Category Authors
Speak Briefly and Carry a Big Stylebook
by bumpylight
After an extensive search, I decided on Textbroker as a marvelous opportunity for learning to be a better writer and for collecting a splash or two of beer money. The editors were very kind as I fought to rid my writing of grade-school errors. With much effort and with considerable help from Keira, Melissa and Christina, my skills have at last struggled feebly into the estate of maturity. It is an honor to have been invited to share a few thoughts on the art of writing.
In a world flooded with poorly expressed ideas, brevity and clarity are the golden twins. Style is their urbane little brother, always ready with an amusing quip. Strong sentences linger in the mind and soothe the soul with easy comprehension. Flabby sentences, on the other hand, are verbal mush. They harbor a multitude of extraneous words that mooch like unwashed party crashers, diverting precious attention from clear meanings.
Readers, editors and clients all dislike prolixity. Authors paid by the word are understandably stalked by the temptation to dragoon a host of hobo words into scavenging extra pennies, but a competent writer values efficiency. Hard-working prose delights readers, pleases editors and attracts more orders from happy clients. Read more...
posted on 10/26/2011 - 04.59 | comments: 61
Three Handy Tools No Textbroker Author Should Be Without
by Gabriella
In the two and a half years I've been with Textbroker, I've gotten hooked on three basic tools. Without them, my job would be unmanageable.
Dictionary.com
Is there an author out there who isn't already using this website? The Dictionary.com toolbar (http://dictionary.com/tools/toolbar1?trackid=gog-187) is easy to install and very convenient, but it's no longer compatible with Firefox, my browser of choice. Instead, the website is front and center on my “Recently Bookmarked” list, and I have the website up and running whenever I write.
Sometimes, I need to clarify the precise meaning of a word. I may think a word means one thing when it actually means something else. By checking when in doubt, I avoid using a word that confuses the meaning of my writing and makes me look unprofessional as an author.
There are also words like “silhouette” and “corduroy” for which I can never quite recall the correct spelling. If I check a word on Dictionary but spell it incorrectly, Dictionary will suggest other words, one of which is usually the correctly spelled version of the word I'm after .
Dictionary. Read more...
posted on 06/03/2011 - 04.51 | comments: 29
Working with Clients at Textbroker and Dealing with Daily Distractions
by Maryanne M.
Working with clients at Textbroker and dealing with daily distractions are two vital parts of working at home and writing articles, blogs and press releases for clientele. The following text will cover general information about both these topics as well as offer some tips to help other authors become more successful and work quickly yet proficiently.
Positive clientele connection is extremely important, and how it is done can either make it or break it for an author. If one client is satisfied with your work, he or she may tell other clients, which could lead to receiving direct orders. Not every client is the same, and not all of them will like your specific writing. Each person prefers a different style and tone; therefore, what works for one might not work for another.
It is vital to keep emotions separate from working with clients at Textbroker. There is an old saying, “What happens at home stays at home, and what happens at work stays at work.” It is a good statement to live by, but we are all human beings and will make mistakes and allow emotions to crop up. If that happens and we tell a client how we felt about a bad rating, we might be able to write later and apologize; however, we have probably already ruined that bond with the client by reacting and allowing our feelings to hinder our business thinking. Read more...
posted on 04/29/2011 - 07.03 | comments: 23
Give a Little to Clients, Get A Lot in Return
by John R.
When I was given the prompt for this blog post, Keira was nice enough to tell me that I had been asked to write it on account of my devotion to client satisfaction. It's been said before that every client should be treated as if a stream of direct orders could possibly come out of the transaction. However, it's even more important to remember that clients are human beings. While many of them can seem busy or distant at times, they are still people. Treating them with respect can go a long way to building up a genuine rapport.
One of the ideas pitched to me was to write this blog post on dealing with clients. However, I really don't like to think of it as dealing with them. For me, I try to avoid ever getting into the mindset that talking to clients is a major hassle. In fact, some clients have expressed an interest in having a short discussion. This can be a great time to draw out some possible new assignments for yourself. Perhaps you can make some suggestions regarding future articles.
