The Writing Jobs

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The Writing Jobs offers the resources and information you need to assist in your search for employment in the writing and editing fields. Our job board and category sections include the latest leads available. Both are "search" friendly whether you are looking for a certain type of position or specific location. Jobs for writers are out there...our goal is to help you locate them.

What is a Food Writer?

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The Incident

During a recent vacation trip when I was asked, “What do you do?” I casually answered, “I’m a food writer.”

“What’s a food writer?” the gentleman responded.

Not thinking for even a moment, I blurted out the obvious, “A food writer is a person who writes about food.” Reflecting a moment, I recovered adding more information on the kinds of articles I’d written and for what magazines. But later the episode gave me pause to stop and think of just how I could answer that question in the future. After all, how would you answer that question right now?

So what exactly, is a food writer? Well essentially, there are three aspects to the response, “A food writer is a person who writes about food.” They are:

Proofreading and Copy Editing

Technology has changed the standards for proofreading and copy editing, and even caused the roles to overlap in some situations. “Traditionally, proofreaders are responsible for finding errors during the typesetting or formatting of a final document,” notes Darryl Brunsvold, The AVS Group’s technical writer and copy editor. “On the other hand, copy editors work on draft information, correct inappropriate grammar, check word usage, and make sure the document follows the rules of English. The copy editor also checks the document for a consistent look and feel.”

It is important to know that proofreading and copy editing are done at varying levels. Each requires different skills and experience. “A higher level of copy editing may be needed, for example, when the author is providing technical information to a non-technical audience,” says Brunsvold.

Proofreading

Originally, proofreading was the late-stage correcting of material that had already been professionally set in type. Proofreading literally means “the reading and checking of proofs” against the original. Today, the term is generally used to mean the final checking of any text-based information. There are two levels of proofreading:

Basic proofreading

In basic proofreading, proofreaders check copy word-for-word against a marked-up draft and identify errors for correction. Basic proofreaders may also check for typographical errors, repetition of small words, and correct styles.

If you're a freelance writer looking for work, many times you'll see job ads that ask for a cover letter, resume, and writing samples or clips. You have no trouble writing a cover letter, and you have a resume on hand. But when it comes to writing samples or clips, you're stumped. What does the editor really want to see?

Well, the answer to that is - the editor wants to see if you can do the type of work he needs. For example, if he's looking for someone to write press releases, don't send him a copy of a short story you wrote about Great Aunt Edna - even if it did win 1st place in a writing competition. That's because a short story won't let this editor know you can write press releases.

If an editor asks for "clips" he means he wants to see examples of your published work. Sometimes, though, an editor wants to see unedited writing samples - so he gets a feel for how heavily your work will need to be edited. If the ad asks for "unedited samples" then send samples that have not been edited by a professional and/or published.

Although there are no hard and fast rules for sending writing samples, here are a few tips:

1) For clips - send only examples of your published work. At the top of the clip, write the name and date of the publication.

How To Make A Living Freelancing Online

So you want to start writing full time, but for one reason or another you're stuck at home and can't really get out. Can you make it? The good news is yes, you can. There are enough resources online to make a full time living writing. It's not easy, but it is definitely doable!

The web site that started me off from taking freelancing from a side income to a full time income was Guru.com. Guru and Elance are considered the two best auction based web sites for freelancers. These are sites where employers get to post descriptions of their projects for free, and freelancers are allowed to bid on them.

Two absolutely essential pieces of advice if you are looking to build up a freelance reputation on Guru:

1) Buy a year long subscription. Last I checked it was somewhere around $150, and it is cheaper than going month to month and is well worth the cost. One good job, or even six minimum wage jobs (the least a person can bid is $25--that's always the absolute minimum you will earn)covers the subscription easily!

Writers And Self-Discipline

It's no big surprise that so many writers deal with procrastination on a regular basis. Writers, like many other artists, are free spirits. We have our own ways of thinking and many of us march to a the beat of a different drummer.

The problem with our eccentricity is that sometimes we fall prey to wasting time because of the lack of self-discipline. How many times have you heard a writer say, "I'd write that book, if only I had more time,"? I personally have always had a problem with procrastination. And the biggest reason was because I didn't discipline myself to spend my time more wisely.

If you are having trouble trying to juggle several writing pens at once, try some of these tips to discipline yourself and see if your productivity increases.

Self-Discipline Tips For Writers

Create a schedule for yourself. I have found that I am most unproductive when I'm not working on a schedule. When I plan my days on a calendar, I am likely to get much more accomplished. I can grab my planner, take a quick look at the week and know what needs to be done. This creates a whole different mindset, than if I just fly by the seat of my skirt.

Did you define an intense problem and solve it within your book? Congratulations! You now have the ingredients to make your book a top seller in your field or expertise. With the right mix, your book is destined to sell way more than its competition. But, wait; don't rest in your success just yet. You still have work to do to become a successful author with a book selling way more than its competition.

After you have defined a problem and solution, researched your competition, you now have to develop a different approach. With all the books in the world on your topic, it's not enough to know the solution; you have to present the solution in a different way than existing books do.

You need to develop a way of making your book special. You need a different viewpoint, a niche, and a unique spin on sometimes the same information. Look at the problem again and the solution your book solves with the goal of developing a way to describe and present your knowledge in a different manner than existing books.

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