Bidding to Get the Gig

When you freelance for print and online publications, you're offered a rate (almost always per-word) for your work. You either take the assignment or turn it down. Easy enough. But what happens when you have to bid on a job? Then you've got to determine what you'll charge, and this is tricky even for seasoned freelancers.

With that in mind, I offer these tips on bidding. First, try to get a sense of the client’s budget if at all possible. Let's say I'm asked by a regional publication how much I charge for reprints. I'll counter with, "What does your market usually pay for reprints?" The response will  affect how much I ask for. Here's the thing--I've had reprint markets pay as little as $40 and as much as $500 for rights to a story. I want to get as much as I can, but for a reprint (which requires very little work on my end), I'm more than happy to work with a publication's budget. 

Second, give reasons to support your bid. If I'm asked to quote my fee for a speech, for example, I point out that I've been a professional speaker for more than 10 years, and have keynoted corporate and nonprofit events. If I'm asked to quote a fee for ghostwriting, I'll highlight the fact that I've been ghostwriting books for nine years, and have experience working with traditional and POD publishers. Never give a bid without demonstrating what you're worth it. 

Third, if at all possible, provide your bid in writing. A written bid lets you demonstrate that you are clear on the the scope of the project and your client's goals. Taking the time to provide a written bid also prevents you from blurting out a number that's too low--and then regretting it later.  

Finally, make sure that you demonstrate how your background and experience sets you apart. Chances are that your potential client is looking at other writers, too, so your proposal needs to make it easy for the client to choose you over them, especially if your bid comes in higher than others. I'm upfront about the fact that I charge more money than (some) other ghostwriters. So I want to convince the client she wants me enough to choose me over someone who may be cheaper. That's why I always explain how I will approach the project (without giving too much away) before I bring up money. In other words, sell the client on you first, and then state your price. 

**Readers, do you agree with my tips on bidding? Would you like to see an example of a bid to a potential client? Let me know by commenting below. 

**Want to know more about ghostwriting, including content marketing? Check out Goodbye Byline, Hello Big Bucks: Make Money Ghostwriting Books, Articles, Blogs and More, Second Edition on Kindle. Prefer print? Stay tuned--Improvise Press will be releasing the print version in September, 2014! 

Why Your Pitch Didn't Sell

Pitching and getting rejected is part of freelancing. But wouldn't you rather pitch more effectively--and sell more of your ideas from the outset?

As writers, we sometimes get caught up with what our own great ideas. I've been guilty of this, too. I come up with an idea that I think is compelling, and I write the pitch. I craft a strong lead, give plenty of detail about how I plan to approach the piece, and highlight my unique qualifications. Then it doesn't sell, and afterwards, I realize I neglected an essential element--why readers of the publication I pitched will care about the story.  

In fact, you must demonstrate this in every pitch, especially markets that are new to you. Remember that a solid query has four elements: 

• A lead to catch the editor's attention; 
• More detail about the topic to prove that the topic will work for this market, what I call the "why-write-it" section;
• The "nuts and bolts," where you explain how you plan to approach the topic; and
• The ISG, or "I'm-so-great," where you highlight your unique qualifications to write the piece. 

You make your case for the story in the "why write it" section. Here are some examples of how I've demonstrated why readers will care about a topic: 

• When pitching a woman's magazine a health feature on the surprising causes of fatigue, I cited a recent survey that stated that "fatigue" was in the top ten health complaints for women. I was assigned a 1,800-word piece at $2,5000. 
• When pitching a true life feature about a woman who had a mysterious disease, I highlighted the inherent drama of the story, including the fact that she had sought treatment from the world-renowned Mayo Clinic--and the doctors there had told her she wasn't sick. (She in fact was very ill.) I was assigned a 1,000-word story for $500.  
•  When pitching a piece on heart rate training for a men's body building magazine, I pointed out that most men who lift hate doing cardio (they'd much rather pump iron) but that my article would show them how to do it more effectively and efficiently. I was assigned a 1,200-word piece for $1,200. 
• When pitching a health website about the connection between religious weight loss programs, I cited both their growing popularity posture and the fact that one of the program directors had a current, best-selling book. I was assigned a 700-word piece for $700. 

