Writers and Editors

Many organizations for writers, editors, journalists, indexers, and other service providers have their own job banks and referral services, generally for use only by members and potential employers, service purchasers, or licensees of rights. Remember that when you are looking to hire someone, and check out relevant listings for specialty organizations.

As for figuring out how much to charge, remember the all-important questions (and this doesn't generally apply to writing magazine articles, for which the pay these days is totally inadequate):
How long will a writing job take (the hardest thing to learn how to estimate realistically)?
How much is your time worth?
How high a fee or price will the market for that product bear (in a local market or an industry market)?
How eager are you for the work--or how willing to walk away from a job or project?

For other resources, check Local and Regional Organizations. Networking with a local group may be one of the best ways to find jobs and outlets for your writing and editing.

The following sites and the listings they post have NOT been vetted for quality, reliability, etc. If you have reason to believe any of these sites should not be listed, please let us know -- and tell us why. Is any useful site missing?

American Independent Writers (AWI, formerly Washington Independent Writers). Reportedly no longer functioning as an organization.

American Medical Writers Association (AMWA) Jobs Online (paid ad listings available to AMWA's 5,600 members)

Aptitude Testing Resources
• Johnson O'Connor Research Foundation (an expensive, top-notch facility for testing aptitude and personal strengths and providing career counseling). This firm's site has some interesting articles and links to other resources, such as
• Myers-Briggs Type Indicator personality inventory
• Keirsey Temperament Sorter
• Self-Directed Search

Artisan Creative, a creative staffing agency that places talent of many kinds (after screening for actual talent): writers, coders, designers (print and graphic design, Web, broadcast design, production, UI interaction, etc.), social media strategist, Drupal theme developers, and many other freelance specialties. See Open Jobs list.

ASBPE Job Bank (exclusive listing of employment opportunities) and ASBPE Job Links (American Society of Business Publications Editors, but the links are open to everyone)

Boxers, Briefs and Books. John Grisham's op-ed piece on what hard work writing is, one theme of the forthcoming collection Don’t Quit Your Day Job: Acclaimed Authors and the Day Jobs They Quit, ed. by Sonny Brewer (with stories by Grisham, Pat Conroy, Rick Bragg, and many other authors).

Editor & Publisher (jobs page for E&P, which publishes newspaper industry news)

44 Resume Writing Tips (Daniel Scocco, DailyWritingTips 5-19-08)

Freelance editing rates in Australia on Jean Weber's site, Technical Editors' Eyrie (Resources for Technical Editors)

Freelancer Directories
Many writers and journalists organizations have begun offering freelance directories, so for publishers and clients looking for an independent writer, journalist, editor, etc. make sure you're listed in the directory of organizations to which you belong -- and join the ones whose directories are likely to be searched. I'll list more as you make me aware of them:

• Association of Health Care Journalists (AHCJ's list of independent journalists)
• Editorial Freelancers Association (search by state, skill, specialty, hardware, software)
• Find a personal historian (Association of Personal Historians, to help Mom and Pop write their memoirs)
• Publishers Marketplace (not an organization but a place to announce your availability!)
• Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) (freelancers in an organization that traditionally attracts staff journalists)

Freelance Fees Guide (National Union of Journalists, UK)

Freelance-Zone.com (freelance jobs, resources page)

How Much Should I Charge? (Writers and Editors, Pricing Strategies, How to Set Rates, and Other Survival Basics)

Indeed, as reviewed on this interesting review site (Viewpoints): PROS:easy to use interface (7), pulls job postings from all websites (6), minimal advertising (5), good overview of jobs in a location(3), one stop job shopping (1). CONS: sometimes unreliable results (5), inconvenient (2), repeat job postings even if job is filled (2), jobs lie about salary (1).

Job Hunters Bible, online job search resource hosted by Dick Bolles, author of What Color is Your Parachute?

Job Interview Questions (and Best Answers) (Alison Doyle, About.com)

Lessons Learned in Auditioning for Job (Alina Tugend, NY Times, 12-3-10, on how to handle prospective employers' requests to produce creative samples or give business advice -- when to do it and how to protect your work).

LinkedIn, this social-networking-for-business site can be a good place to find gigs IF you join and PARTICIPATE in specific social networks. People who like what you say when you join a conversation may check out your profile. And you can build a network of your own by connecting with connections of your connections!

Media Bistro job listings. Galley Cat also offers Scoop Jobs ("let your next job find you"), jobs and recruiting for media professionals in journalism, online content, book publishing, TV, radio, PR, graphic design, photography, and advertising.

Media Job Pod (job search advice for multimedia journalists and production majors)

More journalists and fiction writers are shifting to writing videogames (Stephany Nunneley, vg247, 11-19-10)

NatureJobs.com (recruiting for science jobs--search on "writer" or "editor," etc.)

Nonprofit Jobs Cooperative (a one-stop source for job seekers searching for nonprofit jobs, and for employers to easily publish job opportunities within specific regions)

Occupational Outlook Handbook (useful guide from the U.S. Department of Labor, about the most common career fields, job trends, educational requirements etc.)

100 best places to live and launch (CNN Money)

A one-minute story may be key to a storied career (Penelope Trunk, Seattle Post-Intelligencer 7-6-03)

oDesk. Online work teams, particularly popular in Silicon Valley. Remote staffing for long-term work -- employers hire, manage, and pay a distributed team as if everyone were in their office.

O*NET OnLine (detailed descriptions of the world of work for use by job seekers, workforce development and HR professionals, students, researchers, and more--conceived by U.S. Department of Labor as a definitive resource for counselors, educators, human resource specialists, and the public to learn more about occupations)

Online Job Search Resources (Johnson O'Connor Research Foundation, an expensive, top-notch facility for testing aptitude and personal strengths and providing career counseling)

Publishers Marketplace (free) and Publishers Lunch Deluxe ($20 a month). Lunch Deluxe gets you daily e-mails listing new deals in book publishing and news about sales, reviews, agents, editors, and the industry, as well as access to Who Represents (database of authors and their agents). You needn't subscribe to Lunch Deluxe for access to the Publishers Lunch Job Board.

Reddit Jobs. Find a job, find a company, post a job ($300 for 30 days).

The Wealthy Freelancer: 12 Secrets to a Great Income and an Enviable Lifestyle by Steve Slaunwhite, Ed Gandia, and Pete Savage (available by Kindle or as paperback). The blog: The Wealthy Freelancer

DIRECTORIES OF MAGAZINES, NEWSPAPERS, AND OTHER PUBLICATIONS
You won't find mastheads on all of these, but you can check out the publications.

The Practicing Writer. On this website, Erika Dreifus sells three e-books for writers, including the "Guide to No-Cost Literary Contests and Competitions," "Directory of Paying Essay Markets," and "Directory of Paying Markets for Book Reviewers." For $6.95 I decided to check out the directory of paying essay markets. Strangely, it did not include The New Yorker, Atlantic Monthly, Newsweek ("My Turn"), the New York Times Magazine, Salon, or any of the women's magazines, all of which pay much better than most of the publications listed. Perhaps this is because she listed only publications that posted writers guidelines, with pay rates, on their websites--but this excludes most of the best and best-paying essay markets. Save your money.