The Freelance Writer's Resume

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

A few weeks ago, I applied to write for one of the big online content sites. This site required that I submit a resume and a writing sample. So, I dusted off my old resume, tweaked it a bit to add my (at the time, somewhat sparse) freelance writing experience, and sent it out.

Unfortunately, the site turned me down, and I have to wonder whether it might have something to do with my resume. I did some research, and came across this interesting resource, written by Moira Allen at Writing-World.com.

I hadn't really stopped to think that a writer's resume might be different from any other type of resume, but according to this site, it was. I thought back on what I knew about resumes, and specifically what I knew about formatting your resume when you're changing your career (which is, after all, what I'm doing). The thing is, companies hiring freelance writers want to know specifically that those writers can, well, write more than they want to know what jobs they've held over the past five, ten, or fifteen years.

Writing Humor for Gunaxin

Okay, so I got a little spacey, and forgot to check out Gunaxin for a couple of days... during which time my article was published!

Seven Types of Animal Lawn Ornaments Explained

I had the idea for this article while making the long trek from Virginia to Maryland, during which time I got to thinking about different types of things you see while driving. My mind eventually wandered over to pondering lawn ornaments, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Gunaxin was one of the sites I found from reading the forums over at Cracked.com. After writing my Cracked article, I applied to Gunaxin and was accepted. The Gunaxin setup is different from the setups of some of the other humor sites that I've written for. For one, you not only write the article, you also enter it into the Wordpress form on the site yourself, and find images to go along with your work. You might find this a bit tricky if you haven't done any blogging or working with .html in the past, but the people at Gunaxin are very helpful if you have any questions. It is nice having someone else do part of the work when you write an article, but frankly I liked the control of being able to set up the layout the way I wanted it.

Oh, and Gunaxin is a paying market, which is nice :)

Interested in trying Gunaxin for yourself? Check out the Gunaxin Contributors Page.

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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!