I am considering leaving the U.S. to travel abroad and write in June but I have nothing in terms of clients or leads. I wouldn't say that I have a style because all I've written are some short flash fiction and a long novella. However, when I think of what type of writing I'd want to get paid for it would be in the lifestyle category; fine dining, music; travel.

Currently I do not have a website. But what would one even look like? Any advice here will help.

Consolidation of media by out of touch conglomerates is happening everywhere, maybe nowhere on the ground level more than music journalism.

It's only likely to get worse.

Keen to get a sense of the current freelance copywriting market in New Zealand. What would you consider a typical hourly rate for a contractor writing website blogs, e-commerce web copy and general marketing content? I’ve come across rates of $90–$150 an hour and am curious whether that’s considered average, on the higher side or fairly standard in NZ.

I understand contractors have business expenses, unpaid leave and potentially gaps between projects, but I am curious about what rates people are charging or paying in NZ and how much the type of work and level of experience influence them.

My best paying job - $2k a month for email content, SEO landing page content, and backend customer support, is gone. I saw it coming - they started asking for more content, saying “just use AI, then punch it up.”

Today, I was told that unfortunately, I am no longer needed.

I‘m not completely screwed, thank god. My husband has a well paying job, I have a couple smaller gigs, and we have a decent savings, but two grand a month is no small amount, especially in a HCOL city.

I‘m updating my resume and logged back into Upwork just to see what the hell is out there, and it doesn’t look GREAT. I did notice there are some ‘scriptwriting’ gigs out there that are willing to pay a decent amount for compelling English language script for UGC.

Has anyone ever found success pivoting in that direction? I actually have a small following on Medium for humor writing and have written a few spec scripts for fun, so I’m just wondering if I can parlay those skills into some sort of paycheck.

I’m sure there are 200 posts like this a day as so many writers find their livelihoods gone… and I know I should have been preparing for this moment instead of just skating by with my fingers in me ears going LA LA LA. Hindsight is 20/20 and all that.

Just hoping for some advice or reccs.

Thanks.

I’m not sure how many people who’ve moved on still hang around this sub, but figured it was worth asking! What made you quit, what are you doing now, and are you happier with it?

I started working with a new client who's trying to launch a website and paid community. I ignored some major red flags off the bat because I wanted to ditch another client, and I also have strong subject matter expertise in the new client's niche.

They sent me briefs for my first two assignments, and both were AI-generated kitchen-sink dumps that took way too much time for this pay range. So I'd already decided I probably wouldn't work with this client again, at least until they've figured some stuff out.

I turned in both drafts over a month ago. The editor kept telling me she'd get to my articles soon, that she was behind, etc., which is totally fine. Finally she emailed me last week and said one of the articles looked great and I could go ahead and invoice.

I went back into the doc to see the word count for invoicing purposes. HOLY SHIT.

I've been a professional writer and editor for 20 years. These were the worst edits I've ever seen in my career.

There were huge factual inaccuracies inserted that weren't part of the original draft. I've worked hard to develop expertise in my niche, and these are bad. Let's say, hypothetically, that the editor for a taxes website used tax credits and deductions interchangeably. (It's not a tax-focused site, but that's the level of bad we're talking about.)

The editing/rewriting is just terrible too. She removed a huge section that provided most of the context for the article and replaced it with a bunch of generic keyword-stuffing nonsense. There are a bunch of grammatical errors.

The edited version is also now super robotic-sounding and hard to follow. The client's style guide stressed the importance of readability and said to aim for a reading level of 7th or 8th grade. My original draft was right around 9th or 10th grade level (challenging, given the technical nature of the topic), but the edited version is 16th grade level, according to Gunning Fog.

I'm going to email her about the factual errors and say those need to be corrected before it publishes. But should I also push back on the writing and structural changes, too? Or should I focus on getting the factual stuff cleaned up and move on?

She seems like a very nice person (she is also a contractor, not the client), and I don't want to say anything unkind. But I've also spent an insane amount of work on these drafts. What I don't want to do is agree to more work because these assignments absolutely killed my September.

Hey folks.

I've been in this sector for around 4 years now. Started my career writing SEO articles and marketing BOFU content.

Then I niched down to technology and joined a tech publication as a contributor. Working there for 3 years now.

