Giving Content Divas a shot

I'm constantly looking for new content-writing work these days. That's because it's getting more and more difficult to earn steady writing assignments at print magazines and newspapers. These clients still make up the majority of my freelance-writing income, but content writing has steadily accounted for a growing percentage these days.

I've built up a nice base of reliable content-writing clients. But I always need more. That's because a lot of content-writing clients need only enough writing to fill up a certain number of niche sites. Once they get that writing, they disappear for a month or two until they need some fresh copy.

This is partly why I applied last week to Content Divas. Much like AdAstra Traffic, which I've written about recently, Content Divas is a company that links freelance content-writers with content projects.

This evening, I heard back from Content Divas -- just two days after I sent in my application -- that I've been hired on as a writer. Now, the pay, as with most content-writing jobs, isn't stellar. But the service promises fairly steady work. And right now, with the struggles that the economy is suffering through, I appreciate any work that's steady and reliable.

I've heard from other writers, and read on other blogs, that Content Divas pays its writers on time. It has a unique set-up, too. Writers are hired to write keyword articles, blog posts, press releases or e-book material. Projects last a certain number of days, and writers are expected to turn in 1,000 words each day. If projects are short, and only last a few days, writers receive payment at the end of the project. If they're long, they receive partial part upfront, the rest when they finish the job.

I'm a fast writer, so I'm hoping that this will work to my advantage with Content Divas.

Meanwhile, today was an interesting day. A comic book biography I've written on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was officially announced at a number of comic-book sites today. The comic, published by BlueWater Productions, will hit comic stores in January. At the same time, I've been hired by BlueWater to write another comic biography -- I can't say who yet, but it's for the companies music-themed line and will focus on a very popular female musician -- that will be released in 2010.

Ridiculous content-writing offers at Digital Point Forums

We all know that content writers don't exactly fetch kingly rates. But if you're fast enough, you just might make a decent hourly rate, as long as you don't accept assignments that pay insultingly low offers.

Now, if you are looking for insulting offers, try exploring the forums at Digital Point. This forum, dedicated to Web site owners and the people who provide them services, has its own subsection where Web site owners request content writers for their sites.

Sounds like a good place to find work, right? Well, sometimes. Unfortunately, it's most often a place where site owners ask writers to provide them content for ridiculously low offers.

Here's an example: This guy needs an article writer for a bulk project. The pay he's offering? A miserly $1 for 300 words. But, the poster promises, the work is in bulk. What does this mean? That he'll end up paying writers $5 for 1,500 words. That's pretty damn bad.

This poster is willing to pay $2 for 300 words. Again, this is pretty lousy. What's even worse is the poster's attitude. The poster says that writers who provide three or more "bad" articles will be fired. That's right, fired from this terribly lucrative $2-for-300-word job. What will the poor writer do? Work at McDonald's for even more money?

Overall, Digital Point is a rather depressing place. It's filled with forum posters who can barely string together two sentences demanding perfection from writers for $1 articles. If you're looking for good content-writing work -- and there are good clients out there, even in the world of content writing -- skip Digital Point.

Giving TextBroker a try

Maybe I'm desperate. I had a solid September and a good August. But October looks to be rather shaky from a paying-jobs standpoint.

So it's time to give TextBroker a real try. Sigh.

Yes, I'm not proud to admit it. Let's face it, TextBroker pays some embarrassing rates. I've seen folks requesting 500-word articles for $1.50. That's pitiful.

Still, TextBroker, like Demand Studios and Writer Divas, can help fill in those gaps in months when the number of paying assignments isn't as high as you'd like.

So far this month -- and yes, I know it's only October 1 today -- I've written a 500-word story in the fitness field for $7.57 and a 350-word story on mortgage lending for $5.03. I next plan to write a 350-word story on online dating for $5.50. Each of the first two stories I wrote, which required no research because I'm familiar with each subject, took me 15 minutes to write. If the online dating one takes as long, that'll mean I'll have made about $18 for 45 minutes of work. That's not terrible.

Of course, it's not particularly sustainable, either. For instance, tomorrow I have to write a 1,200-word story for the Washington Post. That will take up most of my morning. I also have to prepare three blog posts for a Chicago real estate agent. That will take time, too. If I'm lucky, I'll get one TextBroker assignment done.

TextBroker is an option, though. If you can pound out the stories quickly, and write only on topics that you don't need to research, you can make a decent hourly wage. Of course, you won't pay the mortgage with TextBroker, but you might be able to pay the cable bill.

The danger of burnout

Be careful what you wish for. Two months ago, I was desperate for work. My very best print-magazine client had stopped assigning freelance stories. One other had gone out of business, and a third was moving from a monthly publication to one published just six times a year.

So I started grabbing whatever I could to make up the difference.

That included two content-writing gigs for two different publishers. One would pay me $300 a month. The second, $350 a month. It didn't equal one assignment from my formerly top print client, but at least it helped.