Get the idea? Look at your idea and make sure you can demonstrate to the editor why her readers will be interested in the topic. You'll boost your chance of getting the assignment! 

**Today is one of my favorites holidays--St. Patrick's Day. In honor of my Irish grandmother, Colleen, and my daughter's Irish "first mom," Chaleigh, I'm offering a special offer on my Improvise Press titles. For a limited time, you'll get 25 percent off of the cover price of Six-Figure Freelancing: The Writer's Guide to Making More Money, Second Edition, and Dollars and Deadlines: Make Money Writing Articles for Print and Online Markets, when you use the discount code SHAMROCK (all caps). 

Blast from the Past: Dollars/Word Versus Dollars/Hour

Hi, readers--I'm in the midst of the project that will not end. If I was charging by the hour, this would be good news--I'd be making more and more money. However, I'm being paid a set fee (or a project fee), which means my hourly rate is plummeting. It also means that I have close to zero free time, which is why this week's post features a "blast from the past"--one of my most popular posts--about a semantic difference that many freelancers ignore to their peril.  

So, let's talk about what you're making per-word for the articles you write. Is it $1/word? $2/word? $0.40/word? $0.25/word? Even less? 

You may be surprised that I've taken on assignments that pay $0.40/word, even $0.25/word, and yes, even less than that. I don't care about the per-word rate as much as I care about what I make per-hour.

Per-word rates are the norm in the freelance world. This figure, multiplied by word count, tells you how much you’ll make for writing a particular story. But it may not tell you whether it’s worth it to take it on. The real question is how much time the story will take. The assignment amount, divided by the number of hours you put into it, gives you your hourly rate for the piece.

Knowing how much time an article (or any other project, for that matter) will take gives you a concrete idea of the return on your time. And those $1/word and up assignments can be mighty misleading. Sure, it’s a bigger check than writing for a market that pays a lower per-word rate. But are you really making more money?

For example, let’s say I do a 1,000-word story for a national magazine that pays $1.50/word. Fair enough—I’m getting paid $1,500 for my work. But what happens if between researching and writing the query, writing an outline (per my editor), researching the article, finding sources, doing interviews, transcribing interviews, writing the piece, turning in the piece, revising the piece (per my editor’s request), finding new sources (per my editor), interviewing those sources, turning in the final revision, submitting my backup material, answering additional questions from the editor (say, nine months later…it happens), I’ve put 25 hours into my story? That means I’ve made $60/hour on that story.

Not bad, but here’s the thing—compare that to a 1,000-word piece on the same topic for a smaller magazine that pays only $0.35/word. Yet I know the editor and my query is just a short paragraph. The story requires some background research and several interviews, and takes me a total of five hours to write. (No revisions requested! Yay!) That a total of $350, for five hours’ worth of work—or $70/hour.

At first glance, the $1,500 piece looks like a better assignment—and it is a bigger check. But my experience has been that national markets (and I’ve written for more than 60 of them) expect a lot more work from you to earn that higher rate. In many cases, I’ve found that regional magazines, trade publications, websites, and specialty magazines actually pay better per-hour than big national pubs. And that makes them worthwhile markets for me.

What about you? Are you tracking your time…or just your dollars?

**Readers, I'm working on a list of topics to cover for the rest of the winter. What questions do you have about freelancing? Comment here and I'll be happy to consider them. In the meantime, if  you're serious about turning your passion for writing into profits, check out Dollars and Deadlines: Make Money Writing Articles for Print and Online Markets. Already making money as a freelancer, but want to take your career to the next level? Then you need Six-Figure Freelancing, Second Edition: The Writer's Guide to Making More Money. 

Talking Freelance Money: Per-Hour Versus Per-Word

Hi, readers! Today's post is a flashback of sorts--an updated version of one of my first, and also one of my most popular. It encompasses one of my freelancing philosophies--that it's more important to pay attention to what you're making per-word than per-hour. 

