Former New York Times Writer Recommends Contently.com

After recently setting a monthly earning goal, I've begun reaching out to successful writers to learn their stories and pick up some tips along the way. This week I asked to chat with an acquaintance who's involved in university writing. Instead of accepting, she introduced me to a former New York Times freelancer she knows (by email), and then asked him if he was willing to share a couple of his contacts with me.

First, let's get this out of the way:  NEW YORK TIMES employee!!

Second, how embarrassing is that? What kind of person asks a random stranger for their contacts? Why in the world would he be willing to share them with me? I would've let it die right then and there, but he responded with an "available anytime" email along with a phone number.

So....it was the most uncomfortable writer spot I've been in for while. I really didn't want to reach out to him knowing he thought I was only after his contacts, and yet I didn't want to let pride prevent me from talking with a successful writer. In the end I decided to email that I'd love to chat about writing (NOT get his work contacts), and let him know the day that I would try calling.

The Phone Call

He asked about my writing goals and any niche interests, then talked a little about how he landed all of his writing jobs. His main interest is in advertising and marketing, and he was able to get all of his work through networking, with current projects leading into other projects. Because he writes for large companies, legal & educational institutions, the pay is good ($400 for 500 words). It turns out the New York Times job was working on the newspaper's advertising campaign and included writing promotional material that went into the paper. He landed his current full-time job as the senior copywriter at a university, through a client he picked up at contently.com

The Recommendation:  Contently.com 

He highly recommended Contently, which offers free space to include your profile, and then has its own talent search team to sift through profiles and match writers to well-known, national clients. That means they're often looking for well-established freelancers with a quality portfolio - but it's possible to get in sooner with the right referrals and contacts. Here are a few writer bios at Contently:

nicoledieker.contently.com
kathyiandoli.contently.com
https://trishafaye.contently.com/

Find more info here.