Rising up Among the Masses

With much of what we read coming from online sources, the freelance writing market is fast becoming more internet based than solely in printed form. This can be great, as you can almost instantly reach a wider fan base, but at the same time, it gives everyone and anyone license to say virtually anything. Along with that, credible sources get lost in the shuffle of 'experts' and one never really knows where sources or articles are coming from. It seems that everyone and their dog has a blog of their own, and are more than willing to share with the world, from everything from what needs to change, to the move captivating revelations going on in their lives...did I mention that I switched toothpaste brands?! Freelance writing and blogging has been granted to the masses, and those hoping to make a successful writing career must push all that harder to get noticed.

With that, the online world is constantly being bombarded by articles, blurbs, and snippets, which can make it all the more difficult for those freelance writers to actually DO good work and get their services and articles out there. SEO keyword writing is a major player in getting your words picked up and noticed by search engines, but that is a difficult beast to master. It seems that with a wider availability allowing everyone to voice their thoughts, you no longer have to like or have a particular knack for writing to be success in any type of freelance writing or online marketing, as long as you cram enough keywords into the text and market like a fiend.

It makes it a bit unfair, I feel in my humble opinion, to those who are looking to write good quality works, but aren't quite as up to speed on the evolving internet techniques. Finding freelance writing work can be tricky, with tons of competition, and writers willing to work for pennies an article. If a potential job listing gets a hundred responses, and someone offers to do the work for $5 a piece, and another candidate's price is higher, who would you choose? Between competitive pricing, experience also comes into play; which puts freelance writers just starting out at a big disadvantage. Still, you have to hope that if you continue to produce good quality work, it will get noticed in the end. In the meant time, we must polish our SEO skills and cede to the fact that it's no longer enough to simply love to write and be willing to do your best on each assignment. Freelance writers need to think of themselves as marketers and actively sell their work. Good luck freelance writers of the world!

Write for the Particular Job

Being a freelance writer for your sole source of income is a great job in that it allows you to do what you love for a living, but is also difficult because let's be honest, for most of us it doesn't pay in the way of any brain surgeon! Actually, just starting out can land you in the position of making less than those lucky few flipping burgers at the local McD's. The thing is, not only is there stiff competition for freelance writing jobs, but many of the offers don't pay very much and still require a good amount of time and research invested into each project.

This lands us freelance writers in a tough position, because often times we are also a tad perfectionistic and want only our best work represented when we submit and put our names in the byline. But, this can get us in trouble, if we are investing hours into an article that only pays $5 or $10. The thing is, you want to supply quality, but at the same time you are a working individual and can't devote copious amounts of time on jobs that aren't paying that much. That's why it is imperative to hone your skills to be both efficient, but realistic enough to know when to say, "This article is DONE."

A big part of the freelance writing business in effective time management. That being said, you need to assign your projects according to how much they are worth in what you are going to be paid, how soon they need to be submitted, and how much work or research each one is going to take. For an article that you are being paid more, the amount of time and subsequent care and quality going into the article can be higher. Moving forward, for something that is paying you only in the single digits, you can afford both time wise and money wise to spend the same amount, if not more, time on this work than the higher paying jobs. You need to be able to, yes submit a decent article, but you can't be meticulous and go into as much research and detail as you may be tempted to. In doing the smaller paying articles, it goes without saying that they aren't going to be masterpieces or the next front page article, they are fillers and you should be able to get through them fast enough to get multiple ones done and then move to the next task. Especially if you have a few different deadline to focus on.

It is always tough letting go of some of that perfectionistic attitude, but it is part of being successful in freelance writing. Because, after all, while we are doing what we love, we are still trying to earn a decent living!

Persistence is the Word

Freelance writing as a career is tough to break into. Most of the jobs you apply for want to previous work or references, but if you are new and don't have much in the way to offer up, you are stuck in a sort of nasty circle. In order to get a job you need previous experience and work, but in order to get that, you need writing jobs! It can frustrating, and downright mind-numbing at times sending out queries, replying for gigs, and a writer not only needs to have the ability to write, but outfitted with a thick skin, persistence, and patience.

Generally, jobs aren't going to fall into your lap, and unless you know someone with connections or are lucky enough to serendipitously find an easy way into the market, you will be out trolling for possible leads. Online has quickly become the best way to do this, and by searching sites you can find postings from people seeking article writers, bloggers, and other writing contributions. From there, it's just a matter of putting yourself out there time and time again, and never giving up. Honestly, these posting get hundreds if not many more replies from writers looking to fill the position, so there is tough competition. But, if you truly are willing to put the time and work into it, eventually you will get your first few replies. You'll make it to the final rounds of interviews, and ultimately...*drumroll* the first few jobs! Yes, it is possible, but don't fool yourself, it's going to come with lots of rejection first, and even after that, you can't have low self-esteem and be a successful writer. Pick yourself up and keep on going back for more, in the mean time, write...on everything and anything. Practice, and if you have a blog write there and work on your craft. If you don't have a blog, I'd suggest starting one, if for nothing more than getting the words out there.

