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| {img credit: aless&ro} |
Sooooo, erm, since my last post, I've decided to go back into freelance writing. AGAIN!
First time I dabbled in freelance writing, it was cool, but then I got a bit, I don't know, I just felt the need to move on.
Second time I revisited it, it was short-lived; I stopped a few months after I started.
This time, I've decided that if I'm gonna get back into it, I need to be doing topics I really enjoy talking/writing about. The last two freelance writing stints I did, I was writing about all kinds of things, and perhaps that was part of the problem. I do like variety, but maybe there was just too much variety.
I'd rather specialise.
I've gone for two niches: Celebrity and Paranormal. Celebrity, because I often seem to have an opinion about one celeb or the other; I'd also rather like to tap into my sarcastic side and I think blogging in that niche would be a good vehicle for that. :-)
I chose the Paranormal/Horror niche because I grew up watching horror films (Evil Dead, Hammer House of Horror, Salem's Lot, etc.) and reading horror books (mostly by Stephen King and Dean Koontz). I love Blade, Fright Night, Paranormal Activity and Francis Ford Coppola's version of Bramstoker's Dracula. I used to watch Most Haunted and Ghost Whisperer. In Nigeria, my cousin would tell me superstition-ridden rules, like if you spill salt, you need to sprinkle water on it, or it's bad luck to step on a tuber of yam, or you shouldn't let someone step over your legs when they're outstretched, stuff like that. And I found it fascinating.
When I was younger, my brother who was an avid Elvis Presley fan, and my other older siblings, held a séance to summon the spirit of Elvis. The candlelight flickered, there was a noise outside our window and the glass on the table broke. It turned out it was the landlord's kids, but I was so scared by the sudden noise that I developed a fever which stayed with me for days.
Anyway, I digress.
My Freelance Writing Progress So Far...
I'm writing for two celebrity blogs! One I found on Gumtree; the other on Digital Point forums' Content Creation section. The first doesn't pay that great - £1 per post – and I'm currently on trial. If I do get it, I'll use it for target practice, plus it'll look good on my portfolio, plus the posts can be a minimum of 150 words.
The other one pays better - $0.07/word - so it kinda balances out.
I'm hoping that by specialising in a couple of niches, I can charge more as I go along. Actually, scratch the hope, I WILL charge more.
Things I've Learnt Recently...That I'd Like to Pass Onto Whoever It's Relevant to...
- I believe it's possible to write about things you enjoy writing about and get paid for it
- you CAN get clients willing to pay you what you believe you're worth. They are out there.
- although there are several $0.01/$0.02-a-word gigs on Digital Point, you CAN get clients willing to pay more – sometimes much more
- consider raising your rates. I upped mine from $0.05/word to $0.07/word for the second celebrity blogging gig I got and that's the rate I'll charge for future gigs for now. It's not as easy as I might make it sound. When I was applying for the gig, I did worry. I did fear I'd price myself out of something I really wanted. I offered a safety net by saying my rate was open to negotiation, but then the client came back and said he was OK with my rate.
I might not be able to get as many clients at what I now charge, but then charging a higher rate means that I don't need that many clients or need to write as many posts as I would if I was on $0.05/word.
(*p.s. to the above points: you obviously have to be a fairly good writer to start with.)
With the frequency in which I'm allowed to create posts on each blog, I'll be making roughly £200-230 month. I'd like to get that up to £500/month, so I'm keeping my eyes, ears and belly button open for more gigs. :-)
Have a good week, all.
Too-doo-loo,
ebele.
