishing. If you want, they sell you book to. They don't pay you for writing but is a good way to publish.
I hope this comment doesn't count as promotion. If it's so, I'm very sorry!!
Thank you!
Very good read, I can now walk away with a thing or two from your hub...
What a great hub! I think i have to print it out. It's highly informative.
Great hub, I like to read it and it's very informatives.
Congratulations on writing such an enduring hub! It's something I've tried for and not quite achieved (though I've got a couple of lenses doing this over at Squidoo). You really presented some great info and advice. I wish you all the success in the world.
Thank you for a well written and informative article. I'm afraid I'm going to have to sign up for your fan club now. :)
Thankyou so much for all this advice! Just what I am looking for. Extremely well writen too. Thanks again
great article....
Well done. This is a good overview and I appreciate it immensely. I've taken another direction with it by creating an immersive website at http://www.sitesell.com, which is essentially giving the first book away free to online readers. But it'll still get compiled and be available as a downloadable eBook in whole when it's done, and subsequent ones I do on oil pastels will be marketed through the site. I plan on a string of these with different art mediums and then self publish or pro-publish related art instruction books -- if my sites have high traffic, the books will get more interest.
I think of self publishing as a back-door submission really, because pro publishers always contact and give contracts to anyone whose self pubbed book takes off past a certain number of sales -- proof it'll keep on selling if they promote it at their level and that the author can market it.
I'm sending out my fiction to pro publishers this year but not holding my breath... but the cover letter may well mention my website's traffic stats as that could make the difference between whether it gets chosen over an equally good book where the author hasn't got a readership already. Of course if I get a nibble I'll immediately put up a new site on the book's backstory topics.
That was awesome, and you truly saved the very best advice for last: "Life is too short to waste it doing anything besides what you love".
HiRobert & renovationist--Thank you for your comments.
Robert, good luck on that site! That's a great idea.
Great advice and lots of good information.
That's what is so great about this Hub ~ you are HELPING others. Thank you. I really hope somehow, my writings will enrich others. I'm pouring out a lot of love to all the writers doing the same and will share the only advice I know that I give myself everyday: Don't write for the money; write from your heart and the prosperity will follow, whether monitary or simply by touching peoples' lives around you! God bless!
Thank you so much for this advice! I have dreamed of being a writer but ended up getting a technical degree so left off the creative for the business. Now I only muse, journal, and write letters but I want to write and you've motivated me to keep the dream alive - thanks!
great hub. thank for sharing........
Wonderful article! Very informative, insightful and educational. I appreciate the guidance and direction offered. Since I am new to blogging {less than two months}, I am totally unaware of the 'writing for money' avenues that are available. I will certainly be investigating the possibility. Again, thanks and best to ya.
Cosmically,
Paula Andrea
i want to know in which way they are earning....
Great Hub! thanks. Also Wow! on the numbers of comment here!
Great Hub! I do a lot of writing and find that once you get rolling it gets easier. Stay positive!
Thank you for the information.
Thanks for the tips! That was really informative :)
OUTSTANDING how-to article. I have joined recently and it seems like a bore doing the adsense things when all I want to do is write. I'm a journalist, not a spammer. That adsense stuff made no real sense to me and just seemed like more of a distraction from the writing and posting my stuff to get paid for. And Associated Content took too long and paid sooooo little. What is that about?!Your article is quite informative!! Thank you.
This was so helpful to me. From one Michigan writer another, thank you.
You have so many comments saying exactly what I'm going to say. This was wonderfully helpful. A co-author I'm working with on a book (he's actually an amazing fine art photographer who's the graphic end of the project) suggested I start writing online as well as current projects. So I started at Hubpages. You've now given me much to expand on and I'm grateful. Thanks again.
'Rani
I thank you for the information and all of the comments here. I am wonderinf about my dayu job and my online presence. I am a new blogger at google and sometimes vent about sensitive subjects and fear somehow working in a financial institution as yourslef the wrong people reading my blogvents. DO you have any anxiety over the anonymity risks?
very good
Thanks for sharing the info.
coming out soon.... "win your spouse heart".. Watch out
This is a good article. there are so many sites to write for as well as so many freelance opportunities, but I believe long term you need your own site and to self publish. Thanks for the good Hub.
