Making Money Freelance Writing For Associated Content

I'm making money freelance writing for Associated Content, and man, it feels good.

Are you interested? Click on my referral link to get started. Or, read on to learn more.

I've written in the past about some of the markets I've explored. Associated Content is one of my favorites so far.

The Look

I have to say right off the bat that the layout of the site and the ease of publishing content is a big plus for me. I'm a huge fan of well-designed websites, and I've never had any problems with Associated Content. Plus it looks great, too!

The Basics

Here's the basic rundown of how Associated Content works. You sign up (no application required), and then start submitting articles. You can choose from a variety of options when submitting content that determine who keeps the rights to your article and how you get paid (upfront and performance vs. straight performance). Your writing is not edited, although if you choose to receive an upfront payment, it will be reviewed to see if it meets the requirements. There's more to it than that, but you get the idea.

The Bonuses

Here's one of my favorite parts about writing for Associated Content.

The Freelance Writer's Business Plan

Update: I'm working on publishing my first science fiction novel! Check out the Kickstarter page to learn more :)

If you're in the process of starting (or developing) your freelance writing career, have you given any consideration to your freelance writer's business plan?

Starting a freelance writing career is a just like starting any other business. People tend to rush headlong into freelance writing (or at least, I did) because, unlike a lot of other types of businesses, there is a relatively low barrier to entry. Basically, anyone with a computer, an internet connection, and a modicum of writing skill can start a freelance writing career.

The main reason that I started thinking about making a concrete plan for my writing is that I got a little, well, sidetracked. I had figured out the basic amount of money that I needed to make each day in order to break even (after paying business costs, living costs, taxes, etc.) and written that number proudly on my white board. Only... I wasn't making that much each day, and I had no plan to get to that daily amount from where I was. I had a vague idea of "Oh, if I can write twenty articles a week on this site, and ten on this other site, maybe..." But my plan simply wasn't concrete enough, and I got frustrated.

Writing Humor for Cracked.com (and Regretful Morning)

I didn't want to talk about this in detail until my piece was finally posted, but it's here now, so here we go!

Here's the article, if you haven't seen it yet: 5 Movie Romances That Won't Last (According to Science)

(Just so you know, it can get kinda crazy on Cracked, and it's not suitable for all audiences).

My original impression of Cracked (as described in detail in my article Writing for Fun and Profit) was that it was really, really hard to get a pitch accepted. My opinion hasn't changed. I worked harder on my Cracked article than I have on any article before or since. And even just getting to the stage of having a Cracked article to "work on" is like running a gauntlet through a bunch of slap-happy mimes in and of itself. I'd guess that Cracked gets hundreds of pitches every single day. Just try to find an original idea in all that craziness!

I continue to pitch ideas on the site, and you should to! Check out I want you to make comedy for Cracked for more information. Once you join the Cracked Comedy Workshop, you'll be able to pitch articles, and also get a lot of great insight from other writers and editors at Cracked.

And don't think "Oh, I could never write for Cracked." I thought the same thing for a year before I joined on a whim, and look where I am now. I will say, for those who are interested, that coming up with an intriguing and original article pitch that you can back up with information from the real world is almost as important as knowing how to write comedy.

Also, if you liked my Cracked article, I'm sure you'd be interested in 5 Reasons Your Gaming System is Better than your Girlfriend over on Regretful Morning.

Questions? Thoughts? Leave a comment!

The Ultimate Guide To Ultimate Frisbee

Spring is in the air. I can feel it in my veins, struggling to explode out of my fingers and toes. My blood is finally pumping again, after long days and hours and weeks of freezing cold. I feel alive again.

And what better way to celebrate spring (and life!) than with Ultimate Frisbee?

So now you're going to tell me that you don't know what Ultimate Frisbee is (sigh). That means that you have to start at the beginning, with Ultimate Frisbee: What the Heck Is It? A.K.A. the Beginner's Guide.

After that, you might want to check out my Ultimate Frisbee how-to guide. Because, now that you know what it is, you're dying to play. Right? Of course you are.

Once you've gotten a feel for the game, you should swing by and enter your two cents in the debate of  Ultimate Frisbee Vs. All Other Sports.

On a sadder note, if you're a dyed-in-the-wool Ultimate player, then you probably already know about the passing of Walter Frederick Morrison, the inventor of the Frisbee. Here are some of the reactions from the Ultimate community to the news.

Various Delectable Tidbits on Cooking and Eating

I love to cook, and I love to eat. I really couldn't say which one I like more. On the one hand, you've got that warm, sizzling sound as the garlic and vegetables hit the hot frying pan. On the other hand, you've got the silky taste of the pureed butternut squash sliding over your tongue. What's not to love?

Eggs are one of my favorite things to cook. They're quick, easy, and can take on so many different forms. For the egg connoisseur, here's an article about making simple frittatas, and here's one about making simple omelettes.

Do you know what goes well with eggs? Why, bacon, of course! Nothing beats the salty, smoking smell of bacon as it cooks in its own fat. That's why you might want to check out Bacon and Other Easy to Cook Camping Foods.

How about a little international flair? Learning to cook foods from different nations is nothing short of adventure. For more information, visit Cooking and Eating World Cuisines.

And, just for fun, here's the reason why I don't make cake from scratch.

Enjoy!

Image courtesy of Flickr.

maxpower / CC BY-SA 2.0

How to Start a Freelance Writing Career

I've been enjoying a bit of success as a freelance writer over the past couple of months, and I thought I'd write about my experiences. Good information about the markets I've tried and some of the things I've found useful is enclosed.

How to Start a Freelance Writing Career

In addition, I've written more specifically about my experiences with freelance writing for Associated Content and freelance writing for Made Man.

Some of the sites that I'm looking at require actual pitches for articles (Cracked.com has a well-outlined format for creating pitches, but the format varies depending on your market). So I'm brushing up on my pitching skills. Here is an article that I found useful: The Ultimate Article Pitch.

And here is some more information about pitching articles (sure, it's for print publications, but the principles are the same): How to Pitch Freelance Artircles to Print Publications.