Until now. These two assignments are dragging me down. They're a lot of work -- basically, I'm producing a package of content stories every week for both publishers -- and take up more time than they deserve. And now that I've secured a new print-magazine client -- one focusing on healthcare, so it's strong -- and some writing for a trivia book that will basically let me take on as much work as I want, I'm finding it difficult to keep up with the content-producing work for these other clients.

The problem is, I'm not willing to give up the work just yet. There's no guarantee that another slow month isn't just around the corner. My wife is going back to school, which means for the first time we'll be paying for childcare this fall. We need to sock away as much money as possible.

So for now, I'll continue working the late nights pounding away at nonsensical stories about dating, collectible coins minted in Canada and pinup artists. It's a living -- sorta' -- and, burnout or not, I'm thankful that I at least have enough writing work to pay my mortgage, our other bills and take a rare trip to the movies.

Juggling "real" writing and content writing

Content writing isn't real journalism. I don't care what anyone says: Content writing is pretty much the a weekly shopper while real journalism is the New York Times.

That being said, I have no problem contributing to that shopper. Content writing is making me some nice side money, especially during these trying economic times when print publications are struggling mightily.

But it's not work I'm proud of.

Now I'm facing a different sort of problem with content writing. I've gotten so many assignments from small publishers -- nickel-and-dime stuff that I don't want to turn down in this economy -- that I'm struggling to get my "real" journalism done.

For this month, this "real" writing includes a story for the jobs section of a major newspaper, a story for a medical trade magazine and two stories for an environmental publisher. These stories take real effort and thought: I have to interview people. I have to research facts and studies.

Of course, they pay well, too.

It's hard to get this work done, though, when I'm spending my daytime hours pounding out 15 short posts on visiting New York City or playing Bakugan. (Yes, Bakugan. I'm a grown man writing about Bakugan. Sigh.)

How do you juggle all your writing assignments? How do you make the time when you also want to spend time with your family? Does the arrival of summer vacation -- which started here yesterday -- through off your routine?

Let me know your thoughts.

Follow-up: I did get a bit more money

Yesterday I wrote about asking a content-writing client for a bit more money to write three stories that I felt would take more research than usual.

Well, after a brief e-mail exchange, I will be getting some extra money for the stories.

I didn't get everything I asked for. Basically, we agreed to split the difference: I'll get extra money on the stories, but only half of what I originally asked for.

That's fine. There's always room for compromise, even in the speed-and-volume-at-all-costs world of content writing.

The lesson here, then, is an obvious one. Don't be afraid to ask your content-writing clients for a little extra every once in a while. Sure, most times they'll probably beg off. But you may get lucky. In this economy, every little bit of extra money helps.

You can ask for more, even in content writing

As content writers, we often undervalue ourselves. I'm guilty of this, too. Sometimes you have to really look at what you're doing. Does it make financial sense?

I'm currently working with a client who runs several business-themed content sites. Last week, I provided him with several stories relating to subjects such as power tools, window tinting and workshop safety.

This week, he wants me to write thee insurance-related posts. These posts need to be from 500 to 600 words, and they must cover certain subjects in depth. I'm happy to do it, but I've asked for a bit more money. These posts are simply more work: They require more research, and their longer.

I'm not asking for a fortune, just $5 more for each story.

Even content writers need to be paid fairly for their time. I'm not sure what the response from my client will be. This is only the second time I've written for him. But I imagine he'll be OK with my request. And if he's not? Then I don't want to write for him anyway.

Lunching with a soon-to-be freelancer?

I met my very first editor for lunch today. He was in charge of my local community weekly when I graduated from college back in 1991. I made $13,000 that first year working for him as a sports, crime, obituary and features writer. The money was awful, but I did learn how to interview sources, research stories and write an effective lede.

I've moved on to mostly freelance writing these days. But my former editor is still banging away at community newspapers. It's a job he's always loved.

Unfortunately, he's worried he may not have this job much longer. So as we both munched on egg rolls and fried rice, he picked my brains about the freelancing life.

I told my editor, and now friend, that it's not an easy job these days. Print clients are drying up every day. Others are paying $400 for stories that last year they paid me $700. It's a drag.

Online writing is especially tough, I told him. You have to sacrifice a lot of style if you want to really make money. The key for writing for the content sites or blogging networks is to write a lot of stuff really fast. It often doesn't even have to be all that well-written.

This news depressed him. And, I gotta' admit, it made me a bit glum to be telling it to him. I told him about my forays into content and blog writing. I told him that I hope that one day this writing will be more lucrative, but that for now it's mostly grind, grind, grind with little reward.

Still, it is writing. And not many people can support themselves by writing. That is a positive. And I'm also hoping that we have reached the bottom of this economy. Perhaps the publishing industry will begin a slow recovery soon. If that happens, who knows, maybe my print clients will come back.

We skipped the sweets after lunch, by the way. No one was in the mood to break $10 for our meals.