How To Get Legit Writing Jobs

I've had a lot of people ask me how I manage to actually get paid for writing on the Internet. It seems as though they have trouble finding legit sites or sites that offer jobs available without the user having to get a paid membership. The trouble with subscribing to a site that lists jobs is that you never know what you're really getting. You may end up paying a monthly fee when all that is offered is a handful of jobs from con artists looking to rip you off by promising payment and failing to deliver. There are plenty of sites out there that list a plethura of writing jobs available for freelancers every single day. Check out the links in my sidebar for reference.

So, how do you know that they're legit?

Writing for money over the Internet is a gamble. One can never can be 100 percent sure that the person on the other end of the Web is going to live up to their end of the bargain and fork over the cash. But, there are some things that you can do to protect yourself against con artists:

1. Research, research, research. Don't just send off your resume and three writing samples to some random company without doing your homework. Search the company name and the word "scam" and find out if anyone has been taken by them. You might be surprised.
2. Get a contract, if at all possible. If there isn't a contract available, get the stipulations of your agreement in writing, via email. An email is a legal document and will stand up in court, if need be.
3. ALWAYS know what type of licensing agreement you're selling your work under and follow up to ensure that the company that you're working with is abiding by the license under which they bought your writing. In other words, if they bought Usage rights and they modify your content, or remove your byline, you have every right to take legal action and you should send them an order to cease and desist.

Freelance writing over the Internet is a fun, but challenging job. Some months are better than others and, sometimes, it's hard to weed out the sharks. However, if you know what you're doing, you're more likely to get the kind of jobs that you want for the kind of pay that you require. Best of luck!