While Textbroker doesn't require you to report errors corrected in editor feedback, I've always made sure to message the client back with the correction. Though I admittedly first did it out of guilt, I found that a number of clients really appreciated the gesture. Read more...
posted on 02/11/2011 - 08.25 | comments: 28
How I Learned Grammar
by Sondra C
My name is SondraC. I am a 70-year-old widow and a mother of three. I have five grandchildren and one great-granddaughter who is four. At the age of 63, I enrolled in college, intent on earning my degree. I graduated with honors.
I have been writing poetry and prose for the better part of my life. I rarely wrote articles, so my knowledge of proper grammar usage became vague. I had been writing “How to” articles for various sites on the Internet. It became boring and I needed a change.
My lifelong desire was to become a freelance writer. A friend of mine mentioned Textbroker. I immediately applied, and I was excited when I was accepted as a freelance writer.
At first it was a bit confusing. I did not know what format to use or how to write about a title. Moreover, I could not find a guide that gave me the information. I asked a few questions and learned how to write an article that would be accepted.
Although clients accepted all of my articles, I never was able to get a rating of more than 3 stars. I had not a clue what my problem was.
I began getting more than a hint when I started reading the editors’ comments about my writing. Read more...
posted on 07/16/2010 - 02.00 | comments: 70
A Few More Tax Tips For Self-Employed Writers
By Meaghan
In my last blog post, I covered a few of the basics about paying taxes as a self-employed writer. This is, admittedly, a very complex topic – and I am not a tax professional. Still, I wrote for Textbroker throughout almost all of 2009, made estimated payments along the way, filed my taxes and managed to emerged unscathed on the other side. Along the way, I picked up quite a few tips, tricks and pointers. Relating my exact experience to you is a bit pointless, since everyone’s situation is so different. Things like whether you’re filing a joint return or a single return, whether or not you have children, whether you work a regular job – and many other specifics – all have major impacts on how everything plays out.
Last time, I had to leave out a few other tidbits that I thought many of you would find useful; they include:
- As a self-employed individual, you may be eligible for a health insurance deduction – and you don’t have to itemize your deductions to receive it. In fact, the amount appears on line 29 of the 1040 form, and more information about it can be found here and here. As I mentioned above, everyone’s situation is different; in my case, I pay for my own health insurance and was able to write off a percentage of my monthly premiums on line 29 for the year 2009. Read more...
posted by 8298 on 03/10/2010 - 06.02 | comments: 6
Tax Tips For Self-Employed Writers
By Meaghan
As evidenced from comments on this blog through the past several months, it’s clear that people use Textbroker in a variety of different ways. Some people earn the majority of their income by filling orders on the site; I know I do. Others write for Textbroker in order to earn a bit of extra spending money, or to supplement their income from a regular job. For many people, Textbroker is their first foray into freelance work or self-employment in general; as giddy as earning money through writing may be, there’s one thing that you can’t overlook: taxes.
I’m fortunate enough to have a father who has done a lot of freelance work throughout his career. He currently owns his own business and is very familiar with all of the mind-numbing calculations that go along with paying the IRS as a self-employed person. He’s helped me out a lot, has saved me oodles of money and loads of frustration, and I’ve picked up quite a few tips and pointers from him in the year that I’ve been writing for Textbroker. Below, I’ll share a few of the best ones. Please keep in mind that I am not a tax professional; use this advice as a starting point.
- Normally, employers withhold your taxes for you; things like Medicare and Social Security are automatically withheld. Read more...
posted by 8298 on 02/20/2010 - 10.27 | comments: 12
Valentine's Poetry - For the Love of Punctuation
By Christina Z., Ed Truitt, Stacey Harwood and Tony Noland
I'll admit it: I love proper grammar. I absolutely adore accurate wording and proper punctuation placement. There's no better way to express these emotions than in poetry, especially on Valentine's Day.
I am not a poet.
Fortunately, others are. These items were the winners from Grammar Girl's National Punctuation Day contest and were kind enough to allow us to reprint them for your reading pleasure.
The Exclamation Point!
The exclamation point is greatly overused!
One could even say it is frequently abused!
In advertising copy, it repeatedly resounds!
And in breathless prose, it literally abounds!
The poorer the writer, the more frequently the case!
The exclamation point, they readily embrace!
To give a little emphasis! To make a little point!
This punctuation mark they will appoint!
But, to make emphasis perfectly clear,
Good writers generally appear
to make little use of exclamations
and other such typographic affectations.