Per-word rates are the norm in the freelance world. You may be paid $2/word for a national print magazine, $0.25/word for an online publication, or, say, $200 for a blog post of about 600 words. The per-word figure, multiplied by word count, tells you how much you’ll make for writing a particular article. story. But it may not tell you whether it’s really worth it to take it on. To know the answer to that, you must also consider how much time the piece will take to pitch, research, and write--and possibly rewrite. Divide your assignment fee by the number of hours you put into an assignment, and you'll have its hourly rate. 

Knowing how much time an article (or any other project, for that matter) will take gives you a concrete idea of the return on your time. Because those $1/word and up assignments can be mighty misleading. Sure, it’s a bigger check than writing for a market that pays a lower per-word rate. But does a higher per-word rate mean you're making more money if you were to write for a market that pays less? 

For example, let’s say I do a 1,000-word story for a national magazine that pays $1.50/word. Fair enough—I’m getting paid $1,500 for my work. But what happens if between researching and writing the query, writing an outline (per my editor), researching the article, finding sources, doing interviews, transcribing interviews, writing the piece, turning in the piece, revising the piece (per my editor’s request), finding new sources (per my editor), interviewing those sources, turning in the final revision, submitting my backup material, answering additional questions from the editor (say, nine months later…it happens), I’ve put 25 hours into my story? That means I’ve made $60/hour on that story.

Not bad, but here’s the thing—compare that to a 1,000-word piece on the same topic for a smaller magazine that pays only $0.35/word. Yet I know the editor and my query is just a short paragraph. The story requires some background research and several interviews, and takes me a total of five hours to write. (No revisions requested! Yay!) That a total of $350, for five hours’ worth of work—or $70/hour.

At first glance, the $1,500 piece appears to be a more lucrative assignment—and it is a bigger check. But my experience has been that national markets (and I’ve written for more than 60 of them during the last 16 years) expect a lot more work from you to earn that higher rate. In many cases, I’ve found that regional magazines, trade publications, custom magazines, and websites pay more per-hour than their national counterparts. And that makes them worthwhile markets, at least for me. 

Another example? I sell reprints to a variety of markets. No, the rates aren't high--and may be as low as $40/story, but last week I got a request for an article of mine. It took me less than 15 minutes to locate the story on my hard drive and email it to her along with an invoice--an hourly rate of $160. That number puts a new perspective on selling reprints, huh? 

To know your hourly rate, you have to know how much time each assignment takes, and thats's why I recommend using a time sheet, especially if you're a new writer. As you gain experience, you'll find you can more easily estimate how long a piece will take and have a better feel for what its hourly rate--its true value--will be. 

**Looking for more advice on writing for money? Check out my latest two books, Dollars and Deadlines: Make Money Writing Articles for Print and Online Markets, and Six-Figure Freelancing: The Writer's Guide to Making More Money, Second Edition. 

You'll save money by buying them direct through www.improvisepress.com, my newly-launched publishing company. Use the discount code, IMPROVISEPRESS (all caps, no breaks) for 20 percent off of your order--and let me know if you'd like a signed copy for yourself or a friend! 

Never Been Published? Nailing your First Assignment (Part 2 of 2)

             Last post we talked about coming up with ideas for your first pitches. Now let's talk about pitching those ideas. 
             There are two basic ways to go about pitching an idea. One is to come up with an idea first, and then try to find a potential market for it. That’s what I used to recommend for new writers. The second method is to find a market that you want to write for, and then come up with potential ideas for it.
            Today, I suggest that writers use the second method. Here’s why. Marketing, especially when you’re a new freelancer, takes a huge amount of time. If you can find a market that you can write for multiple times, you cut your marketing time. It’s much easier to sell an idea to an editor you’ve worked with before than to someone completely new.

I learned this lesson the hard way. I was so focused on coming up with saleable ideas as a new freelancer that I wound up doing a lot of “one-shots,” where I would write about one subject for one market and then move on. So, I wrote one story on a charity car show for The Lion magazine, and then moved on. I wrote a profile for a magazine called Accent on Living, and moved on. I wrote a story for Editor & Publisher, and moved on. I sold a piece to a (now defunct) health website…and moved on.

You’re getting the idea, right? Each of those stories took a lot of time to pitch, plus I had to research and write them afterwards. By never writing for those markets again, I wasted my time.

