Saturday, December 27, 2008

Christmas break for Freelancers

Hi all!

As a freelancer, you only get paid whenever you do and finish a job and being a freelance writer means no break for me. A survey was posted in Odesk if freelancers are planning to take a break during the holidays. I was quite surprised that majority are still willing to work as long as there is work for them.

On my part, I took a break or a sit back with my writing during the season. First, we had to transfer to our new house (yehey!) which means that my internet connection was temporarily cut-off by my ISP (ouch!). Secondly, we had to travel to my parents' home for Christmas. And lastly, the endless get togethers, parties and weddings that I was obliged to attends keeps me off from my laptop.

For freelance writers and freelancers in general, it is not imposible to take a break especially during a " global holiday" like Christmas, all you have to do is to inform the dates that you can't work and your expected return to work. It would also be nice if you check your email everyday in case there are urgent things.

So, rejoice and celebrate the season!

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Do's and Dont's of Article Writing

This post is to answer someone who asked me about the "do's and dont's of Article Writing". Thank you for the idea...here it is. I hope you will learn something.

In general, there are two things to remember when writing any article; they must be original and of high quality. This post will elaborate so please read on...

1. Copied work and plagiarism.
To be frank, we are not that trained to make our work original way back in our thesis, essays and term papers. It's like we are tempted to copy some sentences and add it to our project so it can become 5 pages or we are "confident" that our teacher may not know. Well, as a teacher; we always know. The words and ideas are too perfect and not that coherent with the rest.

In writing articles, clients are very anxious that you will give them copied work. In the end, its their names who will be jeopardized and "flagged" by Google. But there are times that we have the same wordings to other works even though we really made it. The easiest is to check your work with the online tool, Article Checker or Copyscape if you have it before submitting to your client. Make the necessary changes to make it 100% original.

2. Spend time researching for your topics.
Some might consider "researching" for your topic a waste of time especially if you are writing a very short web content article. But researching by getting some key points and facts can save you time when writing. You must have some piece of paper and jot down all the necessary facts that are important for your article. This can save you time once you are writing your article. You will not be "lost of words" and your ideas are there already; you just have to combine them all.

3. Never rush your articles.
I have experienced being so loaded with many assignments because I got addicted to getting projects ( I will discuss this in another post; kindly remind me..lol) that I don't have time to write them all in the best that I could. If you rush your articles, it will turn out so mediocre and you lose your client.

4. Make your article "readable".
Online article writing gives opportunity to those people who are not " walking dictionaries" to publish their works. Majority of people who use and read contents in the internet are just like us so keep your words simple. I read in one article that your work should not prompt our readers to look for a dictionary. Unless you are writing some specific articles like insurances, medicals and the likes where you need to add some jargon.

5. Grammar and Spelling.
Review your basic grammar in case you forgot. Do not rely on the spelling and grammar check of your computer since it can outlook some errors. Manually edit and check your work. Read and read your article before submitting it to your client.

6. Avoid "Fillers".
A client asked you to write a 600-word article about "losing weight" and you are completely lost with words; you are still with 400 words. Some writers would make their sentences to long and repeating some ideas over and over again just to reach the number of words. Now, this is not good especially for readers, this will no longer interesting to read. Your work should be concise and direct to the point.

7. Make headings
To make your article readable, make at least one heading. For example your writing an article about "Losing Weight"; your article should look like this

How to Lose Weight

__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________

Foods to Eat and Avoid
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

Exercises to Start with
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________


Above, you made two headings which are " Foods to Eat and Avoid" and "Exercises to Start With". Having headings will only make your article organized but it can be easier for you to meet the number of words required. So it is easy to make a 600- word article if you do this; just allocate the number of words to each part.


There you have it, some of the things to keep in mind when writing any article. If you have other ideas, feel free to comment...


Earn and Write!

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Freelance Writer: How to Start

First of all, my apologies for writing this post quite late as I have promised. I have been busy looking for projects and finishing them. You see, I have this bizarre complications of being an "OC" that once I started with a project, I would finish it in a day or two. Anyway, one asked on how to start a freelance writer. Yeah, it is a very promising venture; earning while at home. And not to insult those other home-based "jobs", freelance writing is really a job.