-- Ed Truitt
Ed Truitt is a science writer at the Weizmann Institute of Science
Ode to the Comma
The female body part of punctuation,
So tiny, yet able to arouse such aggravation. Read more...
posted on 02/12/2010 - 07.55 | comments: 11
Develop a Stream of Direct Orders through Consistent Follow-up
By Rob
Greetings, fellow writers! It’s a pleasure for me to participate in this blog as a writer, and I hope I can add some beneficial ideas to the discussion. Before I jump in, let me give you a thumbnail sketch of my background, to give you the opportunity to put into context what I have to say. I’ve been textbrokering, as we call it around my house, for about eight months. I started slowly, because I did not immediately realize the potential this work offers as a steady source of quality income. I’ve been working it pretty hard for about six months now. I enjoy it immensely and have developed a quality group of clients.
Personally, my background is in pastoral ministry, specifically as a starter of evangelical churches with a very contemporary flair. We were usually known as the church in town that liked to rock! After nearly 20 years and four churches, my wife and I decided to take a breather from that line of work and give our three teenagers a chance to put down some roots here in northern Michigan. Over the years, writing was an essential part of my workload, so when it was time to look for new work, seeking freelance writing opportunities was a natural pursuit. Read more...
posted by 6048 on 02/01/2010 - 10.04 | comments: 38
Ways To Stay Motivated
By Meaghan
One of the most common complaints that I've seen from people online when it comes to earning a living on Textbroker revolves around motivation. Time and time again, I've run across Textbroker-related blog posts from frustrated people who insist that there's no possible way to keep at this kind of work day in and day out. In my very first blog post, I emphasized the fact that working on Textbroker is not a way to get rich quick; it's real work, and it requires dedication. After being at it for more than nine months now, I can admit that there are days where the “daily grind” has lost a little bit of its luster. At times like those, I keep myself motivated with a few of the following strategies.
Get Into A Routine
Most people excel when they stick to a particular schedule. Whether you are a schedule-oriented person or not, it's worth it to set some kind of routine for yourself in order to stay motivated – and to keep up with the goals that you've set for yourself. Personally, I'm a morning person and prefer to jump right into work as early as possible each day. That way, I'm generally caught up by mid-afternoon and still have plenty of time to get other things done. Read more...
posted by 8298 on 01/07/2010 - 11.56 | comments: 21
Research Strategies That You Can Use
By Meaghan
Many of us who are writing for Textbroker haven't had to do research of any kind since college or high school. For some people, research comes naturally and it's easy for them to get at the information that they need; for others, pinpointing useful information is a bit less easy. Either way, knowing how to trawl the depths of the Internet for straightforward, easy-to-understand facts is a definite art form. Whether you have a basic grasp of the subject you'll be writing about, or if you've haven't the first clue where to begin, I'm going to share a few of the tricks and strategies that I use on a regular basis to make crafting a great article simple and pain-free.
A Note About Note-Taking
Before delving into the specifics about where to go for the information that you need, I thought I'd mention note-taking. Note-taking is definitely a personal choice; some people can't do without it, while others barely scribble a thing down. For me, the simple act of jotting down a few especially pertinent details from the sources that I read seems to help make the information “stick.” Funnily enough, I rarely ever glance back down at my notes while writing an article, unless it's to double-check a particularly cumbersome word or technical term. Read more...
posted by 8298 on 12/16/2009 - 08.48 | comments: 19
Guest Post by Mignon Fogarty
In our last post, we mentioned Grammar Girl as a resource for daily tips and tricks to keep your grammar skills current. Good grammar increases your skills, makes your message clearer, can help increase your rating and attract DirectOrders.
We are fortunate enough to have a guest post from Grammar Girl herself! This post is not an endorsement of Textbroker, but something to get you thinking about how you write and how you can improve your clarity and message.
Why Good Writing Matters
Mignon Fogarty, http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com"My writing may not be perfect, but you know what I mean." It's the common refrain from poor writers, but it's not always true, and writing well is important for more than just dragging readers through your ideas.