My career took off when I started to focus on markets that reflected more of my interests. For example, when I started freelancing fulltime, I was planning my wedding. Then, and as a newlywed, I had lots of bridal-related ideas. Well, I didn’t write just one story for Bridal Guide. Because I came up with more ideas, I got more assignments. And then my editor started approaching me to assign ideas she’d come up with for me.

When I sold a piece to For the Bride, another national market, the same thing happened. Yes, I was still pitching, but now I was a known entity to my editor, and she responded more quickly than she would have to a complete stranger—and also reached out to assign ideas she had come up with to me.

 So forget about selling one idea to one market. Start with markets you can write for more than once, and work with the goal of writing for that publication multiple times. That tip alone will make you more efficient (and smarter!) from the start. 

 **This post was taken from Dollars and Deadlines: Make Money Writing Articles for Print and Online Markets. It's for new freelancers who want to transition from unpublished to published and paid. If you already have a few clips, check out Six-Figure Freelancing: The Writer's Guide to Making More Money, Second Edition, available through Kindle (print editions coming by March 30). 

 Readers, what about you? Do you come up with an idea, and then look for a market? Or do you find a market you want to to write for, and then pitch it? And why? Please comment here! 

Adaptability--The Key to a Longterm Successful Freelance Career

Ever wondered what six-figure freelancers have in common? If you’re new to the writing business, let me help you overcome the stereotype about freelance writers. Many people think of self-employed writers as:

• Disorganized

• Unprofessional

• Creative

• Unconcerned about money

• Difficult

• Angst-ridden

• Naive

• Distracted

• Sexy, wonderful, charming, intelligent people (Oops! That’s what I think of self-employed writers.)

Successful freelancers--including ones who make six figures, or more--shatter the stereotype of the writer as creative genius or daydreaming scribe. Yes, they're paid for their words. But their focus isn't limited only to those words. They present themselves as smart, savvy business owners who happen to write for a living. And I'll tell you that your demeanor and attitude can mean the difference between scraping by as a freelancer and making a good living.

I just spent the last three months interviewing successful six-figure freelancers for the updated, expanded version of Six-Figure Freelancing: The Writer's Guide to Making More Money, Second Edition. (It's currently available for Kindle and through Smashwords; Improvise Press will release the print version by March 30, 2013.) All of the writers have have been freelancing for more than a decade, and more than half have weathered more than 20 years in a highly competitive business—and continue to thrive. 

Some write for corporations and businesses; some focus on writing books; others make the majority of their income from online publications. Some write for consumer pubs and others write for trades; many do both. They cover subjects ranging from biotechnology, to investing, to golf, to dog-friendly businesses, to martial arts. Some maintain speaking and consulting careers in addition to freelancing; others are more comfortable behind their desks. But despite their differences, they have many things in common.

Although racked with self-doubt at times, these successful freelancers have all learned to project confidence. When facing a changing business environment, they were able—and willing—to adapt, to grow, to learn new skills and pursue new opportunities. It's the latter quality that has sustained them and helped them succeed even in 2013, when the freelance marketplace looks very different than ten or even five years ago. 

I interviewed more than two dozen freelancers back in 2003 for the initial version of Six-Figure Freelancing, which was published in 2005. When I reinterviewed one, only two were doing pretty much the same thing that they did a year ago. The rest had all changed their business models. 

Some had all but abandoned writing articles for traditional media in favor of working primarily for corporate clients. Several had added consulting to their portfolios while others were producing income from their own blogs. About half were now writing more for online than print pubs. While they continued to freelance, several had launched other, non-writing-related businesses. 

It's true that nearly all of them were still doing some type of work they did a decade ago. But more important, nearly all were doing work they didn't do a decade ago. By continuing to adapt to the ever-changing freelance marketplace, they've continued to sustain successful careers. That's advice worth following wherever you are in your freelance career.   

**This post drawn from Six-Figure Freelancing: The Writer's Guide to Making More Money, Second Edition. If you've heard of this freelancing classic (that's long since been out of print), you'll find the updated, expanded version well worth the $9.99 you'll spend for the ebook.  

