Can you really make money writing from home, scam free?
The short answer is yes. The long answer is also, Yes. There are lots of legit, real opportunities to make money from home. The very first thing you want to do is ask yourself how much time are you willing to give to writing. I do mean sitting down with your computer or laptop in an atmosphere that lets you work. Being honest with yourself is key in this first step. You would be starting off on the wrong foot if you said, off the bat I can write for 30 hours a week, when you have a fulltime job already two kids and a weekend soccer schedule.
Let's say you've decided to give 10 hours a week and see how it goes. Now you need to give yourself a goal. For example, I want to make X amount of dollars in one month. A little math comes into play here so stay with me. However many hours you want to give this a week(10), times how many weeks you are giving this (4.3)will give you a number (43). Now divide your goal amount of money($1000) by your number (43) and this is the hourly rate you should charge if you want to work those hours for that money. ($23.25) Obviously you can finagle this equation to best fit your goals and time but remember be realistic!
Where the hell do you find a job?
There are so many awesome and helpful tools to help you launch in a way that can bring you great success! I found great success with sites like Upwork, contena as well as problogger. Now you don't have to pay for help like I have with sites like Upwork and Contena. I do feel strongly they were extremely helpful in navigating my own way through this literary adventure because there definitely are companies/sites that will charge you fee’s and you end up with nothing but a really mad face.
Get Ahead of the game!
Maybe you're not quite ready to put yourself out there yet but you can get a great head start and hey it may even build confidence you need to take the next step. If you aren't already, start writing… write about everything! One thing I learned quickly everyone you want to work for will want to see samples of your published writing . “ But Candice we don't have published writing!” Its ok kids, let me help.
There are several sites that let you publish the awesome stuff your brain thinks up. Heck im doing it right now on Medium.com. Sites like this give you a platform complete with formatting and costs you nothing! Create profiles and publish away on sites like buzzfeed.com, funnyordie.com even lifehacker.com. This is how you start building your portfolio. (until you get some real work) Once you start applying for jobs you can include links to your already published writing.
Don't be too intimidated to charge between $20–$50 an hour. Yes, do not be afraid. If you're a great writer someone needs you and what you do. Some sites such as Upwork.com has jobs that are a lump payment for the job executed. Currently there are jobs that pay $10 a blog post and some that pay $7000 for monthly 1000 word articles to increase site traffic. There truly is something for everyone. We’ve all read those list articles “10 ways to raise a healthy teenager” or comparing the newest tech trends and how to invest in bitcoin. Whatever you write about I promise there's probably a market for your work.
The Bad news?
Anything worth anything takes some work. Many aspiring work- from -homer’s want easier money and less work. I too am one of those people. The easier money does come however before you get to that fun part, keep in mind you are still working, its just that now you are the boss. It can be wonderful if you find a way to manage your time properly and learn to focus on the task at hand and not be easily distracted. Distractions will happen, learn from them. So in short Iguess the worst part of all of this is yes, you're still working. The rewards of seeing your work on websites, in print and growing as a writer are priceless and if you love writing like I do it never feels like a job.
