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coming years, productive publishers will find it necessary
to adapt to an ever-savvy online writing force if they
are to remain competitive. This trend will push the number
of online-employed writers ever higher. Even in a soft
employment market the demands for online writing talent
remains high, as needy employers turn to an expanding
pool of independent freelance talent to fulfill the responsibilities
once completed by laid-off or down-and-out-sized employees
(one of my previous employers called it corporate restructuring
:-( ).
A poor work economy should not hamper your chances of
finding successful writing work on the Net. When asked
what he found most beneficial about using freelance writers,
Jay Heinrichs, deputy editor of Outside Magazine once
stated: "We get a variety of the best writing; the
writers we go after generally don't have full-time jobs
on a magazine staff, and they have the time to write exceptional
stories." Because freelance writers are independent
contractors, they are often more motivated. In a competitive
work environment, independent writers must work hard to
please their contracting employers and turn in quality
work. The best way for competitive companies to maintain
productivity while keeping expenses low is to retain freelance
talent online.
The
new millennium means good contract work for serious writers
and lots of it. But it's a new work world, and you would be
well served to learn it. Regular jobs are becoming project
work and the outsourcing and contracting of writers and other
freelancers online is becoming a standard practice. Indeed,
today's writing careers are quickly becoming portable, paid-by-the-job
professions. Take-it-with-you jobs driven by the need for
independent free agents, and there's an endless line of buyers
and publishers waiting to contract their services. That's
opportunity clicking at your mouse, my friend. As a writer,
you will find it necessary to get familiar with these new
organizational, online work models and to acquire the tools
and skills needed to maintain your competitive.
Gold
on them thar connections
In 1842 they said: "Go west young man." It's "go
online" in 2002, especially for writers. There are thousands
of outstanding online resources today to help you as an online
writer, free agent, or, as we say, 'e-lance' professional.
Increasing numbers of writers and literary artists are discovering
the ease and convenience of landing virtual work, managing
projects, and meeting deadlines over the Internet. Wired into
the Web, a growing number of sites such as Freelance.com,
Guru.com, and eLance.com offer openly posted professional
marketplaces to meet your working needs. Plugged in, you can
find it profitable to work on projects, collaborations, and
proposals made possible through high-speed computer connectivity.
Sites like eLance.com offer you an opportunity to auction
off your professional services to the highest bidder in an
electronic public sale. By posting your resume and pertinent
information on your expertise and skills online, you can attract
potential clients in need of your services in exchange for
top-notch (and sometimes not so top-notch) professional fees.
You can find the writing jobs you like, place bids on the
work and get paid all in a one-stop online marketplace.
The Internet also provides awesome new ways to search for,
find, and collaborate on projects and contracts with no concern
for marketing expense or difference in geographical location.
You can 'virtually' expand your office staff by tapping into
today's vast online community and working with other writers
to collaborate on and complete projects. With just a few moments
of time, a computer and a modem (a DSL or cable connection
would be better!), collaborators can view work samples and
confer on projects. Productive work in the year 2002 can occur
with co-writers, employers, or contractors residing in tucked
away spaces in far away places, as long as you have access
to an online connection. Information and tasks can be shared
and completed more efficiently and less costly than ever before.
In this digital age, writers can find it possible to work
on contracts for clients who they've never even met. I write
e-mail-marketing pieces for Fred Damsen of the Japan Woodworker,
a mail order woodworking company located in Alameda, California.
That's 2,500 miles from my location. I've never met Fred but
he's one of my favorite clients (I love woodworking!). Our
relationship was facilitated entirely by e-mail.
"I use a freelance writer online because it would be
hard to find someone locally who is a marketing specialist,
and knows woodworking equipment," said Fred. "Online
I was able to find a marketing specialist to help me develop
my marketing and public relations material for my specialty
woodworking tools. The fact that he is half way across the
country makes no difference, because he delivers his work
to me online. He prepares press releases for me to send to
woodworking editors throughout the country, and writes marketing
material for me. When we have to include photography in our
releases, we simply send file attachments back and forth.
So, online we are able to accomplish as much or more than
we could otherwise."
I personally hired a freelance writer-a journalist from Seattle
to help me complete a recent book contract. With a 60-day
deadline looming like a high-speed T-1 transmission over the
project, I arranged for her help with several technical parts
of the job. Our relationship was developed completely by e-mail
as the result of a reader comment about this column. The entire
book project, by the way, from author to editor to project
leader to production editor to publisher, was facilitated
entirely online through a team of freelancers who coordinated
their efforts online directly with the publisher's editorial
staff.
Isn't technology cool?
I can tell you from personal experience that finding freelance
work online can be an exhilarating experience, offering exposure
to new faces and clients from around the world with a click.
Even in the face of the recent economic downturn there's still
a digital rush in process, a technological evolution that
can't be stopped. A Web boon that offers ways and means to
the wired way to get hired using the Internet. By going online,
you can significantly reduce the amount of time spent in search
of your next writing engagement, and spend more time doing
what you love most: writing and making money.
Robert
Anthony is author of the book Job Surfing for Freelance
(Random House, 2002). He is the Editor of Michigan Parks and
Recreation Magazine and communications chair for the Public
Relations Society of America, Central Michigan Chapter. He
can be reached any time at editor@profilesonline.com.
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