The Freelancer's Bible--and How to Collect on Every Invoice

Hi, readers, and happy President's Day to my fellow Americans. :) 
I was recently asked to read a new book aimed at freelancers of all stripes, and I was impressed with it. The Freelancer’s Bible is aimed at readers new to self-employment and walks them through everything they need to consider, including what type of business to choose, creating their initial freelance portfolio  and setting up their office. It’s got some great tips on marketing your business, including a chapter on online marketing (a skill I admit I’m weak on), and a whole section on running your business. It’s a comprehensive resource for anyone considering self-employment. 

There's a big distinction between writing and freelancing. A freelancer doesn't just write. He or she writes for money--and that's a critical distinction. That's why having a business mindset is essential to your success--and so is getting paid for your work.
But what happens when a client doesn't pay you? 

This will happen to you at some point in your freelance career, but there are steps you can take to get paid (almost) every time. 

1. Always have a signed contract before you start work. 
2. After you've completed your assignment, ask your client whether he or she needs an invoice to pay you. In many cases, an editor will simply “put payment through,” and you’ll receive in check. If you need to supply an invoice, though, you can use software like Quickbooks or write one yourself. Include your client’s name, the project, what rights you’re selling (or you can say “according to written contract dated January 1, 2011”), the amount of money, your social security number or tax ID number, and your contact information. I always include an invoice number for easier tracking.

            Here’s an example: 

DATE

EDITOR’S NAME/CONTACT INFO

Re: INVOICE #387

Dear Sue,

Please let this letter serve as my invoice for $90 for one-time reprint rights to “Banish the Workout Blues” per your e-mail of today. My social security number is xxx-xx-xxxx.

Thank you very much!

Best,

Kelly James-Enger

[mailing address]

            Good enough. But what if you don’t get paid right away? 
            3. Then it's time for step 3: a follow-up letter like the following:

DATE

EDITOR’S NAME/CONTACT INFO

Re: INVOICE #387

Dear Sue,

I’m reviewing my accounts receivable and realize I haven’t yet been paid for the above-referenced invoice, for $90 for one-time reprint rights to “Banish the Workout Blues.” Could you please let me know when I can expect payment?

Thank you very much for your time and help.

Best,

Kelly James-Enger

[mailing address]

            4. Still haven't been paid? Call the market, repeatedly if you must. If you still don't get paid, it's time for the big guns--what I call the “pay-or-die” letter. You’ll want to detail the terms of your contract, prove that you’ve satisfied your contractual obligations, and describe the attempts you’ve taken to get paid. I’ve found that threatening legal action usually provokes payment.

            One more thing--find out who actually cuts the checks (it’s not your editor) and pursue him or her directly. That will get you paid quicker.

            Here’s an example of a letter I sent to the owner of a publishing company that had owed me money for months, with names changed to protect the guilty: 

DATE

Dear Mr. Badman:

I am a fulltime freelance writer who has spent over six months trying to collect payment for work performed for No-pay magazine. I first sent invoices for the work last August after my articles were accepted, but have never been paid for them.

In the past two months alone, I have sent two letters with copies of invoices to Michael Nogood, your controller, and have called him on nine occasions. He has never returned my calls nor paid me for the outstanding sums owed me. Your company still owes me the following amounts:

Story/Issue/Amount
“Fit on the Street”/November/December, 1999/$270.45
“Ten Health Club Commandments”/January/February, 2000/$750.00

TOTAL $1,020.45

As all of this work was long since performed (back in the summer of 1999) and these issues have already been published, I would appreciate it if you would immediately issue me a check for $1,020.45. If I don’t receive payment within five days, I’ll turn the matter over for collection and will involve my attorney.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. I look forward to hearing from you and receiving my check soon.

Very truly yours,
Kelly James-Enger

With this letter, I did get paid, finally. And oh, let's not forget step 5:
5. Refuse to write for the market again. 

That's it--five steps to collecting your money. Readers, how do you collect outstanding invoices? Have you found my pay-or-die letter helpful? Let me know! 

**This post is drawn from "Collect every check" from Writer for Hire: 101 Secrets to Freelance Success. 

Time to Set your Freelance Goals for 2013

Hi, readers, and happy new year! This is my favorite day of the year. To me, January 1 represents promise, potential, possibility. It's also when I set my goals for the year, and I suggest you do the same for your career. Because I'm working today (I have a story due tomorrow!), I'm reposting last year's January 1 post. The advice is just as good now as it was then! 