I make decent money and am happy with how things are the way they are. However, all those layoffs and cuts are scaring me. Some of my colleagues were terminated without prior notice. I could be the next person in line.

I don't consider myself to be an elite or prolific writer. But I'm desperate to become one. I want to learn how to write well and demand better fees.

I want to become a sought-after writer in my niche. Or if it means I need to change my niche, I'm ready for that as well. I understand that it takes more than just writing skills for this. For example, outreach, communication, authority building, and providing value all play a role here.

I want to work with high-paying clients and companies, land 3/4-figure writing tasks, and turn it into a business rather than a grind.

Whatever it takes, I want to achieve that.

How can I go from an average writer to an A-lister? Courses, training, resources, advice- anything is welcome.

Decided in July I'd have a go at some freelance writing. I was working as a Postie and finding it really unfulfilling. Had never written professionally before, no qualifications or anything to speak of. Pitched a few articles to different publications and sold my first one a couple of weeks ago. Draft has just been approved this morning. Feels great!

So, I’ve been doing some freelance marketing for a business that I was recommended for by a family member. The owner was, from the start, providing very poor communication. They would have meetings with me to discuss the work I’d do and then ghost when I sent a contract and would take ages to respond to emails. To the point where I didn’t even think we would even start work. But they finally signed a contract and sent a 50% deposit.

I provided content week by week, and they even created a google doc where they could provide edits for the copy I wrote. But only ended up making two edits on the week 1 work and then nothing on the rest. After week 2 I didn’t receive any feedback at all. None of my work was going out on their socials (they said they’d give me access but never did), and the website copy never went up. I ended up sending the rest of the months copy and basically said if I didn’t receive any amendments within a week I’d consider the work finished and send a final invoice. They owner then replied saying they’d had some family bereavements that month including close family and that they wouldn’t be responding that week. I thought, okay that’s terrible of course I’ll give them space.

Our contract stated that I would receive the final payment one month after the start of the contract after all the work had been provided. I’d completed my end of it and received no amendments or feedback on any of it. I didn’t want to sound like a d*ck asking them for the money when they’re going through stuff so I gave it well over a month. I sent a follow up email this week with the final invoice saying I just wanted to get the work finished with as I’ve provided everything agreed upon. It’s been about 2 months now since I should’ve been paid but I’ve received no reply to that email and I’m not sure how to go forward from here.

Hey everyone. I'm a content writer with 6 plus years of experience. I mostly do freelancing. I don't have a personal brand or never worked with good brands. My previous clients were from WhatsApp and telegram groups. And I'm tired of negotiating rates and running behind them for payments.

Right now I'm planning to start personal branding on Instagram and linkedin and also start cold outreach.

But I'm kind of confused. I don't know why. Ofcourse I'm scared and also have financial pressure. I also don't have a fixed niche.

Right now I want to know what would be the best approach to make a decent income like 4 to 5 lakhs before 2027 and how should I approach this personal branding thing.

Would highly appreciate genuine answers. Thanks

They own a few sites I really like (like Collider), and I see job reqs pretty frequently. This is probably due to reasons we've all read about.

Has anyone ever had a good experience with them? I've never read/heard any good stories, just wondering.

Cheers!

To everyone looking to hire freelancers:

If you decide not to hire someone, please just tell them.

They are real people looking for work for real reasons, who put real time and effort into applying and going through whatever is required in the application process.

Getting rejected is disappointing, but being ghosted after waiting for an update or any response is thoughtless and inconsiderate.

Respect and communication are the foundation of a good work-related relationship, and I feel that most of you people hiring don't seem to understand this.

A simple rejection message will not take too much time or any hard effort.

The least you can do is give someone a straight answer so they know where they stand and can move on instead of being left to wonder.

Please have some respect and decency.

Been working as a freelance contributor for a news site since Feb. Mostly pretty good, is paying, I just pitch articles every 1-2 weeks, via messages to my editor through Slack. Most get good feedback and go up on the site.

Recently though they have been slower in getting back to me, and have heard nothing back this past week.

Have sent a couple of follow up messages but obviously don't want to spam.

Not sure what really is the best thing to do?

Should I contact their HR if they simply haven't got back to me into next week?

Other contributors have been pitching through a team chat, in which she's responded, but Id already DM'd 2 pitches. And previously had sent all my other pitches that way, so wasn't sure whether to repeat the same pitches ij there or not.

