Freelance Writing Is It Really That Simple? How Not To Get Scammed!

I have got so used to being able to do my own thing when writing for the Internet that I thought Freelance Writing would be easy peasy. Yeah right! I actually stumbled upon a site when I was looking for jobs. I thought that if I could earn some money elsewhere, then I wouldn't be so panicky about this Google AdSense hoo ha. So, with all the mind power that I could muster up, I kept telling myself that, yes, I could do this. How hard could it be? all you have to do is write, isn't it? Well, the answer is, sort of.

I actually signed onto this particular site about four months ago. I sent in my pay pal account, gave my name address and email, and then I panicked and didn't do a darn thing. I think it was because I felt intimidated. To me the word Freelance meant really highly skilled writers who wrote for magazines and TV etc, and there was little me trying to dip my toe in the pond. The trouble with ponds is that there are usually very big fish swimming about. And I do love my toes. They fit my feet. If I didn't have them then I would fall flat on my face. Which after my first sojourn into freelance writing I actually nearly did.

The trouble with me is that I suffer with lack of patience. I sit there in front of the computer saying to myself, 'yeah, yeah that's easy, get on with it'. Well let me tell you, that does not work. The trouble was that my head got bigger than my body when my first article sailed past the winning post and hit the goal. I received my first email from the firm saying how good it was to have me with them and after studying my writing though I would be a great asset to the team. Yeah, look at me, so brilliant. Not.

When I started getting reject letters back saying 'You have to re do this bit, or type that bit' I got quite indignant! So, what was wrong with my writing? Well, actually nothing. Not if I was writing for hubpages or another site, but evidently to do freelance work you had to have rules. Strict rules. So I thought, here we go. Back to school without a satchel.

Now I know that millions and zillions of you have gone down this path before me. In fact I bet you are sitting there smuggly drinking your Pina Coladas thinking to yourself, Ah Ha, so she thought she was good did she? Well that will get her. The truth is that I went in head first, not thinking. And that is the point. If you want to start Freelance Writing you have to learn some rules. Big ones. I have never been good at being told what to do. In fact I tend to go head first into the ending before I even look at the beginning.

And this is exactly what I did. For any of you who haven't gone down this road yet, let me tell ya, it's a bit like sitting in a box with someone prodding you in the back with a red hot poker. Hubpages is the opposite. That is like running through a field stark nekked and shouting eureka!

First of all there are pages and pages of rules. Tons of the little darlings. A video for this, a Video for that and so on. And I get impatient. I like to look and see for myself. The one thing that they don't tell you about freelance is the fact that you have to write each article three times. Yes, three. Obviously not all of them, but most of them. This sounds okay as, after writing the first you can look at it as you write the second and third to make sure you don't get the words in the same order as the first. Especially the key words. Now, I know some of you are screaming, 'It's not worth the money'.

But in my case it is a bit desperate because I can't find work at the moment so any little helps. The disadvantage is that if I was American it wouldn't be so bad. Why? Because it is paid in dollars. England is one of the most greedy and rich countries in the world. Rich because it makes everything so darned expensive. For example if you bought something for a hundred dollars, in England it would be about one hundred and fifty pounds. Not to bad you might think. Until you realise that a dollar is only worth about half a pound!

But that's by the by as they say. The main problem is that you are not allowed to add any question marks, exclamation marks, the words I, you, or me! Imagine that! Evidently it has to be precise and informative. The writing itself is not so bad, even the re-writes. It is when those horrible little Warning signs come up at the bottom of the page! Too many words. Too many gaps. Too many frigging repeats.

It is a bit like taking your clothes of in the dark, standing on one foot and spouting the six times table at the same time! And then when it eventually says the word 'Clear', you take a deep breath and sigh with relief. That's fine, it has only taken me five hours to do an article that should have taken only about an hour. But don't worry. I have earned five dollars! Yippee! Oh yes, I forgot. That's about two pound fifty pence! One thousand five hundred words later, I am dying for a cuppa. My neck has gone stiff, and I need to sit down on a cosy chair and watch TV.

But am I giving up? Oh no! I ain't done yet!

Make sure that you watch every video before you start. You will save yourselves hours of redraft and swear words.

Make sure that you read and re-read every darn thing put in front of you.

Don't go hairing into it like a rabbit down a hole. I did this and realised that instead of writing it on the simple instruction page, I went jogging along on the harder one! Meaning I had to keep scrolling to the top of the page to see what I had written before! That's the thing. You have to make each re-write exactly the same meaning in each paragraph!

And finally. Make sure you pick a topic that you have a slight clue about. For example, don't write about something if it is called ' Rogo's in Tulsa'! No, I made that word up, but you get my meaning!

These are the sort of stupid titles that you have to write about. And do they give you a clue what it is? Oh no, of course not! Stick to what you know. Even if you only earn thirty dollars a week, it is better than having to re-write twenty different topics again because you got it all wrong in the first place!

So, am I going to keep Freelance Writing ? Yep, I don't give up that easily!