Category — Freelance Writing Stories

I wrote this one for Ezine. But I think it’s quite worth a read.

Freelance Writing – Taking $2-$3 Per Article Freelance Writing Jobs is Not Insanity
By Kristine Cruz

Most freelance writers charge according to how much they are worth. However, these rates are highly variable among different freelance writers. What could be a good rate for one may be a slave rate for another.

$2 or $3 may seem little, and yet there are still writers who take these freelance writing jobs regularly. We cannot blame them, nor should we condemn them for doing so. Especially if they are just starting out in the freelance writing industry, these gigs are actually opportunities for those writers. While other writers may scoff and smirk at these rates, they should still respect other writers’ decisions.

Why do writers take these low-paying jobs? Here are some real reasons.

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There was an email to me recently which caught my attention. She was asking me about how much to charge for an eBook. I remember one of my replies was something like, “I am sure that your would-be client won’t be paying much. He sounds barat.”

While others are actually valuing their writing and bidding accordingly to projects, more and more clients are offering low compensations for projects. As such, freelance writers are forced to bid low because of a lot of factors.

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I’ve once written about oDesk here when I first tried out the system. A few months later, and I am writing such again. Why? Because I find a lot of potential things in oDesk.

As a full-time web worker, freelancer, work-at-home worker, or however you want to call me, I see that oDesk helps a lot of Filipino people who seem to can’t get their asses off their houses and work (read: the unemployed.) By registering in oDesk, people can actually earn money to pay for their Internet connection and electricity bills, plus get to supplement their income – or even sustain a full-time job.

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It isn’t the first time that I have encountered such dilemma. And because of the growing issues around these ridiculously low rates, I have decided to compile things on why there are actually some people who grab these opportunities.

A lot of bloggers and freelance writers are always outraged by such rates, but I like to look at it from the other side.

When I was starting out in the freelance writing industry, I admit taking such offers. I even had some gigs which were lower than $2. But that didn’t stop me from reaching for more.

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A lot of people have been asking me why I decided to go as a full-time freelance writer.

Sure, I have a university degree up my sleeve, and though I didn’t have great grades, they’re still decent enough (my GPA wasn’t below 1.9). I could easily find an office job, but here I am – writing at home.

I always answer them one thing:

If you are earning as much as a regular office job without leaving home, would you consider freelance writing as a full-time job?

That usually gets them smiling and convinced.

As I said in my article here, I started freelance writing when I finished my internship in Poland as an English teacher. I basically started because I needed to get myself busy so that I won’t have to miss Poland and my friends so much, and to be so depressed with the reverse culture shock plus the humidity and heat of the Philippines. So I found something that would keep me busy.

While other people are running around, trying to score jobs in call centers, BPO companies, advertising agencies or events organization companies, I decided to stay at home and renew my love for writing and the English language. The pay wasn’t much – I started with a measly P60/500-word article. But that didn’t stop me from trying to get what I want.

As I write this, I could only think of 5 top reasons why people decide to go freelance writing.

1. You have more freedom – You get to set what time you wake up, what time you sit in front of your computer or laptop, and what time you want to start writing. Sure, you have deadlines to beat, but you have all the freedom in the world to set your own preferences without suffering the quality of your work. Like what Deb had written in ‘10 Empowerment Tips for Freelance Writers‘:

   “You control your own destiny…If you want to write content for a well-known website, well, you know how to land that gig too. My fellow bloggers and I? We can help discuss options, methods and tools, but the decision of what to do with that is yours. What is your destiny?”

   
   

2. You set your own rates - When you are starting, it’s okay to charge low. However, once you’ve build on your portfolio and gained more experience in freelance writing, you can increase your rates. Yes, freelance writing allows you to promote yourself to a higher position, let’s say. In ‘Who Sets Your Freelance Writing Rates,’ Deb had written about setting your own rates.

The main reason you should set your own freelance writing rates is to get paid what you feel your writing is worth. As a contractor, you determine what you’re paid. Many writers are afraid of a client balking at a set rate and hiring someone else, and it’s true this can happen. If you’re a good writer, with a good reputation and stellar references, clients won’t mind paying your asking price. If anything, you can use your rate quote as a negotiation point without allowing the bar to be set too low.

