As I previously mentioned, I’ve recently started publishing online articles and opinion pieces. I am doing this for a number of reasons, not the least of which being that I hope to eventually be able to earn enough money through writing not have to work a crappy job at some crappy business with crappy pay and marginal benefits. Which sums up every job I’ve ever had, and possibly every job you’ve ever had too, so you can see why the idea would interest me.
As I’ve started this endeavor, I’ve looked into forum posts about the sites I’ve signed up with, and was initially disappointed, but not surprised, that they don’t pay that well. I initially let this discourage me, because I thought it was pointless for me to put in effort researching a piece or writing an opinion piece when it wouldn’t really be worth much in the long run. I’ve decided that’s crap, however.
I want to write. I want to get paid to write. I have NO recent writing credits of any worth right now, and I need practice. Even if I get paid pennies per article, this is for practice and it’s more than I get paid for writing and saving it to my hard drive. By posting these things online, I also open them up to viewing and commentary by other readers and writers. Feedback is a good thing when you’re trying to improve. I’m not particularly thin-skinned, so I don’t care if I get the requisite amount of “idiot comments,” the type that have nothing to do with the article or blog post in question, but are all about being “first” or just being disparaging about whether or not the poster is gay/fat/ugly/stupid/take your pick. You know the type. Ignorant. But for people who actually have something relevant to say, I’m interested.
So while I may not recommend these sites to anyone trying to make the mortgage, they could be a good jumping off point for me. Once my writing is more polished and more focused, I can always move on.
