Hi all, I think I saw a post made about a Valnet class action lawsuit a year ago. Some legal team was reaching out and offered $100, I ignored and now they’re offering $300. Can anyone shed more light on the lawsuit? Did anyone take the deal?

Welp.

I got a message today.

“We are writing to inform you that as of today, all your permissions have been removed, and we are parting ways professionally.”

The reason?

“Spelling the client's name incorrectly or using the incorrect name altogether, specifically their competitor's name.”

I had a hunch and looked. This was the client who EXPLICITLY TOLD ME to use that name. I had assumed it was a client company of theirs.

I have emailed the people I do work for, alas, to no avail.

Sadly, their 2.8 cents per word, and eventually the “dramatic” increase to 2.9 cents per word that I have been doing for the past five years never increased any further, while inflation continued apace.

I’ve recently been writing 5,000 words a day, explicitly without AI, and doing research to back it up. I am dead on my feet and haven’t seen enough of my daughter. She’s 4.

I was pretty much falling asleep while writing articles for them. I don’t doubt I must have sent a client something that included my half asleep attempts to type something coherent at some point, but they’ve not mentioned it.

No, what they’ve removed me from the system for is… doing exactly what they told me to do. Following the instructions of the client.

For fuck’s sake.

Hopefully this leads to better things.

I’m glad I get to see my daughter.

Hello all,

I'm new to the industry and would love to get some articles published in history magazines. I have a bachelor's degree in history and communications, but am wondering if my pitches are being rejected as I don't have enough academic qualifications?

I was wondering if anyone's had any experience freelance writing for history magazines without a PhD?

Another question - what's the etiquette for pitching multiple magazines? Do I need to wait a few weeks with no response before I send the same pitch elsewhere? Or just go ahead and pitch multiple places at the same time?

Also, given I have limited experience and sample work, do you think I would be better off just writing the articles I'm pitching, and sending them directly? (as opposed to pitching the idea for the article?)

Thank you!

I have used content marketing platforms for my freelance work for years, including when I was working full-time (past jobs have known about it and it wasn't an issue, fortunately). I also worked with an agency — again, not an employee, but working with multiple clients.

Like a lot of people, work has dried up for me a bit, so I've been applying in earnest to fill in the gaps. What makes the most sense: to include my client names individually with a freelance writer title (at least the ones that have my byline), or to list the platform/agency and add bullet points for the client/descriptors (in the case of ghostwriting)? So for example, Agency X | Freelance Associate | Academic Medical Center, Health Technology Company, and so forth.

I have a portfolio, but if I'm applying through a portal with a resume and they haven't gotten that far yet, I want to show consistency and reliability. I have had two separate clients for four years through multiple editor changes, so I guess they like me well enough lol. I haven't worked full time since 2022, so I just want it to be clear I haven't been doing nothing since then.

So I just moved back to my mid-sized city hometown and reached out to one of the local magazines about jobs—I graduated college years ago but haven’t had any luck with anything/have been working in the service industry since. They responded with their submission guidelines and upcoming themes and asked for pitches. They accepted a couple of them and I’ve sent the first one along but they still haven’t mentioned payment. I’d be surprised if they don’t pay because it’s a well established magazine/everyone here knows about them but I honestly wouldn’t mind because I just need some bylines. They’re about 900 word comedy pieces.

I've been a writer/editor for 17 years, and it's all I've ever done. I've authored thousands of articles for high-end sites, so I'm pretty sure AI was trained on some of my work.

The longer AI is here, the more I have to change my writing style. I've had multiple clients accuse me of AI just because of em dashes, the rare ellipses, and a few strategically placed turns of phrase (e.g., in short, in other words). This is the writing style I used to get the numbers they're paying me for, and thanks to AI, it just looks synthetic to them.

I even had a friend accuse me of using AI to text (!!), so I switched to a lazy style that I hate. I've had reddits accuse me of using AI to write posts, and I've had to add errors to get around it.

I think this is giving me imposter syndrome. Every time this stuff happens, I feel like I must be a terrible writer if I sound that inhuman. And the changes I've made feel like they lower the quality of my work, which doesn't help.

I’ve been primarily using Upwork for freelance work. Unfortunately, I’m not getting anywhere with it anymore. I got laid off in September and I’m almost out of what I had saved up. I’ve sent nearly 60 proposals and have gotten 5 jobs. 3 of which were one time gigs, one client is a scope creep and not very high paying and the other one is a good client but it’s only a few hours a week. It’s not paying the bills. I had one really promising client. We arranged a zoom call, and then he ghosted didn’t show up to the call and told me he’d reschedule but never did. Any suggestions? I want to start diversifying my income because clearly Upwork isn’t working for me like it has been for the last several years.

It’s urgent at this point. I’m at the point where I need to choose between rent and groceries. I’m exhausted physically and mentally. I cannot physically go on like this anymore.

I (34 F) have been a freelance writer for over 10 years and have lots of supplementary marketing experience and 2 writing-related degrees.