Here is a step-by-step procedure to get your career as a freelance writer a start..

1. Recall your writing skills
This should be the first thing that an aspiring freelance writer should take into consideration especially if the last time you were into writing was during your essay final examination in college :-0. Remember, clients are into the quality of work that you can render to them. So how can you do this?
  • Start writing! This is the only way to do this. Start with what you did when you were little, you can write about your day or anything in your thoughts in a piece of paper or in a notebook just to be back in sync with your writing.
  • Create a blog. Since you will be dealing the online world then your writing must be available online. There are many free blogs like Blogger and Wordpress which are user-friendly. Then try to write a piece which is at least 300 words and increase this as fast as you can. When applying for jobs, most articles would run for 500 words and some would demand 3-5 articles each day!
2. Prepare your portfolio.

A portfolio has all your past work like articles. It is not enough to attach a word document of your article when applying for a writing job. As mentioned, there are many free blogs that you can use. Your blog can be your portfolio if you have articles in it or you really have a separate portfolio that potential clients can refer to. Like this blog can already be my portfolio for some clients. For my website, I have a menu for my portfolio, I have listed down my articles that has been published; my clients will just have to clink on the URL and viola! my article!

3. Get your Paypal account
Most Filipino writers cannot move on with their career as a freelance writer simply because they don't have a Paypal account. Paypal is still the most common payment method online though I use Payoneer often since they have higher exchange rates. For Paypal, you need to have a credit card or go to apply for an EON Cyber Account with UnionBank. It would take at most ten days to validate your Paypal account. While you still don't have Paypal, you can use your bank account or Gcash.


4. Look for clients

This is one of the most time-consuming part of this industry. Even if you already an established writer, just like any business you need to look for clients. You can either market your site or blog or look for them by yourself. For a start log on to freelance sites like Odesk or Getafreelancer. Some find it hard and long to land on their first assignment, but it is worth it. You can start carving your niche in these sites as a freelance writer.

Now, while waiting for your assignment from freelance sites, you can look for small scale writing jobs. Believe, the pay is very low but as I said, make this as an investment to enhance your skills and to learn about the world of freelance writing. There are some writers who need help from others to meet deadlines. You can visit pinoymoneytalk, Entre Pinoy Atbp. and even friendster!


After you land your first assignment, please do your best. Like any business, repeat client will make your business grow; on my experience, my first client with Odesk is still with me and she keeps bringing income to my wallet. So never let go of this opportunity!

Write and Earn!

Monday, December 1, 2008

Your questions


Hi all!

I'm so happy that there are already some people who are following my blog.

Thanks again! There are many questions raised and I prefer to answer

them as a post. Like the "Dos and dont's of article writing", etc. So if you

any questions, then contact me so I can make a post/article about them...

Cheeroh!!!

Valerie

Friday, November 28, 2008

Travel Writing

My current assignments in Odesk is writing travel articles. I love traveling and it is now one of my favorite niches. My ultimate dream as a writer is to be a travel writer. What are the perks? Here are some:

Stay in luxurious hotels
Experience events and tours
visit wonderful destinations

All of these are for free!!! Resorts and companies are willing to pay in exchange for a good review. For those interested, this ebook is a great help:

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Bonus!

I just received a small amount of bonus from my client. Clients are not greedy to pay extra for a well done work freelance writers do. So, if you are perceiving freelance writing as a career, always deliver a high quality article. The bonus was not that big but it's enough to buy my son a nice birthday cake!

Monday, November 3, 2008

Disappointing writer

I am prompted to write this post when one of my writers gave me a "smart" copied work. He was one of my reliable writers; submitting articles on time and writes quite well. Though I was apprehensive of his latest work that seemed not as good as before but the final straw was when I had to rewrite his three articles instead of editing them. It would have been fine if his work was not nice but he copied his reviews( the assignment) from another website.

Copywriters use Articlechecker or Copyscape to detect plagiarism and if you pass those tools your article is good. However, when I intensively examined his work, it turned out that he paraphrased almost all the sections of the reviews. He had the same sentence order but just fill in some words in between or used a different word. With what he did, I had a bad impression on him already and no one can blame me if I will stop giving him assignments. An excuse of " I was sick when I wrote those.." is no doubt inexcusable.

