Web Writing Rumors and Facts: Is Writing for the Web the Career for You?

You’d love a career as a web writer. However, you’ve heard rumors, and they make you uncomfortable. Some make it sound as if horse racing by comparison would be a stable (pun intended) career.

I’ve been writing for 30 years, and I wish I were a brand new writer, just starting out. The web gives writers immense power. You can write wherever and (mostly) whatever you wish, and make a great income.

Let’s look at some of the rumors… and the facts.

Rumor: You can make an insane amount of money web writing in your jammies.

Fact: While it is true that you can make good income writing for the web from home, the big money doesn’t come instantly — although it may, if you’re already a professional writer in another field.

As with any career, writing for the web requires time, patience and experience. Start small, taking a few low-paying gigs to build your portfolio and your clientele. But if you keep at it, you will get the big money faster than you ever dreamed.

As to the jammies, most writers find they are more productive when they dress, even if they are home all day.

Rumor: On the other hand, most web writing gigs pay slave wages.

Fact: While a first glance at the freelance writing job boards often reveals a mass of write-100-articles-for-$1-each assignments, keep digging and you’ll find many more lucrative deals. This is especially true if you specialize. If you have insider knowledge about a subject, be it dogs or mutual funds, you can name your price: People will pay very good money for you to share your knowledge on the web.

Rumor: You can do web writing whenever you want.

Fact: Who wouldn’t want a job in which you can go to work whenever you felt like it? You can indeed generally fit gigs around your schedule.

But that doesn’t mean you can turn in your work whenever. Your clients will demand that you are reliable. You will have to turn in a reasonable amount of work within a reasonable amount of time or risk losing a client. The beauty of writing from home is that you can squeeze most assignments around your children’s orthodontist appointments and football games.

Rumor: If you start with extremely low rates, you can always raise them later.

Fact: This is true but only to a certain extent. While it is all right for you to take very low paying assignments at first for the experience, you want to get away from them as soon as possible. Otherwise you’ll get the mindset and the reputation of a bargain-basement writer.

In addition, if you have clients, it is very difficult to raise rates significantly for them later on.

Rumor: If you disliked writing in high school, you’ll hate web writing.

Fact: That depends on what you disliked about writing in high school. If you hated diagramming sentences and finding the gerund and the past participle, you have no worries.

Web writing is completely different from creative or literary writing. Online writing mainly concerns giving people information quickly and clearly. If you are good at explaining things to others in a way that is easily understood, you’ll love web writing.

Rumor: Web writing is your dream job.

Fact: If you want a job which you can work around your own schedule, in which you can set the course for your career (including what you write, how much you write and how much you get paid for it), then this is absolutely true. While web writing is not a picnic (you may initially have periods of feast, famine and frustrations), a little bit of effort can lead to a lifetime of rewards.

“Go From Zero To Making $250 Per Hour For Web Writing – Kick Off Your Web Writing Career In 24 Hours!”

There’s great money in Web writing. Some Web writers are making $20,000 a month by blogging for a stable of sites. Others are writing articles or ebooks.

Want to jump on this opportunity? No matter what your level of writing skill, you can make great money writing for the Web too.

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