Free Advice Friday: This Job, Not That Job

What’s on the iPod: Middle Brother by Middle Brother

After a slow beginning, this year just became busy — really busy. I spent this week working on two articles, scheduling interviews for a third, and researching a fourth. Plus, I did a good bit of marketing. I heard from a few regular clients about work that’s coming in — one gig possibly today and the other one at the end of the month. Work-wise, I’m set up well for May because the fourth article in as many weeks is due June 1st.

Also, an article I had a blast writing just appeared on the latest cover of Risk Management Magazine: Marijuana: The Implications of Legalization. It’s a serious topic, but so much fun to write those subheads and inject those subtle puns. Tastefully, of course. Since this year’s conference is in Denver, my pitch was right on target and at just the right time.

Besides the pitched stories, I’ve been getting assignments from editors, which is where any freelance writer would love to be. When they find you with the idea in hand, it makes your job just a little easier. But for every freelance writer who has built that kind of reputation, there’s another freelance writer who’s just starting out and hasn’t a single clip.

Do yourself a favor: start your freelance writing career out right. Be choosy at the outset and learn to let your instincts have a large say in what you take on. That means learning to read every job offer, every advertisement with a jaundiced eye. As you read, you should be asking yourself “How many things are wrong with this offer?”

That leads us to this week’s free advice: the return of my This Job, Not That Job series.

Free Advice Friday: This Job, Not That Job
This ad comes to me via Jenn Mattern of the fantastic site, All Indie Writers. Jenn found this “offer” and thought it would be perfect for this series. Jenn, thank you. It’s a prime example of why writers need to vet every job listing carefully.

We are looking for an exceptional ghostwriters to create content for a very specialized new blog in the home care/ home healthcare niche. 

The flat fee for this project is $400.00 

For this initial project, I am looking for a writer to research & create 40 articles (10 articles of approximately 1000 words each and 30 short posts between 250 – 500 words each). These shorter posts/articles will simply cover the topics in the 10 longer articles in more specific detail. 

In other words, if you write one longer article on a specific topic, you will write 3 more shorter posts about that same article, only the shorter articles will have their own headlines and cover smaller pieces of the longer articles. These shorter posts are ultra specific in nature. 

For example: If one of the longer articles is about “3 things to consider before choosing a home care provider for a loved one”, then you would write 3 shorter and more specific posts that go into more detail about some of the points discussed in the longer article. 

Each of the 10 longer articles will have 3 ultra specific shorter posts that break down the info in each of the 10 longer articles in more detail. 

For this set of articles I will provide you with the topic as well as the keyword for each article. 

In order to submit: 

You must write “Home Care” in your response to be considered for this job. 

You must submit a sample with the below requirements. 

Requirements: 

– Each of the 10 longer articles must be approximately 1000 words. 
– Each shorter supporting post should be between 250 -500 words. 
– Each article must be original and unique. 
– Each article must be informative & well researched. 
– Each article must be free of spelling mistakes, grammar errors and must be correctly punctuated. 
– Plagiarism is strictly prohibited. Articles must pass Copyscape test. 

Did they get your attention with $400? Sounded pretty good, didn’t it? Why this job is such a dangerous one:

• It’s not $400 per article – it’s $400 total for 40 articles and 30 posts. 
• It’s a specialty topic, which means they have to be well-researched (time-consuming) and you should have a solid understanding of the industry.
• They want an unpaid sample before they hire you. Right. Show of hands–how many people believe they’re using those free samples and not hiring anyone? (My hand is up.)
• They’re not editing –“free of spelling mistakes, grammar errors and must be correctly punctuated” — ironically, they’ve just told you how perfect you have to be in a grammatically incorrect sentence.
• “Original and unique.” By whose standards, I wonder? A loophole to avoid paying you — if, in fact, they ever hire anyone (remember those free samples?).
• For $400, you get to write anywhere from 22,500 to 30,000 words. That’s half a small book, people.

NurseWeek (biweekly magazine)

Needs articles on nursing, specifically interview and personal experience. Looking for topics such as clinical care, health-related legislative updates, community health programs, professional development, new clinical care approaches, etc.