Maybe They Don't Know What You Mean
Modifying Subjects
Poor writing or improper punctuation can cause confusion. Take this example from a real Associated Press article:
Huh? The sentence could mean that Michelle Obama and Paul McCartney share a daughter, which I doubt is what the AP meant to say. Read more...
posted on 12/09/2009 - 09.36 | comments: 22
The Editor's Toolbox
By Textbroker editor Christina Zila
The tools that editors and excellent writers use was mentioned in the discussion of a previous post. I wanted to summarize and give you links (not affiliate links, these go straight to the source) to help you build your own Editor's Toolbox. Purchasing these materials is in no way required to be a good writer or get a good rating, but using them can help your writing skill.
Free Resources
First off, there are quite a few excellent resources for grammar advice and rule refreshers. I personally like Purdue’s Online Writing Lab, which I mentioned in my original post. For a fresher, more personal look at grammar, check out Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips. Her daily newsletter drops a quick grammar fix to your inbox every day. Her books adorn our shelves in the office and I was lucky enough to meet her at a signing.
General tips and strategies for good style, tone and phrasing can be found with the classic “Elements of Style” by Strunk & White. Most of the book can be found online, but picking up a paper copy may help some of you.
The dictionary is your friend. Do not be embarrassed to use it. Read more...
posted on 11/24/2009 - 05.35 | comments: 15
Tips On Writing Well
By Meaghan
When it comes to writing for the web, short and snappy is always the best way to go. However, every writer has his or her own “comfort zone”; finding yours – and using it to the best of your ability – is a great way to get into the groove of producing a lot of articles for Textbroker. Beyond that rather vague advice, though, there are a few concrete tidbits that I'd like to pass along to you. They have served me well during the time I've written for Textbroker; some were writing habits that I'd already possessed, and others were things that I learned over time. By sharing them with you, I hope that I can provide a bit of inspiration, make you aware of something that you otherwise weren't – or even inspire you to kick things up a notch.
The Thesaurus Is Your Friend
Words are awesome. You know that feeling when there's a word “on the tip of your tongue,” but it just won't come to mind? For example, the difference between “color” and “hue” - one will do when the other just won't. By expanding your vocabulary and using a thesaurus, you can become a more descriptive and interesting writer. Don't force words in – they need to flow naturally – but don't recycle the same handful of words, either. Read more...
posted by 8298 on 11/09/2009 - 04.58 | comments: 15
Help Me Help You: Giving Clients What They Want
By Textbroker editor Christina Zila
Textbroker is here to serve our clients, which include web developers and SEO companies. A better idea of who our clients are and what they want will help you in writing winning articles.
Many of our clients are web developers and search engine optimization firms. These two types of clients have similar, yet slightly diverging, goals. A web developer creates and designs websites. They make sure that the site is running correctly and securely and often create or oversee the graphical element of the site. They usually do not have the time to write the content, or the words, that describe what the site does or sells. These types of orders are usually very specific on what they want: a description of a specific shoe, a certain type of job, or an “About Us” page for a website.
A search engine optimization, or SEO, firm, on the other hand, is looking for something different. They choose specific terms that, when searched for, show their client on the first page of Google, Yahoo! and Bing. Let’s say our client has a toy store in Kalamazoo, MI that specializes in old-school, traditional toys. The SEO company has to determine the phrases that you and I will put into Google to find our nearest store. Read more...
posted on 10/23/2009 - 04.37 | comments: 20
Strategies For Handling Revision Requests
By Meaghan
Last week, I talked about how to communicate effectively with clients. Soliciting existing clients for DirectOrders is not only allowed, but it's one of the best ways to make them aware that you're available for steady work. Sending followup messages to clients thanking them for accepting your article and letting them know that you're available is a savvy way to get more work.
Another situation in which communication with clients on Textbroker is critical is when revision requests pop up. As long as you follow clients' specified instructions as conscientiously as possible, you probably won't get very many requests for revision. Sometimes, though – even if you follow a client's instructions to the letter – you'll still get that dreaded “Customer has a change request for an article” email in your inbox. In today's blog post, I'll take a look at how to handle various revision request scenarios so that you can keep your clients happy – while maintaining your sanity.
The Revision Request Has Nothing To Do With The Original Directions
Sometimes, you follow all of the specified instructions on an order, only to have it sent back for revision. Read more...
posted by 8298 on 10/12/2009 - 03.28 | comments: 25
Communicating Professionally With Clients
By Meaghan
As a writer, every single time you submit an article or another piece of writing to a client you put your ego on the line a little bit. I’m all too familiar with the concept of being thrilled as the favorable comments and ratings of my clients roll in – but always tend to dwell on the rare times that I receive an “acceptable” rating, or when clients make comments that I deem to be unfair. Writers can be a thin-skinned lot, and receiving a revision request for an article you were sure would knock the client’s socks off can be disheartening, to say the least.
