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Articles

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Explore Your Money Making Potential

By Linda Finn

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The Internet is a dream come true for writers, opening up the international market as never before. Here you will find sites giving assistance in every genre, from beginner to advanced. On-line help is available with planning, dialogue, editing and presentation. You can even talk with like-minded authors, beginners and experiences, most of whom are only too willing to give advice and support.

Best of all, for those of us struggling for recognition, is the opportunity to have our work published at no cost and, if we are prepared to persevere, even being paid for it. Some sites promise earnings in the multi-thousand dollar bracket. Take this with a large pinch of salt. Con-artists abound on the world-wide-web and those who promise much and ask a 'once only fee' are often in the business of parting you from your money and your illusions. The reputable sites pay YOU.

The following is but a small fraction of the sites offering money earning potential. Take a good look around each before committing yourself to any sort of membership. Some ask you to register and I would suggest that you never give your street address on sites which require this. If you expect later payment from them, it's well worth buying a box office number or arranging to use a friend's because you never know who has access even to the secure web sites these days and it really is better to be safe than stalked.

There are several ways of earning money via the web. You could send your work to any of the thousands of publications looking for free-lance submissions. Some will pay up to $1,000 US for a substantial, well-researched piece on a specialised subject but as you might guess, competition is fierce. Or you could write for a site which has a fairly low pay rate but guaranteed publication for regular work.

http://www.themestream.com - This comprehensive site is not only an encyclopaedic centre of information but an ideal forum for short articles. Submit your work in any of the 1,700 different categories and they will pay 2 cents for every reader who clicks on your feature. It may not sound a lot, but it adds up. They pay reliably each quarter in US dollars.

www.suite101.com - Is also a site which invites writers to indulge their passions and in return will pay $15-25US per article, however you must commit yourself to regular pieces on your topic of choice.

writerexchange.about.com/arts/writerexchange/ - This site, in common with all those mentioned here, has links to hundreds of other extremely informative locations for writers, covering all fields of expertise, many of them pointing to paid work.

freelancewrite.about.com/careers/freelancewrite/index.htm - Another from the same About.com stable, this time specifically for freelance writers, with information on tax, business and technical writing as well as a job board and a global fee scale so you do not undersell yourself in a foreign market. Many writers' sites offer a regular, free e-mailed newsletter giving notice of hundreds of freelance and on-site writing jobs, so it's a good idea to sign up for as many of these as you can.

http://www.writerfind.com/freelance_jobs/ - Is a New Zealand site where you can also post your resume.

www.writersweekly.com/payingmarkets.htm - Writers Weekly not only provides a newsletter but also information about hundreds of jobs archived on their website.

www.freelancing4mone - A free edition of a bulletin of paid writing jobs. You can subscribe to a version which details more markets but browse the freebie first as many of these jobs require you to be resident in the US.

www.inkspot.com - Friendly little newsletter with advice, tips and of course, jobs.

www.awoc.com/WFD.cfm - The Writers' Place offers a newsletter containing advice pieces and links to paying publications plus archived copies of high, medium and low paying markets. You've heard of Reader's Digest but did you know there's a Writer's Digest too?

www.writersdigest.com/ - Featuring 101 Best Websites for writers and a Market of the Day.

mav.net/guidelines/ - The Writers' Guidelines database is veritable cornucopia of information, from government publications to....Chicken Writer?! You can post your resume here, talk with other writers and read the Frequently Asked Questions about freelancing on the web. At the bottom of the page you will find categories leading to hundreds of magazines and thence to the specific needs and guidelines of each publication.

www.freelancewriting.com/ - Describing itself as 'A Website for Today's Working Writers', this site gives details of both paying and non-paying jobs in all areas of writing. Sign up for their e-mail and they'll let you know when work comes in. Lots of information here including networking and chat with other writers. If you're not already a member of a mailing list and you want to talk with writers in your genre, pop over to www.egroups.com put the word 'writing' (or 'sci-fi' or 'romance') in the search box and you'll come up with a list of around 100 different mailing lists (described, so you'll know what to expect before you join) where you can swap information, or simply read other people's comments.

So many wonderful sites are now set up specifically to help the writer. If you're a beginner this offers invaluable exposure at places which often have thousands of visitors per day, far more than are likely to read even the best-selling magazine article.

For those who have been writing since before word-processors were invented, there's a whole new world of possibilities on the World Wide Web. At our fingertips we now have access to information on every subject, however bizzare, as well as material on e-publishing, grants, awards and contests worth thousands of dollars.

writingcontests.net - is self-explanatory but a word of caution before entering any competition, always read the Terms and Conditions first, some are open to US residents only.

The Internet is changing and expanding all the time but writers have never had such an abundance of places to show their talents and earn money from their craft.

It truly is a WWW = Writers' Wonderful Web!

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