Start a business as a writer?

jwatkins

Has anyone ever thought of starting a business supplying content to website owners? It`s a viable model. I have written for ConstantContent and have sold some articles. My thought is that maybe an individual could contract with site owners to offer fresh content on a regular basis. Maybe a subscription model?

jwatkins

At Constant Content you just tell the writers what kind of article you need and then they write. They set their prices and you choose to buy or not to buy.A good writer who can research well can do very well at the site. Someone who is good could possibly make a viable business like that.

vapourlock

Yes, It is indeed a viable thing to do. Although it will be more like self-employement than business if you don`t Leverage it. That means, if you were to sit down and write 100 articles all by yourself, your income earning potential is truncated by all that time spent on it.
However, if you can hire a few freelance writers, who would work just like you and pay for their services, you can focus on getting more projuects and build a business out of something like writing too.You`ll still make some tidy profits after the payoffs - Now, you handle more work, more profits and you are in business. Do keep in mind that it is the hiring and finding those rare, committed people willing to freelance that is the difficult part.

WebDrops

Yes, It is indeed a viable thing to do. Although it will be more like self-employement than business if you don`t Leverage it. That means, if you were to sit down and write 100 articles all by yourself, your income earning potential is truncated by all that time spent on it.
However, if you can hire a few freelance writers, who would work just like you and pay for their services, you can focus on getting more projuects and build a business out of something like writing too.You`ll still make some tidy profits after the payoffs - Now, you handle more work, more profits and you are in business. Do keep in mind that it is the hiring and finding those rare, committed people willing to freelance that is the difficult part. I totally agree with vapourlock ....  I feel this is a great business idea...
Fresh content is the most important thing search engines are looking
for...

jwatkins

The site I write for is booming. The autors can barely keep up with the requests coming in.
Check it out. Constant-Contant.com. Since I decide when and if i want to work, set my own prices, and pay taxes, I guess you could say this is a business. There are authors on CC that write full time and make great money. It is a viable business.

jwatkins

Craig I am sure you`ll do very well. The editors are tough so make sure the title is properly capitalized, you article is in a .doc or.txt format, you have error free grammar, and you fill out all of the blanks in the submittal form. The editors on this site only allow well written material and there are a lot of rejections. Just getting an article approved is a milestone let alone selling one. However, if you learn the ropes it gets pretty easy to get approved. If you have any questions you can post them here or send me a message. Good luck!

ObsidianLaunch

You can cut your teeth on Elance. I have used it as a resource for copy-writers.

Xela2200

I have also done some writing for ConstantContent. However, I find it a hard way of making a living. If you manage to write 2 articles at 400 words a day, you might end up with USD20 for each. I think very few of the writers make a living out of that site. I did a quick and dirty analysis of CC top sellers using an average sale price per article times their sales. It came out to be around 20K a year for their top producers.
 If you can get articles accepted into CC, you must have a good eye for quality writing. I have looked into businesses that broker writing services (articles, sales, blogs, e-book, etc ).  Check out
http://www.getmecontent.com/
http://www.sitepoint.com/marketplace/au ... ment109448
I also have a series of emails that I got on how to make money writing (Blogs, Info Products, etc). PM with your email, and I will send them to you.
Good Luck,

vapourlock

Just an update from where I trailed off into the wild Internet woods...
 
There is really no dearth of people looking for writers. I was very skeptical when I first started, I still am. But then, After making my modest side income from this writing business alone, I am of the firm opinion that all it takes is ACTION.
 
Head over to http://craigslist.org, send in your prospecting letter with a few relevant writing samples. If you did this consistently everyday and send out about 15 emails per day, you will have more work than you can handle, pretty soon, within days. And that is only ONE source. Yeah maybe you could try constant contact too.
 
Of course, Insist on your advance payments ( You don`t want to be conned,eh?)  and strive to provide the best. Always.
 
You know what the best thing about writing is? You get to know and read up about a lot of things you never knew existed ; You just need a computer with internet connection to do this and yes, it is hard work.
 
Hey, you don`t work, you don`t get paid. Period.
 

ObsidianLaunch

Cool business you have! Good job!!!

vapourlock

I came across a few books and sites that I think might be very important for any budding writer or editor.
 
check out http://www.newsu.org

http://www.poynter.org

 
Make sure you also read a book called " On Writing Well" by William Zinsser - a proponent for economical use of words. This book is a classic for writing non-fiction.

Xela2200

Wow! I read that book back in the 80s. I guess quality is timeless. I agree the book is excellent. Economy of words is painfull when getting started, but it makes your pieces so much stronger if you can be brutally honest.
 
I think I will red it again. Thanks

spungey

One of my all time favorite quotes is from Follet`s "Modern American Usage."
    Small words are your friends.

WrittenSolutions

Since writing is what my partnership focuses on, I`ll go ahead and chime in here. Yes, there is certainly a need for great business writing, both on the internet and brick and mortar situations. However, as Vapourlock points out, it is hard to call writing a true "business". Me and my partner actually provide all of our services, therefore we end up functioning more like a practice or firm.
 
We would like to someday get to the point of being a business. What I mean by that is an entity that makes money, even when we aren`t working. For now, we are working on our own efficiency to decrease the time it takes to finish projects.
 
We have considered sub-contracting jobs out to other freelancers but we aren`t sure that there is a margin. Particularly since we would only want to deal with quality subs, who probably charge close to what we make off a deal.
 
There is definitely a way to do it. We just haven`t figured it out yet.
 

vapourlock

I was thinking about it while you guys were talking....I am glad that writing is one skill that is somehow making some kind of money for me at this point of time.
 
Like writtensolutions says, It isn`t business until we get to "leverage". A system needs to be developed - that I can see.
 
I happened to be associated with a content development company until recently and I had noticed that the entrepreneur who had started it spends time in mailing and calling all of his subs and vendors throughout the day, although he doesn`t really do any writing job per se. See? We still aren`t there, eh?
vapourlock1/28/2008 12:15 AM

WrittenSolutions

Vapourlock, you`re right there are definitely folks out there that basically broker content. My partnership just isn`t to that point yet. Quite honestly, we simply don`t trust anyone else to do as good of a job as us. I realize that is quite ridiculous and there are a lot of great writers out there.  We`re going to have to let go sometime but for now we`ll happily sweat over every piece of writing ourselves.
 
You have a great point though, it can be done as a business.