The Perils of Online Writing Jobs

I won't claim to be an expert on job sites for freelance writers. I've always found work the old-fashioned way, by pitching editors and networking with potential clients.

I know, it's terribly 20th century of me, but I'm hardly a technophobe. I've just been burned. The two jobs I did score on Craigslist before my self-imposed online ban seemed wonderful until my paychecks got "lost in the mail" - repeatedly. One employer (an agency) assigned me a number of stories, only to say that the finished pieces had been rejected by the client. I had no idea I was being scammed until a friend called to congratulate me. She had seen my "rejected" pieces in several major magazines in her country. I'm sure the agency collected a hefty check for each one.

As BWC editor, I hear similar stories every day from smart writers who completed hundreds of hours of work for online customers and were never paid. I've even heard from writers who spent weeks hammering out detailed contracts with their potential employers, only to have them disappear as soon as the work was done. That contract is useless if you don't know anything real about your employer besides their (shuttered) email address.

There's also a serious dearth of well-paid, hell, even moderately-paid jobs available online. The sheer number of people competing for each project on sites like Guru.com drives prices way down, and much of the competition comes from outsourcing firms in India and Eastern Europe. I once posted a writing job on Guru with a reasonably generous budget. Within 24 hours, I had 25+ bids from Indian contracting firms, all undercutting my posted budget by a mile. I couldn't compete at that price point, and frankly, I wouldn't want to.

That's why I'm turning this one over to Monika Mundell, who's written a great article called 13 Best Freelance Writing Job Websites. It wades through all the major options so you (and I) don't have to. There are gems of jobs available online - just be cautious, and make sure you have a real contact (not just an email address) for each employer before you get to work!

Comments

[Monika Mundell]

I know what you mean with the low pay bids. It's really hard for freelancers in the US or Australia to stay competitive, not that I ever would want to or need to myself.

I've noticed this trend when I was starting out last year and it was rather scary.

Thanks by the way for the backlink to my article.