Good luck my fellow writers and have the fortitude to keep going back out there!
Cait*

Cartoons and Cards

I have created cards that can be purchased or sent online, and they can be viewed at:


PigSpigot Greeting Cards

I love to poke fun at pop culture and everyday oddities and turn those thoughts into humorous cartoons to share!

Fitness Articles

I am an avid runner, well more closely a border-line obsessive, and being that I love to learn about the latest fitness and health related topics, I generally write about them. I am currently contributing to a few different sites on just that, including being Portland's Senior Fitness Examiner. Below you can visit my links and read my different articles!

Portland Senior Fitness Examiner

Run Portland Training Log

'The Power of the Core'

'Back to School Shape-up'

'Dining Smart at McDonald's'


'Dining Smart at Taco Bell'

'Dining Smart at Carl's Jr.'

'Dining Smart at Wendy's'

Blogging

Ethical Consumption Blogger at Justmeans

Second Ethical Consumption Blogger for External Justmeans

So You Want to be a Welder, eh?

Meeting to Address Global Warming

Reducing our Impact but Increasing it in Another Way

The North Pole to Become the North Lake?

Eco-ize Your Halloween

Make the Most Money From Your Welding Job

What to Expect on a Welding Certification Test

Are You Ready to go it Alone in the Welding World?

Oh the Possibilities: Many Welding Projects

Welding Projects: Let Your Hobby Take Flight

Find the Best Welding Helmet - What You Need to Know

"Alone"

She sits beside her fireplace, quietly rocking.

Back and forth, back and forth.

Silently contemplating:

Lost in the past, ignoring the present, not yet ready to accept the future?

All is still, all is calm;

Nothing moves, not the slightest sound of life around her.

Her only companion, the potted fern,

Dutifully fulfilling its place in life,

Growing with water, seeking the sun, expanding its roots.

There it sits alone on the window sill;

While it’s master is seated in her own isolation.

What is she thinking, in time to the back and forth, back and forth?

Perhaps musing on memories past, opportunities taken or lost,

Regrets or shortcomings, elations or sweet accomplishments?

Maybe brought back to an era few still alive to recall,

Living life vicariously through lapsed memory.

Alternatively, she is mentally wandering among more of the mundane:

Chores, grocery list, errands, or bills.

No one watching to ask what could possibly occupy her thoughts,

No one there to care.

The clock ticks in time with her rocking,

Ever back and forth, back and forth.

Fire dimming just slightly,

Casting the only lighted shadows across the floor.

Moon having risen, stars slightly visible through scattered clouds,

Little light encompasses our mute persons.

Owls and bats fly freely outside,

Birds of prey in the endless cycle of predatory habits.

Blankly programmed slates simply driven by primal urges;

Next meal, next need, next act of survival.

Yet this seated creature much more complex,

Unable to simply live to exist.

More is beyond the surface, a prize yet a burden;

Not so simply this life to be lead.

Possible troubled angst on one side,

Potential happiness fulfilled on the other;

A pendulum to be swung one way or another.

Back and forth, back and forth.

At times resting on this journey,

Motion is halted and balance is found.

Yet constant changes quake this swing back to motion;

Choices, decisions, actions.

Not all are in our power-left to fate,

Others solely conscious, and put in motion by one’s own hand,

Still some simply repercussions combinations of two.

What twists of fate,

Or is it by personal regard does this heavy thinker rock

Back and forth, back and forth?

Could loneliness reside within that beating heart,

Aching for something lost or perhaps never fulfilled?

Conversely is it perfect contentment found in her present company:

A fern of no words.

What brews below this surface one wonders;

Troubled unease, aching pines,

Pleasant acceptance, anticipated hopes?

As each being is so layered,

Only obliged to share as much as one pleases,

One soul truly knows itself.

How well one may see another is only through the window they open

Decidedly as far to their liking.

What light they cast outwardly dimmed and brightened

Exclusively by their own kindling.

She sits beside her fireplace, quietly rocking

Back and forth, back and forth.

An enigma, a mystery to all the outside.

Sweetly contained in the safety of her abode but also her mind;

What weighs on this delicate soul?