Making Money Online

When I decided to start a blog, it was meant to have very regular input. What got in the way of my writing? Well, more writing, actually!

When I gave up teaching it was with the sole intention of pursuing my interest in writing; finishing off that novel that has been bursting for release for years and maybe starting a few more writing projects. Then one day, quite by accident, I came across a link which led me to a link, which...oh well, I won’t bore you with a tedious tour of the internet. The shortened version is that I found I could use my interest in writing to actually make a regular income until my novel hits the best seller lists (dreams are just about the only commodity left that cost us nothing).

There are many freelance writing sites on the internet and I’m not even sure I chose the best one, but I registered and pretty soon found myself with my first writing project. This entailed writing a number of articles for ezines on various subjects, ranging from crystal jewellery to space heaters. After the initial project finished, the employer asked me to continue working for him, which I agreed to do.

As that was my first project, I had deliberately set my financial sights quite low, but as I gained in confidence (helped by his praise and the ego boost of seeing my articles published on the internet, albeit under someone else’s name), I aimed slightly higher the next time around.

Project number two was all about tattoos. Now, what I knew about tattoos could be written on the back of a postage stamp so I was very apprehensive when I discovered the nature of the second project from a Chinese client. However, I needn’t have worried and the project could not have been more ‘up my street’, as it entailed researching all the symbolism behind tattoo designs. I loved it! Once again, the client asked me to continue writing for him after the initial project ended.

Following that, projects came thick and fast. Thanks to the positive feedback left by the clients on the freelance writing site, I was able to select projects according to my interests and each time command slightly more in recompense. I’m not saying I will ever become rich from this type of work and, because I’m such a perfectionist, I’m unlikely to ever churn out the quantity of articles to make it really lucrative financially, but I get by and I thoroughly enjoy the work I do and can ring the changes whenever I like. I have built up a substantial client list who can provide me with all the work I wish to undertake, so my visits to the freelance site are now infrequent.

My innumerable projects have included health-related articles, fashion, finance, travel and tourism, academic and educational writing and ghost-writing entire books. More recently I have enjoyed focusing on editing and proofreading and I can honestly say that every project has generated more work for me and it has also introduced me to some great friends. And I intend to introduce you to some of those in my next blog.