Whether a client raves about your abilities, gives you lukewarm feedback, fails to offer any feedback whatsoever – or, worse yet, criticizes your efforts and demands a revision – it’s imperative that you always communicate with him using grace, tact and professionalism. A bruised ego may make issuing a snarky reply ridiculously tempting, but at the end of the day your conduct not only reflects upon your own professionalism, but on the services of Textbroker as a whole. Fair or unfair, justified or unjustified, the criticism meted out by the occasional client should be viewed as an opportunity to make things right, exceed expectations – or to just develop a thicker skin. Read more...
posted by 8298 on 10/04/2009 - 09.50 | comments: 20
Giving Clients What They Want
By Meaghan
Unlike many kinds of work, writing is a very subjective thing. One of the biggest risks that most freelance writers have to deal with is the possibility of being unable to please a client - and not getting paid for their work. Textbroker, acting as the "middle man," protects its writers by keeping the funds received from clients in a kind of escrow; assuming that the client's instructions have been followed, the writer will generally receive payment. Like most Textbroker authors, I was immediately quite pleased with the reliable consistency of getting paid here; as I've said before, Textbroker offers honest pay for honest work.
That being said, it's natural - and imperative - to always strive to meet your clients' expectations. Whether it's a five-star assignment or a less lucrative two- or three-star job, you should always do your absolute best to give the client what they want. I've seen quite a few comments on previous blogs lamenting the vague instructions given by many clients, especially out on the OpenOrder board. How are you supposed to meet a client's expectations - and receive a positive rating from them - when they provide incredibly obtuse, one-line descriptions for the orders they post? Below, I will provide a few tips and tricks about handling less-than-clear sets of instructions. Read more...
posted by 8298 on 09/23/2009 - 02.48 | comments: 27
DirectOrders: Setting Your Price
By Meaghan
In my last blog entry, I highlighted a handful of key tips for attracting DirectOrders on Textbroker. That advice was just the tip of the proverbial iceberg, however. Attracting DirectOrders is great, but in order to keep them rolling in you have to make good on your promises. Pricing definitely plays a huge part in that, and setting your DirectOrder rate is key. Below, I'll share a few tips and tricks about setting DirectOrder rates.
Setting Your DirectOrder Rate
One of the beauties of receiving DirectOrders is that, unlike OpenOrders, you get to negotiate and set your own rate. This can be done in two different ways: by changing your DirectOrder rate for all clients under Account/Public Profile, or by changing your DirectOrder rate on a client-by-client basis.
Changing Your Advertised DirectOrder Rate
When you change your DirectOrder rate under Account/Profile, that is the rate that is shown to any client who is considering sending you work directly. If you've been fulfilling level 4 orders for a client, then, and he decides that your work is solid and he'd like you to complete an entire batch for him, the rate he'll see will be the one you've set under Account/Profile. Read more...
posted by 8298 on 09/14/2009 - 09.41 | comments: 19
ratings
By Textbroker editor Christina Zila
Do you remember what happened when Dorothy pulled down the curtain in the Emerald City? It was revealed that the Great and Powerful Wizard of Oz was not a massive, larger-than-life figure, but a regular person wielding an unusual amount of power.
Many of you may have the idea that your editors are like the Great and Powerful Wizard: puffed up on power and infallible.
We aren’t. We are human beings. We are the little (wo)man behind the curtain, doing our best to maintain order and consistency in what is by nature a rather subjective field. We do not have delusions of grandeur and can admit when we've made a mistake.
Since we’ve had a strong push from the readers of our blog on this topic, it’s time to take away the curtain and give you a better look at the whole ratings process.