           Consider the Past           

           Before you look forward, you first must look back. At the end of each year, I review what types of writing work I performed, for whom, and how much money I made as a result. I also add up the amount I made fromselling reprints and from speaking engagements so I know how much I’m making from both activities, and I look for trends, both good and bad.

Another issue to explore is how you spent your time last year. Look at when projects were assigned and when you turned them in. Are you turning around your profiles quickly but spending too much time on shorter, lower-paying pieces? Are those heavily-researched business articles really worth spending so much energy on? Remember that it’s not how much you make for a particular project—it’s what your hourly rate turns out to be.

            Finally, how diversified were you this year? Were you working for only a handful of clients or for dozens? (The former may be unavoidable if much of your work is writing books, which take much longer than articles.) Did you have lots of short, lower-paying assignments or did you focus more on bigger projects or feature stories? Does your income come from a variety of sources or only a few?

Consider the Future

So, now you know where your money came from. The next question is how much you want to make this year—and what kind of work you want to perform to make it. Should you focus your efforts in a particular area or would you rather try something new? Are you feeling burned out and want to switch gears—and try writing fiction, for example, instead of essays? Consider too how much time you can dedicate to “projects of the heart” compared to the work that pays your bills.

After you’ve set an annual income goal, determine how you’ll get there. How many hours must you write to earn that income? If you’re freelancing fulltime, the answer may be as many as necessary. Having adaily financial goal can help keep you on track. If your goal is to make $30,000 a year from freelancing, that averages to $2,500 a month or $125 a day (with four weeks off during the year.) In other words, if you can average that amount of income 240 days a year, you can make $30,000 this year. Make sense? 

Strive for a Balance  

By setting monthly, weekly or daily financial targets, you’ll be on your way to achieving your overall financial goal this year. But remember that your writing career isn’t only about the money. Your goals may also include non-financial ones like spending more time writing fiction or developing a stronger voice. (One of my goals last year was to finish my latest novel, The Honesty Index, and get it into print. And I did! 

That's why I suggest you build writing time into your schedule for projects that don’t produce income (at least not yet) but are important to you for other reasons. Even though I write for a living, I give myself time to write for myself as well. After all, if you only focus on the bottom line and continually take work that bores or frustrates you, you’ll be likely to become bored and frustrated with your career as well. 

Instead, strive for a balance between the money you want to make and the work you want to do—and both you and your bank account will be better off in 2013. 

***I've got a great list of blog topics for this year, so stay tuned. If you have a question or subject you'd like me to address on the blog, tell me so in a comment below. And in the meantime, thanks to all who have bought Writer for Hire: 101 Secrets to Freelance Success. I'll have more book news soon, and I'll be conducting my annual freelance income survey again soon, so stay tuned! 

Post Roundup: 10 Smart Posts for Newbie Freelancers

New to the freelance biz? Not sure where to start? I've put together a great post roundup for you: 

• Choose your own path. What works for another writer won't work for you, and vice versa. 
• Use your experience (even if it's not writing-related) and knowledge to get assignments.
• Educate yourself about what you can expect to be paid.  
• Market yourself all the time. Especially when you're new to the business. 
• Write about the same subjects more than once. 
• Think of your client's needs instead of your own. 
• Follow up on every pitch and LOI. 
• Connect with other writers. 
• Improve your chances of pitching success. 
• Use templates for your freelance biz.  

**And now for a brief commercial. :) If you're just getting started, I have several ebooks that will help you launch your freelance writing career: 

• Dollars and Deadlines' Guide to Selling your First Article. If you've ever wanted to see your byline in print or pixels, or want to launch your freelance career, this 10-step process will show you how...no matter how inexperienced you are.     
• Dollars and Deadlines' 10 Most Popular, Proven Ways to Make Money as a Freelance Writer. Based on my annual survey of freelancers, this ebook lists the 10 most popular ways to make money from your words--and how to break into each. 
• Dollars and Deadlines' 10 Essential Freelance Templates. Early in 2011, I devoted a month to sharing freelance templates; this ebook compiles the 10 you must have in your freelance arsenal. 
• Dollars and Deadlines' 10 Truths Every Writer Who Wants to Get Published Should Know. This ebook is a little bit of a departure for me, and is aimed at every writer who wants to get published, not those (like me) who write for money. The fact is, even if you don't care about the money, understanding how the publishing business works will boost your chances of publication. 

