Steady Freelance Gigs - Don't Wait for the Job Listing

They do exist! I thought that my recent discovery of a steady freelance job (About.com) that paid every month was a rare occurrence, but it appears not. In the few days I've been looking, I found several other organizations that were looking to employ freelancers for monthly newsletters, etc. Take this one, for instance:

Freelance Online Newsletter Publisher Workitect is a small training and consulting firm that needs someone to produce a monthly online B2B newsletter. This includes project management, development of an editorial calendar, design, layout, reporting, writing and editing. Most of the content will be provided by our consultants and clients. The work should require 10-15 hours per newsletter. We use My Emma.

This was posted in a writer's newsletter, so Workitect will probably receive boatloads of applications for the position. (Read: slim chances of getting the job). But it's a great example of the freelance work out there that may be up for grabs - and not advertised to hundreds of other writers. Who's to say the local gym, or regional business owners wouldn't like a newsletter or website/blog started to promote their business? All it would take is a trip there and an offer to write or edit it for them (for compensation, of course). I'm far from a pushy or aggressive person, and don't like laying out offers like that. But I recently made my gym an offer to lead swing dance workouts in a very "me" way (aka: passive!), and still scored a meeting with their program director. Who's to say I couldn't make a similar proposal to start up a fitness newsletter, or write articles for their website? Here's another listing I found:

Manuscript Reader The Sun is looking for freelance manuscript readers. This is an ideal job for someone who loves to read and can provide insightful written evaluations of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. If you are able to work 10 to 20 hours a week at home and can make at least a two-yearcommitment, send a letter and résumé to: Sy Safransky, Manuscript-readerposition, The Sun, 107 North Roberson St., Chapel Hill, NC 27516. We're considering local candidates only for these positions. No phone calls, e-mails, or faxes please. http://www.writergazette.com/sendstudio/users/link.php?UserID=17067&Newsletter=154&List=1&LinkType=Send&LinkID=6408

Again, how many regional publishers or literary magazines are overwhelmed with submissions? If they've published some of your work and know it's good, or they're sent a stellar resume, writing samples and references, why can't a position be made for you? Sometimes people don't know what they want until they're made an offer.

For now I'm already feeling overwhelmed by marketing efforts, so I'm just going to continue working on my submissions & other projects already in the works. But I'll definitely be making a proposal to the gym and a few other places in the near future. Here's one last job listing for inspiration:

Trade magazine PAY: $75 - $500 per story Trade magazine written for an industry with 1,500 small retailers in the U.S. seeks a permanent freelance writer. We need an individual with published experience writing for one or more niche retail industries. This is a small publication: you will be conducting your own research, interviews, fact checking, transcribing and writing. We need a well-organized, accurate, versatile person with a fully equipped home office (Internet, fax, phone recorder for interviews, etc.). Have a track record of supplying polished copy that will require little editing. Your articles assignments will include supplier question and answer pieces, dealer profiles and personality profiles. Issue-related stories about how small retailers can succeed despite threats from bigboxes, Internet, etc. Minimum 3 years experience. Prefer degree in journalism and experience with a major niche-market publisher (Rodale,Peterson, Fairchild, etc.). Pay: Stories pay $75-$500 and vary in Length from 150 words to 1500 words. This is a quarterly publication, annual budget for successful candidate approx $10,000. Please send resume andcover letter. No clips at this time. Contact mail to:tradewriterwanted@gmail.com