Let me keep it straight, I am not posting this to humiliate the writer but as a guide to those who want to be a freelance writer. Submitting high quality work will give you an assurance of steady work. My success in this realm within a short period of time is due to my repeat clients. My first client is still my client now though the pay is not that high. With positive feedbacks from freelance sites clients will know your work attitude which is very important.

Monday, September 22, 2008

Writing Samples

Clients prefer to see some writing samples to test your ability as a writer. You can write a simple article and attach it to your applications. It may take a while to learn the ropes of writing short but concise articles.

For a start, check my site for my writing samples...www.valcaulin.com

I would be more happy to know that you will learn something from those articles..

Good luck!

Saturday, September 6, 2008

Freelance Writer: What are Expected From You?

I have received many applications for freelance writers and I always list down my expectations. True, there are many projects ready for you and you can really make money. But it's not an overnight success; even if you are working freelance, you spend most of your time at the computer. For starters, you have to be quick in finding new job postings and also, spending time writing to meet deadlines.

So what does it takes to be a freelance writer? Here are some of them.
  • Steady and stable internet connection. Using the cafe will be expensive in the long run. If you really decide to be a freelance writer, you have to have your own internet connection. Clients want to communicate with you often particularly regarding updates. Some clients can give you urgent assignments.
  • Quality and original work. Some writers fail to give what the client really wants, just like any job; you have to satisfy your customer. It's not about meeting deadlines but it has to be really good and people will read them. There are some that editing their work means rewriting. Also, it is such a shame when writers have 25% duplications in their work. Before submitting your work, run the ArticleChecker to erase any duplications.
  • Deadlines. Clients have heard all excuses from writers - black-out, emergency, blah blah blah. Not to be rude, there are really emergencies that would come our way as writers. The best way is to do your project ahead of time. Deadline is the name of this game; you have to play with it.It is also very unprofessional to cancel a project few hours before the deadline. If you must cancel a project for any reason, it must be at least 12 hours before the deadline.
There are many expectations from a freelance writer, but since you are just starting; stick to the three things I mentioned. Freelance writing is all about discipline and dedication.

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Sign up for PayPal and start accepting credit card payments instantly.

Your Own Website

Having your own website can help build your credibility as a writer. On my experience,I landed on many projects due to my website and even got invitations rather than applying to clients. It's not as expensive nor complicated to have a website or at least your own domain.

I paid just a small amount of $15 for the domain and it is a very successful investment for me. I just place all my writing samples in my website; it is like a blog but it's under my own domain. It's easier for clients to scan through all your articles and as I said, it is more impressive.

Check out my own site at www.valcaulin.com and see what I mean...

To all freelance writers or those who wants to be...God bless us all!

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Terror in Mindanao


I can't seem to focus on my work these days. I am affected with what's happening in Mindanao particularly in Lanao del Norte for the past three days. Maigo, the town next to Kolambogan (that was attacked by barbaric forces) is my mom's hometown. In fact, my mom was just lucky to leave the place a day before the attack. She was on vacation for their annual fiesta and to reunite with her brothers, friends and family.

What I see on TV, is not at par with what's happening in Lanao. HOw can they ruin the lives of people trying to live happily? Both Muslims and Christians are living a harmonious life in Mindanao, but these insurgents are ruining it. How can a man looking for peace kill and mutilate bodies of civilians even children?

I want to remember Lanao as a very relaxing and beautiful place, filled with glorious people. I have wonderful memories of mom's hometown and I want to stay it that way...

Sunday, August 10, 2008

translators English-Japanese

I'm looking for expert translators (English-Japanese).
I translated most of the document but I want an expert who can double check my work. This job will start next week after I finalize everything.


Aside from your expertise, I expect:
that you can meet strict deadlines
stable internet connection
online most of the time ( I prefer stay at home moms, but anyone can join)

Please email me with your info related to the position...
I will disclose about the job to applicants..

Arigato Gozaimasu!

Freelance Writers Wanted

Hi!

Finally, I'm looking for some writers who can comply with strict deadlines and despise plagiarism.

Please email me with your info, writing sample or blogs if you have any.