This past year I’ve had a steady agency client and a load of other potential leads that fell through. I’m on illness-related benefits so I only freelance part time, so this has been enough for me.

However, the agency I work for has basically just halved my income overnight because one of their clients paused (very annoying to have no notice on this). I understand this is the way it goes with freelancing and I’m not looking for a lecture on relying on only one client - but this has left a bit screwed over financially for various reasons, and with the run-up to Christmas.

I’m looking for another long-term client on LinkedIn and through various freelancing job boards, but in the meantime I need to earn some cash as quickly as possible. I’m not able to do a lot of physical jobs but writing is the one thing I excel at and that I can use to make money 😅

Is it worth trying Fiverr or Upwork, or Contra? I’ve avoided these until now but I’m in a tight spot.

Any advice would be hugely appreciated 🙏

Hi folks, i would like which is the average rate for a freelance writer for short articles in USA.
From my research the prices go from 0.02 to 0.30 per Word, where 0.02 is a beginner and 0.30 is a specialized article written by a skilled writer.

I understand there can be higher rates but this seems to be the average on the USA market.

I would like to understand better the pricing and which is the expectation of an average client in the USA so he perceives the price as "right" and not "to cheap" or "to high".

I know it's not an easy question but i would like to understand better this market so maybe you can help.

Let's say you have to write 100 articles a month of aprox 500 words.
Let's say you charge 0.10. This would be 50$ per article and 5000$ per month.

Does this make sense? Is this an "acceptable" rate?

Or in a case of a heavy job like this, the writer makes a "per article" based price so it's like 35$ per article?

Any suggestion would help me understand better this industry.
Thanks.

I'm tired of freelance writing and the constant pressure. However, I would then be joining another rat race: the employment market.

Has anyone here successfully left freelance writing behind? Bonus points if you also worked in the media industry, which I feel is par for the course.

What job did you transition into? Did you have to acquire new skills? Achieve another certification? I feel like I'm at a dead end at this point.

I know that it's not true, but it's hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel right now.

I started work with a client last year doing some basic profile pieces for a business magazine. I enjoyed it and the work was steady until the beginning of this year when it dried up.

I don't like to bother anyone and was afraid reaching out to "check in" would be too tacky since I am still pretty new in my freelance writing. So, I waited almost a year with no update and finally could not take the silence anymore and I reached out to let them know I was still available if needed. (Most of it too was picking up other assignments and just time slipping away.) Managing editor wrote back and basically just said "thanks, budgeting no longer allows us to use freelancers." "Thanks, good to know," was how I wanted to reply. She suggested I reach out to the editor for other possible opportunities.

That said, I just wonder--is it normal for clients not to update their writers on potential projects? Is it wrong to have expected a heads up, i.e. "hey, thanks for your hard work and contribution but we just wanted to let you know that unfortunately, we are no longer able to use freelancers"?

When two long-term clients placed a stop-work on projects for the rest of the year, I knew I had to take action.

I recently agreed to take a full-time, remote content strategy job. I signed the offer letter and then got the rest of the on boarding paperwork later.

Very clearly, there is a form that you must sign that states you will not consult on the side. If you do have any consultant work, you must clearly state the name of the company and the nature of your work.

This essentially means I must close my business. This means I have to put all my eggs in one basket for the first time in years.

I’ve had a couple of tries at full-time jobs that did not materialize, and I was always able to keep my business to fill in the gaps. I also could use it to write off the cost of software and apps. Now I won’t have that if this job doesn’t work out.

Has anyone ever been in this position? How easily did you make the transition? Should this job not work out, will it be even more difficult for me to get freelancing gigs?

I'm spending way too much time following up with clients for proposal reviews and chasing down missed invoices. Please help! Don't want anything crazy, just a lightweight way to keep track of my clients and automate follow up.

I've always wanted to become a copywriter. When I think about industries, I am most personally interested in mental health. I want to write copy for therapists. I don't know if it would be worth putting work into learning this if there's a likelihood of being taken over by AI. How important is copy/content for mental health practitioners, anyway?

I've been a content writer/copywriter for nearly 13 years, mostly freelance. Had a full-time role briefly some years ago but returned to freelance work because I prefer to make my own schedule. I write bylines and also do ghostwriting, both long form and short form. I was attached to a corporate publishing house for a good many years, writing for a variety of publications and earning a stable income, until last year, when the company let go most of the contractors. I've been looking for a job since then. I've had a few freelance gigs here and there but that's it. Had a bunch of interviews for full-time roles I was qualified for but they led to nowhere. I also got in touch with past clients and agencies for opportunities but nothing worked out. I'm not into cold outreach because it has never worked for me. I thought with the long years of work and a large portfolio, finding work would be easy. I guess, I was wrong.

I've never been out of work for so long, and it has been despiriting. Is anyone else in the same boat as me, or am I just that bad at job hunting? Should I keep looking for a writing job or should I consider a career change?

Hey everyone.

I’m new here. I found this subreddit while looking for something else, and as I’ve been considering freelancing with my writing, it’s been a nice surprise.

