The Writing Life. The next question is always the same…
By: Michael Nadeau
Tags: Writers, Freelancing, Writing, Freelance, Freelance Writing

When people — dates, family members, strangers on the street in conversation, old Facebook acquaintances, potential future clients — find out my profession is “freelance writer,” I always see their eyes go wide. I’m convinced that everyone, deep down somewhere, has a romantic vision of that kind of life (the reality is much different, but that’s for another topic).

The next question is always the same. “So, who DO you write for?”

My stock answer, then, is also always the same. “Anyone that will pay me,” I say with a grin. Then I go on to explain Scripted.

This blog post, I think, will serve as some clarification for not only those strangers that might not know what I do — but for all of my friends and family that know what I do, but not a lot of the cool details. This entire post is a long time coming. So let’s dive in.

I’ve been writing for Scripted for over a decade now, give or take a year (everything gets blurry now that I’m an old 35-year-old). The company was a start-up offshoot of a website that hosted screenplays; I had a few of my soon-to-be-classics posted on that site. I saw the advertisement, thought, “Wow, I can do that,” and like that, I was off.

It’s been the most lucrative and beneficial experience of my entire professional writing life — a career going on over 15 years now. It’s brilliant in its simplicity. Scripted does most of the legwork I don’t have actual time to do. Clients come to them with writing requests — blog posts, long-form features, social media, website content, press releases, LinkedIn bios, everything else under the sun. From there, Scripted works with the client to mold their request into a job that’s up for grabs.

All of those jobs get listed on the site. I can log in, check the available jobs, find the ones I want to do, set my price, and send in a proposal. If the client likes it, they choose me, and I get to work. I can work directly with them to answer any questions I might have before I write one word, so the entire process goes super-smooth.

It’s super-easy, super user-friendly, great for the writer (since I can set my own rates), and I get to do some super-cool stuff. I’ve written about amazing restaurants in cities across America. I’ve penned press releases for huge companies, and written content for some fascinating Twitter feeds. I even got to write about “Star Trek” once! That was quite “engage”-ing.

Sorry about that pun, really. Live long and prosper, everyone.

Scripted’s been a fantastic part of my life for over a decade now. When I’ve been between full-time jobs, it’s enabled me to keep the lights on and the fridge full. When I’ve been working full-time, it’s been an incredible, welcome boon to my finances — I can tick off bills or payments in my head as I do job after job.

Even better, it helps keep my mind sharp and my writing skills top-notch. The fact that I can do all of these other cool assignments outside of my regular job? It helps keep the creative juices flowing. That, in turn, helps my regular 9-to-5 work.

If this sounds like something you might be interested in doing, I highly encourage you to give them a try. Here are some pieces of advice you need to know with it:

First, this is a job, like any other. Don’t half-ass it. Treat this as you would any other full-time job. The more serious you are with it, the more you’ll get out of it.

Second, get out of your comfort zone. Don’t just write about insurance or business or technology because “that’s what you know.” Apply to different projects. Expand your horizons. It’ll only make you better.

Third, if something’s unclear with the client, ASK. Don’t let things get lost in translation. The writing part should be the EASIEST part of any project. Knowing what the client is asking for? That’s the real challenge.

Fourth, pitching. Don’t kill an electronic forest with your pitches. These are busy people you’re pitching too. Keep it concise, and keep it interesting.

Finally, get things done right and get them done quickly. If you have five days to do a job, get it done in two. Your clients will love it, and it’ll make you a better writer.

Have any more questions about it? I’m here to help. Shoot me an email. I’m also ready to answer any questions about all the exciting and engaging stuff I’ve written about that I can’t mention here.

Happy writing, everyone!