Textbroker has more than 23,000 authors registered, who, at any given moment, are working on about 500 articles. There are 5 editors on staff, including myself, who rate nearly 1000 articles a day. With this time pressure, we can't give full explanations and highlight every single error in your work. Our comments provide a general overview of your most common errors. Read more...
posted on 09/11/2009 - 03.19 | comments: 47
Tips For Attracting DirectOrders
By Meaghan
A hot topic in the comments section of this blog - and one that gets bandied about quite a bit in general regarding Textbroker - is DirectOrders. During the recent run on OpenOrders on the site, many writers found themselves bereft of orders and unable to hit their daily earnings goals. Any savvy freelance writer will tell you that relying on a single source of income is unwise, and the same can be said about relying soley on OpenOrders on the site. Rather than looking at OpenOrders as your primary source of Textbroker income, you should look at them as a means to an end - the end being DirectOrders generated from the work that you've done for satisfied customers.
How do you solicit or attract DirectOrders, you ask? Below, I'll highlight a few tricks of the trade that I've used with great success during my time with Textbroker.
Quality Work Piques Customers' Interest
I've seen a few people mention taking a unique approach to the articles they write as a way of standing out from the crowd. That's well and good, but the primary goal should always be clean, crisp, concise and well-written content. Writing is an art form, and excellent writing skills really will set you apart. Read more...
posted by 8298 on 09/07/2009 - 08.38 | comments: 34
Why a Blog, Why Now?
By Textbroker editor Christina Zila
A reader of this blog recently asked why we started now, when it seems that there are no orders. I’ve also been getting e-mails asking about our current situation. I’d like to address both of these points in this post.
When we saw Meaghan’s earnings, we had proof that one could truly make a living from our service. At the same time, some of our authors were having trouble communicating effectively with clients. As admins and editors, we have a different relationship with our clients and can only help so much. Insight from another author would help these writers with client relations. When three clients with large (1000+) orders all arrived within days of each other, we thought it would be a good idea to have someone give new and struggling writers a few tips and tricks on how to be successful, deal with clients, and use our system to the fullest. Meaghan fit the bill perfectly. We asked her in July if she would be interested. We had planned to have the blog up by August 1, but the programming took a little longer than we had hoped. In the meantime, those three large orders were completed. We felt, even though the large orders were gone, that a blog would still be a useful tool for our writers and decided to start it independent of our current order situation. Read more...
posted on 08/31/2009 - 01.48 | comments: 42
The Road To Success Is Paved With Realistic Goals - And Persistence
By Meaghan
First of all, I’d like to thank everybody for all of the interest in this blog. I am paying close attention to all of your comments, and plan on addressing many of your questions in the weeks to come. In my previous post, I explained how I ran across Textbroker in the first place. After over a year of unemployment, I realized that Textbroker held real potential for earning a full time income. In this post, I will outline how I tested my theory – and ended up proving its validity.
Getting Started With Textbroker
When I was first approved as a writer at Textbroker, I started out at a level 3. I regarded that three as a challenge and decided that I’d get it up to a four as quickly as possible. In other words, I immediately set a goal for myself. Thus began a running theme in my career at Textbroker: setting small, attainable goals - then working diligently towards achieving them. I crafted each and every article with extreme care, then waited with bated breath for acceptance – and feedback – from clients.
The responses that I received right from the start heartened me considerably. The level three articles that I’d been fulfilling were being accepted quickly, and generally included an “excellent” rating as well as friendly and very positive feedback from the client. Read more...
posted by 8298 on 08/26/2009 - 06.52 | comments: 83
Goodbye Unemployment, Hello Textbroker
By Meaghan
After my company went out of business in early 2008, I knew that finding a new job wouldn't be easy. The unemployment rate in my state was already bad, and only getting worse; I'd already heard about many others who'd lost their jobs and were having trouble finding new ones. I collected unemployment benefits for a very long time, thanks in part to the multiple extensions enacted by Congress. However, I could see the end of that assistance quickly approaching and hadn't found anything close to a real job opportunity in months.
Nearly a year after losing my job, I began hearing about websites where you could not only share your writing with others - but get paid to do so. Intrigued, I signed up for the most popular one and was thrilled when the handful of assignments I'd written were approved; I was especially happy when payment came through, as promised. I'd always had a knack for writing - I'd always done very well with it in school - but I'd certainly never been paid to do it. It occurred to me almost immediately that by setting aside a tiny bit of time each day and writing short, 500-word articles, I could make a bit of extra spending money.
I'm a naturally curious person; I began wondering what other sites were out there that offered similar services. Read more...
posted by 8298 on 08/20/2009 - 11.17 | comments: 122