Working forward working with you guys!

Friday, August 1, 2008

Thanks for Dropping By...

I have received e-mails from people who have visited my blog. Thanks a lot!
I'm very glad to share my new passion and source of income especially for those working moms who want to spend time with their kids but just can't because of work.

I'll be posting links to find online jobs especially freelance writing in a couple of days. I just need to finish some articles for my client in Greece.

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

My passion for Writing

I love writing..my husband said it is really my passion. Writing has been my solace to everything and my breathing wall so to speak.

Until now, I have a journal aside from my blog. I write when I want to burst out my emotions but I don't want to tell everyone. I write when I'm in nirvana and doesn't want to share.

Its been my style for more than 10 years now...from my unwanted love to my unexpected pregnancy..

Now, I'm doing it for living but it still my true love and has my devotion. NO wonder I can write 10-15 articles in a single day..and even if a client doesn't pay me, I will still write...

Monday, July 21, 2008

New Clients!

I'm so happy! I got two new clients- one from freindster and the other onw from odesk.

Check the classified ads in freindster but be aware that it is a free posting site..there are many prankters there..

I am more assured with www.odesk.com, since the site also charges your client and verfy payment methods. I got a client from Greece for travel articles, and the pay is good. Check the site..many Filipinos are hired there...


Saturday, July 19, 2008

How to Avoid Scams!

Opportunities for Filipinos via the internet are endless, so are scammers. If you Google online jobs, you will have thousands of searches, some are legitimate some are not. How can you detect scammers?

1. Stay away from those sites that ask you to pay for membership. the money you spent let say 10K will not be equal to the profit that you will get. Some "free" sites, are just free for the sake of marketing, you will not get many clients or projects unless you will update your membership.

2. They let you submit many articles before paying you. I read in many posts that some sites ask their writers to submit 100 articles before they pay for them. when your done, they will cancel your account, imagine the pain you did for those articles.

3. Research and research. Make use of the internet to double check the person you wish to work with if they are real or not. Google their names and add the word " scam. Some scammers are very professional that its not easy to track them in the interent. I once stumble a scam and they even advertised in JObstreet. Tehy sent me a contract and they offer salary in euro when they are in the States! Their "HR Head" only has a gmail, not a company mail...so poor... I read in an Interpool that they are a scam.

4. asking for your Information like bank accounts and credit card numbers... I dont have to elaborate on this, when they start asking for these, think twice. SOme clients would even offer to make a paypal account for you since most FIlipinos dont have Paypal Accounts. My brother's ( a webmaster) American client shoulders banks transfers fees...

Well, that's all I can advise...Filipinos should be vigilant against these criminals. We are very talented and we should not let other people take advantage of us..

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

earned money

Two days ago I went to Globe to cash out my GCash from my freelance writing. The amount is not big but with the time I spent with my son and surveillance for my helper, its a good price!

I'm still looking for bigger options online...but as of now, I'm very thankful for this opportunity...

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Its already early morning...gecko is very loud...sound of silence...
I just finished and submitted my second batch of articles. I was writing about health insurance plans and honestly, it was difficult. Obviously, I'm not that familiar.

Well, I'm just happy that I can do this in my own house and I can watch my son all day..

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Freelance writers

Money earned online? It is very possible now and I know this is already a cliche. People can earn money through blogs, data entry and even while viewing sites. However, the question is which one really gives money to us? Especially for Filipinos who can't have PayPal that easy and with scams around which one should we trust?

I received P250 in my Gcash from writing 5 articles. I know it quite very small but at least I have it right after they checked my articles. Its better than all those $18 per articles advertised that would just end up as scams. You choose the topic that you will write about and it already includes the references to be used. Part time writers would have P50 per article while full time (that means you have to work everyday) gets P75 per article.

If you fully understand the topics and knows what to write, it will just take you less than thirty minutes to finish a 500-word article. For stay at home moms or dads and for those who wants extra income, check http://get-paid-for-writing.blogspot.com

Sign up for PayPal and start accepting credit card payments instantly.

About Me

My photo
Shifting to be a freelance writer from the conventional 8-5pm job was the best career move I made. I have control of my time especially for my toddler and most of all, I reap higher financial rewards!