Very helpful and well written. Thanks for the great article.
Great advice!
I've been a published writer for about 20 years -- both print and Internet publishing. I always considered myself too much a "serious writer" for marketing. (I thought that marketing copy was for folks who couldn't make it in journalism.)
Since graduating from journalism school, I've immersed myself in one nerdy topic after another. Most of these gigs started with a strong element of performance art that, once internalized, turned into something greater in the Socratic sense.
Some topics I've covered, such as telecommunications and software engineering didn't come naturally to me at all. But in writing about them, I learned to be a much better listener. I also discovered an aptitude for math and science I never knew I had.
Though my mind wanters when I try to articulate what I got out of writing about legislative policy ... in dealing with legislators and staff, I did learn that the "good guys" clearly don't run in packs, and that political parties are not parties at all.
This past year spent writing marketing copy and ghostwriting blogs and articles for a "self actualized" real estate guru have put me in touch with my inner salesperson. Though sometimes I cringe at my own writing and, especially on those days when I'm generating more than 3,000 words per day in the character voice of a client I've never met, I feel as though I am discovering perhaps the most obscure aspects of my personality and developing them into something that will make me more fit for my journey in life.
I guess my message in this comment to all of the aspiring writers of the world is: Don't limit yourselves -- in your writing or in your lives. Coercing your brain into writing about things that aren't in your immediate area of interest is among the best exercises I've found for improving my craft.
If I can't stand the topic, I create characters who love it and their enthsiasm is much more contageous than my own could ever be. (Note: this approach is a great treatment for procrastination.)
To non-writers, and maybe even some pros, this probably sounds completely insane ... but hey, it keeps my creative juices flowing and the rent paid.
My second message is that this is an incredibly tough field in which to make a decent living. If writing doesn't give you a sense of satisfaction that you can compare to sex or chocolate, you may want to think twice about making it your profession.
Cheers to you all! And especially to the author of this hub!
Regards to the writer! Very nice hub, inspiring and informative. Thank you so much for sharing it with us, may your fortune multiply as well.
Blessed be!
Thanks for the great advice. I admit that I sometimes get a bit disheartened when I see people on HubPages who have three hubs, joined six months ago and already have a score of 93! But then I think that what the hell I am writing because I love to write and as you say I want still to respect myself in the morning!
So this Hub was very inspiring to me to keep me at it.
Thanks
Love and peace
Tony
Hi Tony,
Your hubs are awesome! I've actually been thinking of deleting this hub and rewriting it. It keeps getting stolen, and I'm so tired of dealing with it. That's what gets me down--I work hard and write the best work I can, and then somebody in Malaysia or Myanmar or somewhere like that just lifts it as their own. Meanwhile, the freelance job boards pay worse and worse--they are flooded with bad pay and bad writers lately. I mean, OK, nobody is perfect, but when I say bad, I mean really, really bad. Like, "I like write good Engrish you pay five dollar now I do good writings for you." Like that. I'm just going to take my tin cup down to the courthouse and sit there with my sunglasses on. But first I'm gonna wait til it warms up! lol! Hang in there! ;O)
Not surprised that this keeps getting stolen - it is a very informative hub. It does get tiresome dealing with stolen content, but it has to be done. I used to work in a shop, so I see them as shoplifters, rockinjoe style. Might join you at the courthouse - I need to borrow a small child to dress in rags.
We really should ask for a new forum category - Moaning Writers ;)
LOL! Sufi that's a great idea--the MWC--Moaning Writers Club. You know, I complain about everything I have to do for money. I don't know how Bill puts up with me. I was thinking this morning--here I am at home doing what I always wanted and griping about it. I'm incorrigible!
It is the artistic temperament - we are allowed to be grouchy!
Great advice Very nice hub. That very helpful and well written. Thanks
Just the hub I was looking for! You explain how it works for you very well and is a nice template to follow. Loved the list of books!
Your hub came just in the nick of time. I do love to write, but have been frustrated with the poor earnings and trying to learn better marketing strategies. I have been teetering on whether I should join elance or guru. You've made up my mind in the affirmative. Thanks so much!
good information, thanks you.
