Earn Some Residual Income and Get Some Writing Clips

Not all writers will agree with me on this one, but writing for residual income is a good way of getting some writing practice and also a good way of getting some writing clips.

Residual Income

Pick one or two subjects you're familiar with that you are familiar with such as cooking, auto repairs, personal finance, parenting, or whatever subject it is that you have some knowledge of. You can write articles in those subjects and submit them to sites such as Bukisa, Ehow and Triond. These sites do not pay you up front but on the amount of page views your articles get. If you just write a couple a week withing a couple of months you will have articles that will earn you residual income, and keep on earning it for as long as the articles are being read.

Some (prolific) writers say that they make a fair income writing for the sites mentioned above, but other writers would argue that writing for such sites does not a) make you very much money, b) make you a freelance writer. I think that if you are writing and getting published as well as earning some money, then you can call yourself a freelance writer. I also think that this kind of writing gets you the following:

• Used to researching and writing articles on a number of subjects
• A trickle of income that for some, turns into a steady stream of revenue that keeps on coming long after the articles have been written and published
• Some worthwhile writing clips

You can also write articles for Constant Content and Associated Content. Both these sites will pay you some residual income and AC will pay US writers a minimal sum for their work. If you write for Constant Content, not only do you get some residual income for articles that stay on the site, usually those that you set a usage price on. Constant Content allows you to set your own price for your articles one is for full rights, one is for limited rights and one for usage. I made money from this site when I started out, and a couple of my usage articles have also brought in some residual income I wasn't expecting. With each of these sites you sign up for an account and start writing, Constant Content has quite strict rules and you need to follow the guidlines carefully. They also have people who request articles on a particular subject and this is where you are more likely to sell full rights articles.

Writing Clips

One of the most difficult things for beginning freelancers is the fact that most clients will want to see previously published work. You can point them to your blog of course but they may also want to see whether you can please others with your writing. Keep your submitted articles in a file labelled clips or portfolio each with a link to where the work has been published. I found this quite useful when I started out and clients asked to see some previous work. If a client asks for a sample of your writing then just point them to Bukisa or AC, wherever your work is.

Once you have a file with some clips in it, you can use it as a brief portfolio when you sign up for other freelancing jobsites next time.

Comments

[Danielle]

I completely agree with you Sue. I use Bukisa and I have had some sales at Constant Content. Everyone has down time so why not write some articles on subjects that you are familiar with? And some of those sites (like Bukisa) allow you to place links in your articles and a link on your Profile page, which can help you promote your site.

[Sue Jeffels]

Thanks for stopping by Danielle. I've seen a number of writers dismiss writing for these sites, my point was that if you're low on work anyway, it certainly can't hurt to write for the article sites.

[lori]

For writers with specific knowledge of a targeted topic, freelance writing jobs can be found at Freelance writing jobs . It's a great way to get experience and get published for writing about something you know.