Friday, June 25, 2010

A New Writing Gig

On June 16th I reported that I had applied for another on-line writing position, something to counter my Suite101 writing and perhaps earn some real money from my writing. I said that I was waiting for "the other shoe" to drop, meaning for something to go wrong in life, since something always seems to go wrong when I try to ratchet up my writing. The day the other shoe did indeed drop, which I wrote about on June 21st.

Well, I now have the chance to see if that other shoe is as big as it seemed the day it happened. Today I heard back from the site, and they have accepted me as a contributing writer. The site is buildipedia.com. It's a site dedicated to the engineering-architecture-construction industry. Heavy on building issues, it also deals with the infrastructure engineering and heavy construction that consumes eight to nine hours of my weekdays, and some on weekends. The pay is very good for web writing. In fact, the per/word rate is better than for that genealogy article I had in a national print magazine last August.

Next week I'll be discussing the contract and expectations with the editor. It seems they want me to write in three areas, two different types of articles. And some of it will be article ideas that I generate myself. That will be fine with me. Each article will be similar length as those I write for Suite (or a little longer), but it appears they will take more research. The word-smithing requirements should be about the same.

So, I'll keep everyone posted here, and let you know what happens. I'm trying not to get too excited, for this may be a more involved process than I think it is. For right now, though, it's a good way to head into the weekend.

2 comments:

Gary said...

Congratulations, Dave. Sounds like a great opportunity - you know the subject area and have a clear style. Readers should find your articles informational and when you find your voice, no doubt entertaining as well.

David A. Todd said...

Thanks, Gary. I think it is a great opportunity. Other people who write for Suite 101 report finding similar opportunities, but this is the first for me.