Phil has started a series of interviews about making extra money – and started his series with an interview about Making Extra Money with Freelance Writing, with Debbie Dragon – a freelance writer for ReliableWriters.com and co-owner of Trifecta Strategies, LLC and founder of MakeMoneyFromWriting.com.

If you’re interested in making money freelance writing, be sure to check out Phil’s interview with Debbie.  If you’re looking for other ways to make some extra money – try PT Money’s  52 Ways to Make Extra Money post and keep up with his series of interviews with entrepreneurs to read how real people are doing it!

There are many other writing services out there that may be cheaper than Reliable Writers, but in most cases, you get what you paid for.  Many services outsource their work to writers overseas who speak English as a second language.  100% of our writers live in the United States.  Others simply rehash content they find elsewhere online or auto-generate hundreds of articles for search engines.  We take the time to study the topic and write original, compelling content you can be proud of and your visitors want to read.

#2 We’re Affordable

On the other end of the spectrum there are those who bill themselves as professional writers with a few big name publications under their belt.  They are capable of delivering quality content but will often charge $200-$300 or more per article.  This is outside of the budget for most website operators and although it’s a much better route than the cheap services for those wishing to run professional websites, usually the work does not justify the outrageous rates.  We deliver professional content at a rate most website operators can afford.

#3 We’re Upfront

One thing you’ll notice when looking at our competitors websites is that most don’t display their prices anywhere. You have to contact them an haggle over the price.  It’s even harder to get a firm delivery date.  They string you along until the point you feel obligated to buy before they’ll ever give you a firm price or date.  We don’t play those games.  Our order form allows you to instantly see exactly how much your project is going to cost and when it will be done without ever having to talk to a human or give us your contact info.  Of course we are also available to answer any questions you may have.

#4 No Contracts or Commitments

Other writers will use contracts or minimum commitments in order to force you to continue to use their services for a period of time.  We get repeat business by making sure our customers are satisfied with our work and want to come back, not because they have to.  There are no minimum commitments and we never make you sign a contract.

#5 Order Just What You Need

Another common practice you will find is writers who force you into ordering a package of services, some you need, some you may not.  If you try to order outside of those packages, you get hit with higher rates.  At Reliable Writers you decide what you want.  All of our services are a la carte and you get our best rate no matter which options you choose.

#6 We Always Have Time for Your Order

The problem with using an individual writer is any one person is only capable of doing so much work in a week.  If they are currently booked, it may be a few weeks before they can get to your project.  If your order is too large they may have to turn you down all together.  We have multiple writers on staff and others on stand-by, which resolves these scheduling conflicts and ensures we’re always available to work on your project promptly no matter how small or large.

#7 You Take the Credit

Many sites don’t like to advertise the fact they use outside writers and we completely understand.  We’re happy to ghost write anything you need.  Some web development firms and consultants wish to package our services with others they offer and resell them.  Although we always appreciate referrals, you’re in no way obligated to link to our site or give any type of credit for any work you receive from Reliable Writers.  You own the rights and are free to do as you wish with the content we deliver.

#8 We Do More Than Just Write

Many of our customers want the content on their site to be fully managed without any interaction on their part and we’re happy to do so.  If desired, we can directly post content to your website, provide photos for each post and submit to article directories and blog carnivals.  It is completely up to you to choose which services you would and would not like us to provide.

#9 We’re Reliable

We wouldn’t have put it in our name if we weren’t.  You can rest assured that once we give you a delivery date, your project will be delivered on time.  Having multiple writes on staff ensures scheduling conflicts, sickness, vacations and emergencies do not come in the way of getting your work done on time.

#10 We’re Experienced

The writers working on ReliableWriters.com orders are professional writers.  Most have been earning a living writing for several years, and all are experienced with writing content designed for internet readers.   Our writers are no strangers to the concepts of keyword optimization, headline creation, and linking to various pages of your website(s) or affiliate programs.  You won’t need to spend hours teaching our writers how to do these important aspects of internet writing – we already know how to do it.

We’ve compiled a list of some of the best 73 resources for online writers.

Do you use a resource or tool that we left off the list? Tell us about it in the comments.