3. It’s okay to refuse projects – When you are working in an office, you can’t say no to your boss. But with freelance writing, it IS possible. If you aren’t comfortable writing a topic, then by all means tell your buyer that you can’t. You don’t want your work’s quality to suffer just because you don’t feel the topic, do you? If you can’t do it, then don’t. Don’t risk your reputation as a good writer. Just say no.
4. You can write in your pajamas – This would probably be one of my favorites. You can wake up, go straight to the bathroom, then go to work without the need to change into a corporate attire, or to put on make-up. You don’t have to wear heels, you don’t have to think which bag would go with which pair of shoes. You can even work while naked – as if anybody would care.
5. You get to save more money – Freelance writing allows us to stay at home. That means we don’t pay for our car’s petrol, fares, highway tolls etc. And since we don’t go out, we don’t need to eat in restaurants for lunch break. That means you get to save more money that spending it on everyday expenses when going to the office.

I know there are probably a hundred more reasons as to why people decide to freelance write, but I can’t write of anything anymore. There are even a hundred more reasons as to why people decide not to freelance write – but I’d write about that next time.

If you liked what you read, then subscribing to my blog would be nice.

Thanks for reading.

Freelance writing for clients outside the country allowed me to have my own Paypal account. And having my own Paypal account with funds meant disaster.

Why? Because of online shopping.

But somehow, I think that Paypal account gave me the option to easily help others, animals and humans alike, who need our help.

Having my own money from freelance writing which I could access anytime made me think I could buy anything from eBay, Google Checkout, Amazon and other E-Commerce websites. While I strongly, strongly resist my urges to shop (which I did…most of the time), I still treat myself (and my cats and dogs) to some bargains that I find every once in a while.

But with the onset of typhoons which have devastated my country for the past couple of months, I really restrained myself from shopping and did one thing that I could do to help: DONATE.

While a lot of people are helping out pack things in relief centers, I was at home, typing away my articles, checking more freelance writing jobs, and donating to organizations, charities and even to PAWS to help our fellow Filipinos and animals to at least get back on their feet after Ondoy and Pepeng.

Since I’m living in the suburbs of Metro Manila, I couldn’t go to those places where they need volunteers even if I wanted to. When Ondoy was here, even NLEX was flooded and I couldn’t go to help pack those things or to go to areas which needed help. So all I did was to donate.

It felt good sharing your hard-earned money to help other people. And not only people, but also animals, BTW. Donating to PAWS was also very touching – probably the most touching donation I’ve made.

After donating a seemingly little amount to PAWS via MeFindHome.org, I thought that was it. I didn’t donate a big amount of money, so I wasn’t expecting anything in return. But I was so, so, so touched when I received an email from the Program Director of PAWS, Anna Cabrera, thanking me for the donation and asking me if I can come visit PAWS so that I can see where my donation would go and to meet those furballs.

Being an animal lover, I was saddened by the sight of dogs and cats being stuck on roofs, hungry and cold. As I am writing now, I still choke back on tears because I can’t think of my own dogs and cats being in such condition, and I still cry when I read stories of rescued animals from MeFindHome.org, like this particular story about a highway kitten named Shaun that I was reading just this morning, and this story about Einsten in Provident Village.

Animals are living things, too. They need shelter, love, company and food. Living and growing up surrounded by animals from dogs to cats to birds and guinea pigs, I’ve always had a strong advocate for animal rights. That’s why PAWS is and will always be close to my heart.

I didn’t think that freelance writing would let me help other people. I guess that Paypal account with my earnings didn’t only make online shopping easier for me – but also made me help more people (and animals!) easier and faster.

What about you? What have you given to our fellow Filipinos as a help from your freelance writing jobs? How did your freelance writing profession help you to help human and animal typhoon victims? I’d love to hear from you!

At the age of 21, I can’t imagine I am able to earn just by doing one thing I love – writing.

I have never even imagined I would be writing for a living – even when I was still studying in the university, or when I was doing my internship in Europe.

But how did I come across the world of freelance writing?

I admit, working with Essays.ph (see post here) really shaped who I am now. Writing for them taught me simple SEO techniques, and the flexibility that I should have as a writer. Writing from HDTVs to Finance is a great leap, but Essays.ph trained me for that. And no, I’m sorry. Essays.ph is not a scam and they did not pay me to write this blog. I just love that community. I still write for them whenever I have extra time.

