Introduction

My background

I didn't train as a writer. I actually started out working in scientific research. My love affair with science hasn't ended, but I have fallen out of love with research. Working in scientific research was nothing like studying my experience of studying physics in school or university. Learning about science involves seeking out and absorbing new information on a whole range of fascinating topics; research involves focusing all your attention on a particular problem and hammering away at it for months. If learning about science is having your eyes opened to the world around you, doing research is being left in the dark in a tiny room, where you are expected to continuously bash your head against the wall in the hope that it will one day result in a breakthrough.

I am in the process of leaving academia. I've been thinking about it for some time. Not knowing what to do next, and aware of the need to establish an income source, I fell into online writing as a way to raise some extra cash.

Why not get a 'real job'?

Well, primarily because my partner (also an academic) and I are likely to relocate soon, and I don't yet know where we'll be going. It depends on where he can get a position - the other downside of academia is that where you live is dictated by where the jobs are. Also, I quickly realised that I quite like working from home. I enjoy my own company. I'm easily distracted by noisy environments such as offices. And finally, I find that being able to wear my comfy PJs and drink tea continuously throughout the day does a lot for my concentration. I've had office jobs where I've spent the afternoon counting the minutes until I can go home; now that I am home, I can get engrossed in what I'm doing and only realise several articles later that I haven't moved for three hours.

Why do I write, and why do people pay me to do it?

I wanted to be a writer before I wanted to be a scientist. I gave up on the idea when my parents told me there was no money in it and pushed me to focus on science and maths instead. I'm quickly realising they were wrong. Quite aside from the entire offline publishing industry, the web runs on content. If there is one thing that is truly prized in our society, it is information. Much of the writing I do is content generation, through a variety of sites that I'll review in the course of this blog. A lot of the articles end up on sites selling related products.

Am I a salesperson?

Not really. Whilst my article may highlight to the reader why they might need the product, most of what I'm asked to write isn't aimed at closing a sale. My role is to bring visitors to the site, through keyword SEO, and to provide them with useful information when they get there. Sometimes I am asked to write a sales pitch, and that's fine, but more often my job is to collate information and present it in a reader friendly format.

Actually, I also do a certain amount of writing under my own name (or username). Most of this is science-focused and is currently more of a hobby than something that brings in any serious money. I would love to make money out of being a science writer, but I'm not there yet.

What this blog is about

Freelance writing is an experiment for me. If I find I can't make enough money this way, I'll eventually have to call it a day and look for work in the real world. In order to judge whether I should be making that call, I need to keep track of how the experiment is going. This blog is one of the ways in which I document my progress.

Currently, I'm still on a learning curve. But I've been doing this for a few months now. I've figured out which sites are best to work for and which are best avoided. I know where I can find a reliable supply of work.

When I first started out, I spent a lot of time searching online to find reviews of various freelance writing sites. I spent a lot of time browsing through forum threads or trying to figure out whether reviews were genuine or simply an advert for the company. What I'm offering to readers here is a consolidation of reviews of all the sites I write for, as well as the ones I decided weren't worth wasting time on.