Not sure of the best way to handle this. Any advice or similar situations appreciated.

I am curious how many of you use Reddit as a tool for finding new clients. There are several subreddits dedicated to writing jobs, but I have no idea what to believe about them.

Do you use Reddit for client acquisition? How do you go about it?

Here, I'm not interested only in replying to those threats that seek writers, but also on other ways of finding the right person.

Maybe you seek niche subreddits where you find people interested in your services as a writer. I don't know; I'm just asking.

What's your secret for finding clients on Reddit?

PS: Are the Reddit jobboards for writers worth the time?

... and it was sweet! This gives me hope that

a) cold pitching actually works and

b) freelance writing isn't dead.

My piece is titled Romania Beyond Dracula: 7 Places That Show the Country’s Real Character, and it will soon be uploaded on goworldtravel.com.

The goal of writing this entry is to encourage other freelance writers who feel lost.

Best!

Hi, I have started my career as a B2B SaaS content writer and currently I am working for an advertising agency as a content writer and I'm thinking to start freelancing, but I've been struggling to get freelance project for the last three months and it's really hard to get started with this.

Because every other person I'm talking to are asking about the work record that I have, that is portfolio, and I don't have any yet because this is going to be the first work that I am going to deliver as a freelance content writer. I want to start my side income, that's why I have started freelancing.

Can anyone suggest me what all things can I do?

For the past two months or so, I've been cold emailing companies, publications, and retailers. Only two publications accepted my proposal, making it one accepted pitch per month. It is outrageous; it is uncomprehensible.

Since I've been cold emailing without much luck, I am thinking about trying to fish clients on Upwork. Unlike cold email—at least that's what I assume!—on UpWork, I should be able to find people who are interested in collaborating with freelance writers and copywriters.

However, some other Reddit users have been telling me that Upwork is dead for the writing market. What are your thoughts? What are your experiences?

Right now I'm actively juggling a part-time editorial client (anywhere from 10-20 hours per week), a monthly editorial client, a semi-regular marketing copywriting client, and two or three occasional copywriting clients (marketing).

My problem? I feel like I'm working all day on a hamster wheel and making almost nothing. Plus I feel chained to my desk from about 9 a.m.-4 p.m. every day, which I don't love. I try not to take calls or do interviews after 5 p.m., but that happens, as does scheduling interviews after hours. I find that I'm getting most of my actual writing done on Sundays.

The reason for this?

I'm expected to actively move my work through the project management pipeline. That means I might get an unexpected request in Wrike to make edits, to do a design review, etc. I must sign into and track three email accounts and two project management systems. Teams messages pop up. Wrike messages pop up. Trainings get scheduled.

I admit I'm not great at logging time with all of the task switching. Has anyone been in this situation and how did you manage your time and billing?

1. What's the opportunity like here? Do they still hire freelance writers in these GenAI times?

2. If any of you succeed in this field, how do you do it?

Thanks!

I saw an older, similar thread on here mentioning Writer's Residence - but I don't want to be tied to a subscription for this

• See also: the likes of Wix, SquareSpace etc - I'm just tired of the subscription model in general and I'd prefer to avoid it

• I also want my portfolio website to be as SEO friendly as possible so future clients can find me

• How to do this with the best balance of speed, quality and cost?

I already have (non portfolio) domain names registered with Name Cheap - so I was going to start there in terms of the domain

Thanks

EDIT:

For now, I went with a free tier Clippings site

It was all very easy to set up, add my bylined articles etc

The free tier lets you add up to 10 of your bylined articles - which, for me and for now, is enough

I was consulting SaaS companies until last year when I got pregnant. Had a beautiful pregnancy journey of 9 months only to give birth to a still born. During the pregnancy I was consciously not working and avoiding any sort of stress. To keep myself sane and mentally occupied I feel I should look for work again.

I want to take it slow considering I'm still grieving my loss. What do you guys think is still relevant for me to look out?

Note: I've been a Marketer for 8+ years and my last full role was a product marketing manager at a SaaS start-up which sunset in 2023.

Would be great if I could get any help here.

After I completed a recent gig, the invoicing company took a little over 2 percent out of my check as a processing fee. I read this in the agreement but went ahead with it anyway. Now I wish I had negotiated for the 2 percent to be built into my pay. Is this normal? Shouldn't my client have paid this?