Or check out my latest full-length book, Writer for Hire: 101 Secrets to Freelance Success, for a comprehensive look at what it takes to build a career as a writer of short nonfiction. 

So Where's the Money Coming From? What Freelancers are Working On

Last post, I shared the income results from the 2012 Freelance Income Survey. Now let's take a closer look at what types of work freelancers are doing to produce their income.

Here are the results to question #5, which asked what kinds of work you performed for pay in 2011:

What types of work were you paid to perform during 2011? (Select all that apply.) 

Consumer magazine articles.   110   11.43%   Trade magazine articles.   79   8.21%   Custom magazine articles.   88   9.15%   Academic magazine articles.   18   1.87%   Newspaper articles.   59   6.13%   Online/Web articles.   133   13.83%   Reprinting/reselling previously published work.   32   3.33%   Writing your own books (for traditional publishers.)   24   2.49%   Publishing your own books (for POD publishers or as ebooks).   8   0.83%   Ghostwriting/coauthoring books/book proposals for clients.   30   3.12%   Blogging.   85   8.84%   Speaking/teaching (any kind--in person tele seminars Webinars etc.)   39   4.05%   Editing (any kind).   79   8.21%   Copywriting/writing for corporations/businesses.   71   7.38%   Writing for nonprofit organizations.   33   3.43%   Consulting.   29   3.01%   PR/media relations work.   21   2.18%   Other (please specify in comment field.)   24   2.49%

But are the most common types of work paying off? Yes, according to the answers to question 6, where I asked respondents to list their top five sources of income, by work type:

Trade magazine articles.   41   9.86%   Custom magazine articles.   30   7.21%   Academic magazine articles.   8   1.92%   Newspaper articles.   15   3.61%   Online/Web articles.   64   15.38%   Reprinting/reselling previously published work.   2   0.48%   Writing your own books (for traditional publishers.)   5   1.20%   Publishing your own books (for POD publishers or as ebooks).   3   0.72%   Ghostwriting/coauthoring books/book proposals for clients.   17   4.09%   Blogging.   38   9.13%   Speaking/teaching (any kind--in person tele seminars Webinars etc.)   17   4.09%   Editing (any kind).   41   9.86%   Copywriting/writing for corporations/businesses.   39   9.38%   Writing for nonprofit organizations.   16   3.85%   Consulting.   11   2.64%   PR/media relations work.   6   1.44%   Other (please specify in comment field.)   9   2.16%

So, more respondents are making money from writing online articles (15.50 percent) than any other one specific type of writing, followed by consumer magazine articles (12.83 percent), trade magazine articles and editing (tied at 9.69 percent), copywriting/writing for corporations and businesses (9.44 percent), blogging (9.20 percent). 

I'm sharing the complete answers to these questions so you can see what type of work your fellow freelancers are doing and determine whether it's time to add it (or more of it) to your repertoire. If one in ten freelancers are making money blogging, and you're not, that may be an area to explore. But the opposite is true, too--if less than 1 percent of freelancers are making money publishing their own books (whether POD or ebooks), that may mean there's an opportunity that not many writers are currently pursuing. 

Regardless, I hope you find these results thought-provoking, and helpful. I know it will be for me as I plan future blog posts; after all, the primary purpose of this blog is to help my readers. Let me know if I'm doing my job. :)

***Are you a full-time freelancer who's constantly pestered by people who want to know how to get started in the business? :) Or are you new to freelancing, and want to make the jump from unpublished newbie to published writer? Check out my new ebooks, Dollars and Deadlines' Guide to: Selling your First Article and Dollars and Deadlines' 10 Essential Freelance Templates. Each is designed for writers who are new to freelancing, and will help you transition from unpublished to published writer.