How NOT to earn money writing

June 26, 8:09 AMWriting ExaminerTiffany Colter

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While I spend a good deal of time helping writers earn a living writing, there are also some things I’ve learned about what not to do. I share these with you as a cautionary tale. If you have others that you’d like to share please post them in the comments section. Be sure and read the comments as well to see if others have had the same experiences you have.

Writing papers/term papers- I did extremely well in college [3.93 cum GPA from the Honor’s College] and I’ve always enjoyed research. When I found a site asking for people to write research papers for a tidy sum I thought it was a dream job! However, I am glad I never applied. These are places college students buy term papers and turn them in as their own. Okay, besides this being 100% unethical, it does nothing to advance your writing career. Don’t waste your time. You don’t want to find out your MD got his B.S. by using purchased term papers, do you?

 $1/article- Now, I am not against writing for $1, or for nothing, when it serves a long term purpose. I have written many articles in exchange for advertising or a byline. What I’m referring to is some of these online freelance sites that are asking for 50 well-written articles of 300-500 words each for $50 or even $75. These are all ghost written articles. They will take you about 15-20 minutes each to write [even if you do type as fast as me and know the material intimately]. You end up earning $1/hr, maybe $2, on these things in a BEST case scenario. Also, you get no long term marketability or even a byline. I see them as writing sweatshops. If you are laid off and have lots of time…okay, this might be one way to earn cash, but if you see them as a way to start freelancing you will want to look elsewhere.

Self-publishing when you have no marketing plan or platform-I edit countless manuscripts for clients who are preparing to self-publish [also called subsidy publishing or vanity publishing]. I always try to make it clear with clients from the first contact that self-publishing is only profitable if you have a strong platform [like a ministry, non-profit, or regular speaking schedule]. Despite this people want to look at examples like The Shack and other self-published success stories.  Self-publishing is never a ‘short cut’ to publication. It requires a large amount of marketing to recoup your initial outlay and to start to build a profit.  While ebooks are making this much more affordable, it is still not going to make a strong revenue stream without building a platform of interested people.

     I’m sure there are other no-no’s on the freelancing scene but these are some of the most common I encounter. Leave a comment and let us know your thoughts.