I just want to say as someone very new to this...I appreciate not only your candor but the truly useful information you have shared. Not only are the site referrals great but your personal experience really helps someone new go into this with a more savvy and knowledgeable approach! Thanks and Thanks!~
Hi, I will want to learn from you, How can I be like you and start makng money online like you, and please I want to learn some secrets from you, I dont know what it will cost me, is there any site or tutorial where I can learn how I will become a quality freelancer
I am new to blogging but committed to supplimenting my income with writting on the web. Your blog was a great leg up! I also appreciate the recommendations for other websites and resources. For a newbie it is hard to know which are the most effective and productive sites. Your recommendations are just great!
Great advice. Keep up the good work.
you are truly gifted.. Thanks for the hard work. I will be using this for a guide. Amazing!13647nqy8t3qv
What a treat, best article on this subject I have read.I am going to do this.Thanks a million
earn money online is like ordinary business. We must take a responsibility to threat it and develop it.
Thanks for the information! It was really educational - and I liked that your gave honest and personal advice!
I need help making money too, what should i do with my hub http://hubpages.com/hub/Cassette_Tapes
nice and truly informative.thanks pg but how do i start earning this money, i live in Nigeria, but i am an addict writer, i write alot.please direct me how and where to get started in making money by writing?help me out.
nice and truly informative.thanks pg but how do i start earning this money, i live in Nigeria, but i am an addict writer, i write alot.please direct me how and where to get started in making money by writing?help me out.
This was indeed a good piece of advice and also inspirational too. many times i feel like giving up but individuals like you keep me going.
Thank you for this, it's very helpful indeed. I've always loved writing but I "abandoned" it because I believed it wouldn't amount to anything, that it would never pay the bills. So I pursued other lines of work.
However after some recent soul-searching I finally had the courage (and honesty!) to admit that being a writer is what I want to be.
It took me a while to get back into the flow of writing. The first 6 months was consisted of trying very hard, self-criticisms, giving up, trying again, then clawing my way back. Finally I've reached a level of self-assuredness and now all I want to do is write, write write!
Now I've got a blog and writing here in Hubpages.
I am a work in progress. :)
I know it's been said before, but this is one of the most helpful Hubs I've seen so far!
No wonder you're doing so well -- your writing is excellent. Also, major karma points for sharing with the rest of us. Too many people seem to think the keys to success are something to keep secret.
Definitely watching for your future work. Thanks for the help.
WOW! What an article! Very realistic and inspiring :) :) :)
WOW....what an incredibly informative and well-written article. I think I'm inspired!! Thanks a lot.
You are going to be the reason that so many people at this site, do succeed. Thank you, until the ends of the earth! May sound a little cheesy that I'm so excited about this, but this is just the advice that I've needed for so long, thank you again:)
Great job! I will be reading your work from this day forth.
MissJamie
WOW!!! Well done HUB!!!! That's why it's 100!!!!!! lol. Thank you for all the info you supplied!! Blessings to you and yours!!!!
I have to agree with you on odesk, as a professional, after looking at the average rates etc, i decided never to use it, even as a buyer, but you have some great tips here, and i'm going to check them out, thanks for the great hub.
Great hub! The information is precious!
NICe JOB I love all the hubs you made
www.foxwholesale.ws/money
Good Hub and good advice - especially about the pain-in-the-neck clients.
There are the ones who hire you to write a short article for a few dollars - and then they change the rules of what they want once you sign on. I had one guy tell me he really liked what I written; but then, all of a sudden, he started thinking up new stuff he wanted added in. :)
Then there are the ones who seem to think that because they're giving you $20 it's a never-ending king/slave arrangement, and or that you're a permanent employee, just sitting and waiting for latest change of mind when it comes to the original assignment.
Then there are the ones who advertise a writing assignment, only to later reveal it isn't really writing at all - just "writing" links to their sites on people's blogs.
In spite of such problems, I have to say the percentage of problem clients is fairly low.
Is it okay to write one blog or article and publish it in several places just to get it out there? Meaning...I write a hub and then copy the same writing to Knol, Blogger, etc.
imadork--How would an immature hippie socialist know the answer to a question like that? I'm sure someone as wise and erudite as yourself can figure it out on your own.
LOL...i fucking knew it! You would take offense on one subject and refuse advice on the other. Fuck you, you hippie piece of shit...I don't need your advice anyway.
You have a nice day too.