Improve Your Writing

Regardless of the writing platform you focus on (online or offline, blogs or magazines, etc) there is always room to improve your writing:

Confident Writing – Named one of the top 10 blogs for writers for two years in a row, confidentwriting.com offers advice for finding your voice, and becoming more confident in your writing ability.

Bad Language – Blog offers a variety of “how to” advice for blogging, PR, writing, interviewing, and general tips for improving your writing.

MIT Writing Courses – Online writing courses offered through MIT, and many focus on writing for the web.

Open University Grammar Course – Grammar workshop through Open University.

Grammar Book – Everything you need to know about English grammar rules.

Writing Fix – Writing lessons, tips and writing prompts to increase your creativity.

Freelance Copywriters Blog – Excellent blog with tips to make you a better writer. Topics generally focused on copywriting/sales writing but sometimes you’ll find general writing tips, too.

Grammar Girl – Podcast for better grammar from Grammar Girl.

Economist Styleguide – Styleguide given to all writers of the Economist.com, this is a very useful tool that all writers could use to improve the quality of their writing.

Lousy Writer – Free online resource with tips for improving your writing, communicating better, and information about various writing styles.

Establishing a Writing Business

Some people write for the pure enjoyment of writing. Some people want to earn their living from writing. If you’re a writer looking to make it a career – you’ll want to establish a writing business to generate consistent income and reliability. Here are tips for finding clients and setting up a writing business:

Make Money From Writing – An online mentoring course for writers looking to establish online writing businesses and earn income writing from home.

Keep Your Copyrights – Sample freelance writing contract

Freelance Zone – Tips for self employed writers.

Writing.com – Create a profile to store and display your writing online, and read fantastic articles about the writing business.

Fab Freelance Writing – Angela Booth regularly posts tips for freelance writers on her blog. She also offers a mailing list of tips and a number of ebooks designed to help writers establish a profitable writing business.

Chris Blogging – Great resource for freelance writers and people who want to make writing their full-time career and only source of income. Offers a one-on-one freelance writing course.

Freelance Write – About.com’s freelance writing guide offers a wealth of information for aspiring freelance writers in the blog, and an active forum with topics ranging from where to find work to people seeking advice.

Get Paid to Write Online – Sharon’s blog covers just about everything you need to know about writing for the web and running a freelance writing business.

Plan HQ – create a working business plan online and achieve your goals.

Organized Writer – tools designed for the business of writing – articles, blogs, research links, and marketing tips.

Where to Look for Writing Jobs

There are a number of websites and newsletters that feature writing jobs for subcontractors and freelance writers. You may need to weed through a number of job offers that are offering ridiculously low pay for your hard work – but don’t get discouraged. There ARE many opportunities hidden among the low-paying gigs and many writers have built full-time incomes around writing for online clients. Here is a list of sites to start your search for writing work:

• All Freelance Writing
• Freelance Daily
• Freelance Writing Gigs
• ProBlogger
• Craigslist
• Demand Studios
• Suite101.com
• About.com
• Freelance Switch
• Media Bistro
• Online-Writing-Jobs
• Poewar
• Wahm.com
• Writejobs.com
• Writerfind.com
• Writers Weekly
• Helium
• Blue Mountain Arts
• Freelance Jobs

Writing for the Web

Online writing jobs are everywhere you look, and many professional writers are turning to internet writing to increase their income. Writing for online markets is a little different from writing for traditional publications. Here are some tips for developing a style of writing that is preferred on the web:

Copyblogger – Copyblogger helps you get more traffic to your website or blog, increase newsletter subscribers, attract links to your site and sell with words.

Handbook of Journalism – Reuters “handbook of journalism” isn’t only useful for professional journalists. Web writers can benefit from their ethical journalism tips, too.

Dana Prince – Comprehensive resource for freelance writers, with many topics focused on writing for the web.

Useit.com – Terrific article about how to write for the web, because it’s absolutely different from writing for offline sources!

iStock Photo – Often bloggers and online writers are asked to include copyright free images with their work. You can purchase images from istockphoto.com inexpensively and ensure you are using copyright-free images on all of your work.