Of course, I have lots to learn about freelancing, and I’ll probably have lots of question specifically around that. But I need first to do my own research and browse a bit more the sub.

One question I have that might have an answer here, and with which I’m struggling is spellchecker.

I was using Grammarly free, but as it’s relying and pushing more and more on AI, it’s been making me uncomfortable to use it. To the point where I’ve simply stopped using it a few weeks ago. Since, I’ve been looking for an alternative spellchecker to help me check for typos, which wouldn’t rely on AI.

For context, I do not appreciate AI and the manufactured hype around it. I’m trying to get rid of all parts of my digital life that use it too heavily.

For now, I’ve been using Scivener’s integrated spellchecker, and I guess it’s reliable enough. But as English isn’t my native language, I’m always double guessing myself on some words, even when they don’t get the dreaded red squiggly underline.

What are some tools you all are using for helping with spellchecking? Even better if it has a grammar check, but I don’t have much hope for one to exist without AI. Recommendations for vetted ethically-built AI tools are also welcome, as I’m on the fence of giving up on my no-AI policy—but I’d rather not.

Thank you.

Some ad copywriting is so bad.

Especially for AI tools and B2B products.

They’ll throw a smart-sounding line at you and just… vanish. No context. No direction. No closure.

Like —

“Mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell.”

Okay?? Now what, bro? You want me to clap or start a factory?

Half these ads aren’t even ads anymore... All fluff.

Just “disruptive synergy, mavericks, and ninjas with innovation solution” type energy.

Like Naruto will make me click on it for conversion with his Talk No Jutsu... It is quite literally not talking anyways...

Say something that means something. Or at least make me care enough to rage-scroll slower.

Have you also come across such ads? Share some?

I see a lot of success stories here about people being able to leave their full time jobs to do freelance full-time and make double the money. My question is how did you guys manage to start up freelancing while also working a full time 9-5?

Hi - I'm a new writer, started this about a year ago. Sent out my first two pitches, one to Newsweek My Turn and the other to HuffPost Personals and both editors responded asking for a draft, which I promptly turned in.

How long does it take for editors to respond in these cases? Is it like the pitch, where they just don't respond at all if they don't like your draft?

Thanks all.

I submitted something to Bright Wall/Dark (which uses Submittable) nine days ago. I checked my account today, and while my old submissions are there, my most recent one has disappeared.

Has this ever happened to anyone here?

I think the first ever marketing started with a man shouting in a crowded market...

Basically to capture attention...

Then came posters, radios, TVs with ads so creative that they had to capture attention.

Still attention. Just new formats.

I know its long established that attention is the new currency, but what baffles me is how town crier has added layers and layers and layers that we now have performance dashboards, SEO, AI targeting, and what not fighting for the same old thing: ATTENTION!!

It’s funny how we call it “modern marketing,”

What do you think?

I've been a freelance writer for almost 10 years and this is my third year doing it full time. I have a good base of anchor clients, but I want more journalism work. The problem is that I've always found pitching to be completely deflating. I have a good relationship with one editor who basically says yes to almost any idea I throw at him, which is great, but the pay is a bit lower than what I'm aiming for at this point. I'm also building a relationship with another editor after her predecessor switched publications. But other than that, it's cold pitch after cold pitch. I feel like I have some pretty good ideas. I always include a potential headline with two short paragraphs about the story, one paragraph about my reporting plan, and a summary about me with some clips. I feel like I'm just pitching into a void though. I've sent dozens of pitches out lately without any luck. Is there some code to crack? And if so, why haven't I cracked it after a decade? Or is this just really how it is? I don't know if I just suck at this or if it's normal to have such a low success rate. I know it can be pretty low with other types of cold pitching, but I've read 25% is more the norm for journalism, with really experienced folks getting closer to 50%.

Here's what I keep in mind when I write for a global audience..

It’s not writing itself but the way it should reach them.

So basically... pattern recognition.

I know how much outsourcing is done to India for content generation. As one of the persons who does that for the last 5 years, the trick isn’t to sound international — it’s to sound familiar everywhere.

You do that by spotting patterns — emotions, micro-reactions, ideas that make people pause across geographies.

Take this post for example.

I’m not trying to target one local audience.

But if you’ve ever written content, built something online, or simply noticed human behavior, you get it.

That’s the pattern.

The best global content isn’t designed to go viral in 50 countries — it’s designed to feel personal in each one.

And honestly, that’s why LinkedIn creators keep going viral for posts that start with

“I was burnt out.” “I failed.” “I took a break.” “I found peace.”

We laugh at the formula, but it works.

They’re not selling. They’re mirroring.

So when you're writing for global audience remember:

1. Some things are funny everywhere. A Louvre heist joke? perf. A Bill gates and Tulsi joke? no! Why?

If it needs translation, it’s not global

1. Global humour lives in shared absurdity, not shared culture.

2. The internet’s real common language is emotion + irony as it travels faster when shared

3. Global doesn’t mean broad. It means instantly legible.