I mean, if I did it, so can you!

The original post is here.

As most of you know, I was in Poland for the past year as an English teacher. (I guess most of my Grando Espada friends know that since I threw a goodbye party for them before I left ;p) When I came back from Europe, I was in a complete reverse culture shock. (read: crying every day) And I knew that one thing that could make me at least move on with my PH life is to get a job.

So I tried passing my resume to various companies and job websites.

I’m a 2008 graduate of AB Communication Arts in UST, and I did get job offers; both in snail mail and email. However, it isn’t in my mindset to work as a call center agent/marketing trainee/medical representative or whatever and however you want to call it.

And then I thought and thought. I scoured for freelance websites and job openings both in the PH and abroad.

..then I stumbled upon Essays.ph.

I told myself, ‘Why not give it a try? You’re just staying at home anyway.’ (And not to mention running out of savings from EU, LOL.)

So I signed up on August 3, 2009. I was ecstatic that finally – woo. I could do something productive aside from chatting with my friends, Facebooking, playing online games and everything else. I got an email that day, as well, saying that I could sign up in the forums. So I did.

Read everything, blah blah…OK, G-Cash, I’ll be writer 2..blah blah…rewards, ooo, nice.

Then I went on to see my and check what assignments were available.

I still remember the first assignment I got while I was in the gray team: it was about registry cleaners. Being the techie girl that I am, I typed and typed and typed, but then my laziness crept in…Since I had to produce 5 different versions of each paragraph, on the third or fourth version, I actually dragged. HAHAH. Yeah. Writer’s block. But I managed to finish it, anyway.

The second assignment I got was about MIND POWER – and it was better. I watched ‘The Secret’ with my friends in PL and it was exactly about mind power, so I applied it. I finished 3 assignment sets from Mind Power in 2 days, I think. Not bad.

I woke up on August 12 and checked the Cyber Office.
Woot. Messages. WOW POINTS

I was excited to see 1140 points under the name ‘krysia’ (woohoo) and true enough, it was worth 1140 points. But I wanted more, of course. Who doesn’t? :p

So I logged in again, but pfft. I thought I had a bug. I was using Firefox and the images weren’t showing up and I couldn’t see the reply buttons and everything else @_@ causing me to think that something was wrong because that morning, I was transferred to the red team. (I remember PMing Sir Neil asking about it…then I thought of switching to IE and damn it works.)

Yup, after 6 days, I was in the red team.

I wasn’t on probation anymore, woohoo. I could get assignments alreadywhenever I want.

I also remember getting three assignment sets about HDTVs, finishing a World of Warcraft (or MMORPG, in general) article in about less than 30 minutes, and writing other sets which I really love in less than 8 hours.

(Oh yeah, cuz I’m also saving up for that quest with rewards: 10 Assignment Sets, less than 8 hours = 1000 points I need one more, woot.)

As I type this on September 8, I cashed out a total of 6,000 PHP from Essays.PH. Don’t ask me how many articles I’ve written because it was a lot – but I don’t care. It’s something that I worked for, anyway. And it felt good. I have been earning my own money but somehow, it still makes you feel like you’ve accomplished something… you feel fulfilled.

Working for Essays.PH allows me to control my own time (well, except for deadlines) and my own money when I want and need it. If I don’t like the assignment topics, then I don’t get any. But if I do, well, I can take more than one in one day. Essays.ph made me realize my love for writing one more time, and it gives me the opportunity to further enhance and use my passion for the English language.

I haven’t been getting assignments for the past week (or maybe a week and a half) because I was also doing some work abroad which is really time-consuming..but I know I’d always come back to Essays.PH. (Oh sorry, I’ve just written an assignment yesterday, anyway )

Like what the advice bot on top of the Cyber Office always tells me:
We hope we can shape the true writer in you.

And I guess they have already shaped me.

Join me @ Essays.PH

Visit http://www.essays.ph/for more information, or you can take a look at our CyberOffice at forums.essays.ph

P.S.
The only 3 revisions that I got were:
1.) I thought it was only 250 words – but it was 400…or 500?
2.) Something was wrong with the zip file @_@
3.) I forgot to change the font, font size and put titles