Why is hippie a term of abuse, anyway?
Good hub prgundy, keep up the good work! Having been on both side of the fence, i remind myself always to think in the shoes of the other side.
very good! a good piece can last forever and touch people's hearts. I will follow your example to write. thanks.
Thanks so much for the useful information. I have never thought of myself as a writer BUT in the past couple of months I have put together useful information using blogs and free website builders. Thanks for the weebly. I will try it out.
Michelle Cesare
Hi pgrundy,
Thanks for the list of successful self-published books.
Just sticking to article writing and not trying to start or complete a book is like living from paycheck to paycheck until you retire---and with hardly any savings.
Thanks for indirectly reminding me to start writing a book to have a better future in writing-- and not only to write to live today.
Celinamac
Great hub! However, it's so hard to keep at it! I send out writing samples constantly, applying to every random gig on craiglists and scouring the internet for hours searching for freelance opportunities, and I get nothing! I've been trying (I really have), but it's so hard to get started!
Thank you for this hub. I actually needed to read something like this as it's been hard to keep up with the work I've been doing, since I haven't seen much come from it. I'm glad to see that there is a correlation with publishing HPs and getting work on e-lance, as I've been trying to get work there for a couple of months with nothing to show for it. I'm going to take your advice and point here from my profile there, and in my proposals. Again, thank you.
Hi Ashley & Headstrong Farm--It is getting a lot harder to get work at Elance. I've noticed it and other writers here have noticed it. It happened as the economy got worse, which makes sense. More competition--harder to get work. But it definitely does help to build up a portfolio here at HP and elsewhere that you can reference when you apply. I've been managing to stay at about what I made while I had a 'job' job just writing, but I only get about 1 out of every five projects I bid on. Hang in there and good luck!
Thanks for your tips.
Nice and helpful hub, thanks!
Great hub! Thank you for the tip. very useful
SOLID ADVICE, great hub!
agree with you.you have some great tips here, I will bookmark it and keep all these points ...thank you
Excellent article thanks. I have just passed this on to my partner who has just left her day job to go freelance as a writer. This is really great info for her, thank you.
Cheers
Derek
P.S - I have used Odesk with some success, the trick is to find people you trust on there and pay them a fair rate for the benefit they bring you!
Great Article. Just the encouragment I need to keep at it. I left my day job involuntarily and I hope this to be my way to have myself as the only one to decide my fate.
You do have to be cheap at first but once you get some clients who appreciate your work you can slowly start raising your prices. If you are worth the money they will stick around.
Hey, PGrundy: Your Hub was well done. I would like to do some gigs, including ghosting on someone else's website as you are doing. I'll watch for your fine work in the future as well. dusanotes
There are lots of websites out there wanting good content for their sites. It is a matter of finding them in the sea of sites that will post anything they can get their hands on.
I truly appreciated this article. As someone who has been writing for years, I agree with everything you said. One reason I became a virtual assistant was to have more time for writing. Now that I've living and working from my RV, I am trying hard to carve out more writing time since it's what I truly enjoy.
Your problem with the one website is a problem I often confront with VA work. People would pay someone on the other side of the world $5 an hour and then come back to me afterwards when it needs to be fixed.
To me writing is a joy. Short of writing technical manuals, I accept any possible writing opportunity that passes my way. Thanks for the encouragement.
I am going to write my ass off now, thanks for the inspiration.
Thank you for this informative and well written hub.
Good info
Great tips.
When I write, I like to make sure that what I say will be useful to someone... unless I'm writing for entertainment.
Mark :)
Excellent hub, shown to all by to "100" ranking.
I LOVE you MAN...:( :(!!! GREAT info!!
Excellent hub ... i like it ... i did read all your story ... very effective for me
How to Make Money WRITING Online As Opposed to Selling Afflilate Marleting Strategies
very good, I support you, come on , welcome to my hub!
Great advice and very informative...Thanks for shraing the knowledge on writing and making money in the process...
What a generous Hub.
I am working the Census for ten weeks. In my off hours, I will have to plan a strategy for the summer, when I am again unemployed. This Hub offers inspiration. My other alternative is selling everything I own on eBay, lol!
great hub thumbs up!
Great information, and it is so true about the self-publishing
there could be years of waiting, especually for first book...
