More job tips for aspiring writers

Did you try any of those ideas? Oh good. Let me know how you get on.

Here are some more ideas I'm exploring.

#1 Submitting unsolicited articles to papers and magazines.
I'm currently writing a series of humorous guides to France. I sent links to some of my articles to my local paper and offered to write similar guides to my local area. After a brief email acknowledging receipt of my idea, I heard nothing. After 2 weeks, the silence was deafening. I decided to make life easier for them and WRITE a sample article. (Freelancers should always make it AS EASY AS POSSIBLE for people to employ them.) Now all they have to do is copy and paste. I'll let you know if it works.

#2 Proofreading college dissertations.
I haven't tried this yet, but a friend recommended contacting colleges with a large number of overseas students, who might want their dissertations rendered into less-broken English. Apparently a friend of hers has done it successfully for a number of years.

#3 This.
Blogging. There's no shortage of information out there about how to earn your first million by teatime through blogging. Unsurprisingly, there's usually an e-book or DVD you need to buy if you want to learn the true secrets. Some of the best FREE information I've found is at Problogger.
The number of do's and dont's is quite scary, but you've got to start somewhere, so I have. My other blog is about travel.

If I'm not a millionaire by teatime, I'll want to know the reason why.

Job ideas for freelance writers

Hello blogosphere.

I'm new to the freelance writing game. I also believe in Karma. So, in the spirit of 'My Name is Earl', I'm going to share some of my early successes with you, in the hope that they give you some ideas.

#1 Paid (PAID!) blog-writing:
I got this from a small ad on a local jobs site. I'm allowed to submit two weekly blogs here. The per-blog rate works out at slightly less than you'd get pulling pints ("serving beer" for those of you across the pond) BUT it's writing experience and builds up the online portfolio (you can direct potential clients there.) You could do worse than to approach similar companies/institutions with a blog and offer your services as a guest blogger.

#2 Estate agents' property details
This came from an ad on another local site. A UK estate agent was too busy to write up all his new property details and advertised for a freelance writer to turn the dry property specs ("living-room 20 sqm", etc etc) into elegant and entertaining prose. These take me about 30 minutes each, and pay about double what you get from pulling pints. Again, an email costs nothing, so you could approach estate agents and offer your services.

Having got 5 or 6 of my property details online, I sent links offering my services to about 30 other estate agents, and received not a single reply! Except for...

#3 Adsense revenue-share:
...one, who said he didn't want property details, but would I be interested in writing regional guides to France in return for a share of the Adsense revenue on my pages? I've since come across lots of sites that offer writers this deal, and I can't tell you whether it's worth it yet, because I haven't been given my first month's traffic figures. When I do, I'll let you know. Have a look. You might even enjoy the articles.