Search for Markets (You pursue work)  

Markets and job listings for freelance writers aren't really all that hard to find on the Internet. There are many free databases to search, like freelancewriting.com and craigslist.org. There are also free publications for writers that include market listings, job boards, career sites, and ads posted from local newspapers. So why would you pay to find writing work?

Well, when you apply for any jobs or projects from free resources you have a few things that can potentially work against you:  

1. Time. You can spend hours and hours of the time that you should use for writing on seeking out potential matches for your writing talents. How valuable is your time? Would you rather spend it on seeking work, or actually doing work and making money?
2. Free listings never die! I remember answering an ad for a ghostwriter when I first started exploring opportunities through the Internet. I spent a lot of time crafting a cover letter and tailoring my resume to fit the client-stated needs. The very next day after sending my intro letter and resume I received a response. I was ecstatic! Unfortunately, the response was only to tell me that the ghostwriting listing was 7 months old and assigned to someone long ago.
3. Competition. If you think that competition for writing gigs can be tough on a local level, imagine the enormous pool of talent available on an international level -- all seeking freelance writing work via free listings. When you belong to a listing service, you'll often find less competition for better paying assignments.
4. Accountability. Free listing sites don't have the same motivation or accountability to seek the really "plum" project listings for subscribers, or weed out bogus or deceptive offers to keep visitors/subscribers happy as paid listing sites do. 

To be fair, free listing sites for writing assignments do include viable work offers. And someone gets those jobs. Yet it is also true that many of the free listings are re-listings from other sources. If listing companies get flooded with responses for their writing work, they'll quickly stop accepting them. If you're willing to spend the time, by all means investigate free listing sites. I still do from time to time and every once in a while I get lucky. But if you're like me and like to expand the possibilities for finding paying assignments, I've provided a few reviews of listing services for you below, with more to come as I try them myself and assess their pros and cons.

Absolute Markets
When I subscribed to the Premium edition of Absolute Markets (a mere $15.00 for an entire year), I expected to see some overlap of job opportunities and market announcements with other listings I subscribe to. So far, I'm delighted to report that it hasn't happened. Absolute Markets has a great mix of magazine markets with links to writers' guidelines, markets for short stories and essays, poetry and travel writing. And in addition to a long list of market listings, you'll also find a significant number of writing work-for-hire telecommuting opportunities with varying pay scales from very low to highly competitive. Also included in each issue is an interview with someone who sits on "the other side of the manuscript" -- it might be a magazine editor, a book publisher, or a literary agent -- all willing to share information to help make us (the writers) do a better job of capturing their attention and landing an assignment or contract. While I could spend a significant amount of space describing some of the listings, you can actually preview a sample issue at the web site: www.AbsoluteMarkets.com. It's a comparable representation of the issues that I receive. If you like what you see in the sample, chances are good that you'll like what you see in your "in" box. Oh, and did I mention that each issue is completely ad-free... how's that for refreshing?

Go Freelance

I am a big fan of trial offers and "try before you buy" specials and the one for Go Freelance is a pretty good deal. Go Freelance, formerly Freelance Work Exchange, is not a "writers only" listing service, thus the 3-star rating. However, when the change in name took place (May 2007) I took advantage of the free one-week trial of $2.95 and found that the majority of listings are for writers with a decent mix of project types and compensation.

However, what I found to be the most valuable aspect of the trial was the free copy of Million Dollar Freelancing. While I don't care much for the use of little clipart characters scattered throughout the layout that add a lot of white space to make the page count longer than it is, the content holds up -- especially if you are new to freelancing. Chapter 4, which focuses on ditching the traditional resume to land more work, is a great show-and-tell reminder to use benefits, not features, to attract paying clients. This chapter alone is worth the miniscule trial investment. If you want to make freelance writing your life's work, this e-book is a great primer for the business side of writing -- including marketing both online and offline.

As for the million dollars reference in the title "Millions Dollar Freelancing"... if you're expecting some earth-shattering revelation to get your quick million, you'll be disappointed. But if you expect to learn how to set up a freelance business that could earn a million over time, then you'll be pleased you invested your $2.95.  Along with your trial, you'll have one-week access to the Pro subscriber pages where you'll find helpful articles, newsletter archives and other valuable information. I have one caution: if you do not cancel your trial subscription, you will automatically begin being billed the monthly membership fee so, if you decide that this service is NOT for you, be sure to cancel by the 7th day. All things considered, this just might be the best $2.95 you'll ever invest in your career -- whether you continue the subscription or not! Change your life for $2.95. Get instant access to a lucrative freelance career. Click here to start

Just Markets Daily

Just Markets Daily is just that -- a daily email (six days a week) with new listings for writers only. Kevin Rux, who happens to be one of the chapter authors for our How I Got the Gig, Volume I, book, does a great job of compiling listings from multiple resources each and every day to ensure that they are new and current. I give Kevin 5 stars for effort, or I should say, saving YOU the effort to find paying markets. However, since these are listings gathered from various other resources and not exclusive, you have a lot of competition to get the gig.