WritingThoughts

Getting paid for your writing is a hot topic these days. Carson Brackney, of the Content Done Better blog, recently confessed that he took a writing job for free. On her writing blog, Angela Booth posted a very useful piece on how to get paid to write. The internet is littered with advertisements for books that “teach” writers how to find more pay.

The purpose of this post is to list some common sites where writing jobs are frequently listed. It is my hope that this will become a resource for all of us to use, so if you know of some sites where writing jobs are listed feel free to comment or email me with the site URL. If the site meets the criteria I will add the site to the list. (Note: I am looking for sites whose main purpose is to list jobs for writers, not sites whose main purpose is something else and just coincidentally list a job from time to time.)

The job sites listed here fall into two categories: bidding sites and general job-listing sites.

Bidding Sites

(Updated in 2014 to add: I no longer recommend bidding sites. In the past few years, It has seemed that the jobs go to the person whose bid is the lowest–often at a price that no writer could afford to live on. However, if you want a list of a few–here it is.)

At bidding sites candidates bid on listed jobs. At some sites there may be a fee to bid on jobs. When a candidate receives a job the bidding site usually gets a percentage of the candidate’s pay from the job. Advantages to a bidding site include arbitration with clients, payment for job held in escrow until job is done, and the creation of 1099s for all work done through the bidding site. Many writers depend on bidding sites to find most of their work.

1. Guru.com –According to the Guru.com site they are the the world’s largest online marketplace for freelance talent. I don’t know if that’s true, or not. I do know that I have gotten a job from this source.
2. Elance.com–I’ve had both a free membership and the cheapest paid membership at Elance. Despite my trying two different types of membership, I’ve never been able to get a job from them. In my opinion, that’s usually because the holders of the most expensive paid memberships are the only ones who can bid on the best projects. You may have better luck than me.
3. Rent-A-Coder.com–Don’t let the name fool you. They do offer writing jobs at this site. I find the interface for this site to be a little confusing, but I know that lots of writers are getting work here. Be sure that you use the Bid Request Filter to hone in on jobs that fit your skills.
4. Scriptlance.com–This is another site that appears to cater to programmers, but actually has writing jobs too. I have never used this site, but understand that some writers have successfully found work here.

General Job Listing Sites

In contrast, general job listing sites generally do not charge a fee, nor does the site receive a percentage of payment from jobs. However, a general job-listing site will also not usually provide arbitration, escrow accounts, or 1099s for work found through that site. It is very important to thoroughly check the references of employers found through a general job-listing site since the job-listing site may not have researched the listings.

1. Freelance Writing Jobs–Experienced freelance writer, Deb Ng, scours the internet nearly every day for job leads for writers.
2. About.com:weblogs — Deb Ng is the new About guide for web logs. At this location she lists paying opportunities for bloggers.
3. The Golden Pencil (Updated: Site No longer available)–Ann Wayman of The Golden Pencil regularly lists many freelance writing and editing jobs.
4. Problogger job board –Darren Rowse is the Problogger. This blogging guru now lists professional blogging positions.
5. About Freelance Writing–This informative website for writers also includes job listings.
   
6. craigslist.org–Search for writing jobs on the granddaddy of all classified internet advertisements!! (Warning, it may take a while to drill down to the level of jobs you are looking for.)

I look forward to hearing your feedback and your additions to this post!! If I get additions I’ll republish this post in a few weeks.

Contents (c) Copyright 2007, Laura Spencer. All rights reserved.