I'm getting the impression that the online writer can either be a spam writer or one that produces substance. But what if, as a writer, one could take off the 'substance' expectation and just write whatever is needed by the client? Your post addresses exactly that as you explained yourself: if you did a review for more that 20 minutes you'd shoot yourself. Clearly the content that pays well are not the substance-topic kind. But one has to pay the bills. I'm into online marketing myself and so I'm familiar with the avalanche of writing work online, some of which capable writers like you take and do well.
Wondeful advice. Thanks very much
excellent advice, thank you, I will try wordpress as blogger.com has been remarkably unhelpful!
I have been already doing a lot of stuff online and earn about 300 USD per week. But really trying too much stuff these days to increase this. Thanks for your ideas.
Thanks for the wisdom. This Hub really struck a chord. I have just finished editing a self-help volume, published on lulu.com, for author, Enelle Lamb, and she returned the favor by introducing me to Hubs. Wow. I look forward to finding more great stuff.
Thanks for being so generous and sharing your experience. That list of famous self-published books is very surprising!
I'm finding that being on HubPages is a good way to see what topics attract interest, and learn a lot too.
Great Hub. I love the info. I had no idea you can self publish online.
A Great Hub, Your article is most generous. Thank you
This is a great information Hub about the art and craft of writing. i quite agree that it has never been easier to publish one's writing, and it has never been easier to make money by writing. Given the number of people currently trying to make a little money blogging or putting up a web site, a writer that can stick to the task at hand, which means writing about anything under and over the sun, day after day, and can deliver quality text on a timely basis can almost write his or her own paycheck.
Frankly, I've never seen a better situation for a writer than the one that exists today on the Internet, and I've been writing for cash for the last twenty five years!
Thanks!
adjunct
Thanks for an honest hub that really explains making money online writing and it's realities. My wife is a writer and I'm an Article Marketer so we read your hub with eager anticipation.
The facts given here will help newbies and experienced writers gain clearer perspective as far as their goals with writing. Thanks for giving us writing tips that allowed us to actually digest what we read. This is a great contrast to the many hubs that just want me to puke because all they want me to do is buy their product.
Yours hub is head and shoulders above the rest. It's no secret why your such a successful hubber.
Todd Schuyler
Wonderfull info! Thanks a bunch!
Will definitely be checking out some of those links :) always on the lookout for tips ;)
Gosh - the number of comments show how many of us are looking to do more writing! Good advice all - and I'm glad to hear good things about Elance. I signed up with them.
Thanks for this great, informative hub. You made some suggestions I will definitely try. You're right, though, persistance is king.
Great hub, lots of very, very good advice. I've tried the Helium route myself and made some money selling a few articles, but they don't seem to be doing very well right now. I've looked at AC and Triond, but will look into the others. Thanks!
Not surprisingly, this is the most valuable Hub I've read to date. There is no doubt in my mind about my ability to write, but I sure have been at a loss at to how to get it out to people. Without that, it's not of much value.
I can understand why people could make money from writing.
If you own a website, and it has a high traffic rank, you could make a lot of money with it, especially by writing.
But i don't recommend that way because Google don't like it.
hey, I see that I wrote a paragraph above saying I would have to look at this during the summer. Happily, another one of your hubs sent me back here! LOL. It's a circular world, isn't it! I am bookmarking it and looking forward to your hub on managing boards.
I'm just new here, and I thought I should delete my account already. But thanks to your hub, I regained enough courage to continue writing. Yes it's true that writers are stubborn, though sometimes we have to take a break and fill in those empty purses, which, oftentimes, suck. If only we can live without money... :P Anyway, thanks again.
thanks, i am going to work on the advise you gave here. I have seen those insane sites that you have said about and refused to do that.
Thanks for your advise. I guess we just have to keep on doing what we're doing, and don't give up. One day, we'll succeed.
My problem is half the stuff I write looks so vacuous and trite when I see it on screen I wonder why I bothered, and the other half would be deep and meaningful but I am not articulate enough to get on screen what I have in my head. But I have bookmarked this Hub and will come back to it for a little dose of inspiration when I get stuck - which is often! A great Hub.
Uninvited Writer says:
14 months ago
Very good hub :) I looked into oDesk also and I agree with you. Great advice.