Public Domain Photos – all photographs on this site are part of the public domain and can be used for any purpose, including commercial – making them perfect for including on blogs and any other online writing assignment that requires images.

Content Strategy – All inclusive tips for writing for the web, whether writing for clients or writing for your own website.

Website Tips – Tutorials and tips for writing web- based content.

Copyscape – an online tool that checks for plagiarism.

SEO Tutorial - An online tutorial that gives you all the basics of search engine optimization. All online writers should have at least a basic understanding of how SEO works; the more you know the more valuable you are to your internet clients.

Software and Tools to Increase Efficiency

Serious writers need tools and software to help organize their business and increase efficiency. Whether you’re running a one-person writing service or have a team of 20 writers, the tools and software in this section will help you manage your business:

Basecamp HQ – Online project management software lets you set up deadline milestones, to-do lists, individual projects (or clients). You can allow your clients to access their projects, and manage multiple writer schedules through the intuitive online interface.

ProjectTurf – Web based project management software with discussions, calendars, task lists and more.

Blinksale – Easy and inexpensive way to invoice clients with professional looking online invoices. You can accept paypal or credit card as payments.

Mind42 – Mind Mapping tool. You can use it alone or with other writers to formulate ideas.

Open Office – OpenOffice.org is like Microsoft Office, except it’s free.

Paypal – Easy method to accept payments from clients. You need a regular bank account to link your Paypal account to, but you can accept credit cards, debit cards, and paypal payments.

Writeboard – Online tool that makes it easy to collaborate with other writers online.

Mozy – Don’t let your hard work go to waste! You need to back up your writing regularly to protect your files from accidental deletion or disaster. This is an affordable online backup service with plans for individuals or multi-users.

To Do – Online to do lists to keep you on track.

Paymo – Online time tracking tool perfect for writers who bill by the hour, or for keeping yourself on a time schedule.

Client Scribe – Web based application that helps you keep track of your customers, contact information, and all communication between you and your clients.

88 Miles – Time tracking tool that lets you keep track of time spent on multiple projects, and on screen timers to show how much time you’ve put in.

Writers Communities, Forums, and Groups

Writing can be lonely. Participate in online communities, forums and groups designed for writers and not only will you relieve some of the loneliness, but learn from people who are also writing for a living:

Backspace – Backspace is “the Writer’s Place”. An online community for writers, and one of WritersDigest.com’s 101 Best Sites for Writers, more than a third of the members of Backspace have been published. Some are even on the New York Times Best Sellers List. Some of the members are agents.

Writers Digest - WritersDigest.com is a little of everything for writers. Learn to write better from their many articles and tips; participate in their discussion groups and forums and learn from other writers.

Internet Writing Workshop – Email discussion lists and opportunities to have your writing critiqued by other writers.

Absolute Write – AbsoluteWrite.com’s forums are a good place to meet other freelance writers, bloggers, screenwiters and novelists.

Freelance Writing Organization, International – Freelance Writing Organization, International. One Of The World’s Largest, Free, Online Writing Resource Sites

Freelance Writing Gigs - Excellent online community for writers with job listings and informative articles about writing, and the business of writing.

Freelance Folder- Community for all types of freelancers, includes forums, an informative and well-written blog, and job boards.

Writing Career – Everything you need for turning writing into a career.

Writers FM – Radio station for writers by writers.

Freelancers’ Union – National membership for all freelance workers.

Make Money From Writing Community – Online community where you can start a free blog, and interact with other writers who want to make money from their writing.

Sometimes things just seem to get lost in translation. To help illustrate this point we’ve made a tool that will take any English phrase and translate it to French, German and back to English using the translation tool from BabelFish. Usually you end up with something quite different than you started with. Go ahead and try it out.

You’ll get better results if you avoid contractions and abbreviations

Here are some common phrases, quotes and song lyrics we’ve “translated” with this tool. See if you can guess what they are.

Did you find a funny translation of your own? Share it with us, post a comment. Oh, and you’ll be happy to know that at ReliableWriters, all of our writers live in the US and speak English as their first language.

Just to Help Drive the Point Home

Thank you to Garden Wall Publications for sharing this video in their post The LiverWorst Spoiler in the Whale Wide Word.