This article examines four new writing careers that have recently developed or that have a low-profile including: indexing, blogging, web content development, and online auction listing. Each profession is explored and information regarding what is involved, how to become this type of writer, and how much it pays is highlighted. After reading this article you will have the information needed to select and start a new writing career.
Introduction
If you have always dreamed of becoming a famous writer, or if you have been searching for a job that you can do at home, this article is for you. While most people know about the high profile writing careers such as novelist, journalist, and screenwriter, few people are aware of the plethora of other writing professions, such as indexing, blogging, web content development, and online auction listing, that have developed in the last five or so years that are now desperately seeking new talent. Because these jobs are less familiar, you may not even have known that they existed or you may not have realized that these writing jobs are a separate profession. However, this low profile image has an advantage, these writing professions have less competition which makes them easier for novice or less experienced writers to enter. If you have strong writing skills, organizational skills, and are able to motivate yourself to meet strict deadlines you might want to consider one of these alternative writing careers.
Indexing
If you have ever tried to look up information in a nonfiction piece of writing, you know that the key to finding what you are looking for is in the index. At the back of the book there is a listing of topics, or keywords, followed by a page number or page numbers of where you can find that word or group of words. What you probably didn't know is that a computer doesn't generate this list. Instead a writer known as an indexer reads through the text and selects important information and then creates the index based on the requests of the publisher, packager, or author.
What is Involved in Indexing?
The process of indexing is relatively simple. As an indexer you will receive proof pages from the nonfiction text along with instructions on what the author or packager wants indexed. Some instructions may be as simple as index only headings and subheadings, or index three to four entries per page, or index important names and events. A sample layout may also be provided so that you know how to format categories and subcategories as well as how page numbers and references to other entries need to be notated.
Once the proof pages and instructions have been received, the indexer goes through the material and constructs a rough index. For the rough index the entries will not be organized or structured, and instead entries will be ordered based on their position in the text. After the rough index is finished, the indexer will go back over the index and organize the material alphabetically, and hierarchically. Information is then grouped and structured in a logical manner, and the indexer reads through all of the information that they have compiled for spelling mistakes, duplications, consistency in formatting, etc. Once the rough draft of the index has passed all editing stages, the indexer submits the index in the format that has been requested. While in the past this was a hard-copy of the index, now most authors or packagers will want the index delivered via disk, CD, or email attachment.
How Do I Become an Indexer?
Traditionally the author of a non-fiction piece has been responsible for creating the index, however, this job is often farmed out to people skilled in the art of indexing. Publishers, writing agents, packagers, and authors of nonfiction are always on the lookout for fast and efficient indexers to help them with the daunting task of indexing the material in their books.
When indexing positions are advertised, employers are really not looking for people with a certain degree or a certain training certificate, although indexing courses are available. Instead, strong clerical skills and in some cases a good understanding of the topic is sought after. If you want to become an indexer your best bet is to check out a book on the topic or take one of the indexing courses that are available. You can also practice your indexing skills by checking out a nonfiction book from your local public library or from your own collection of books, and try to index it without looking at the index that the book came with. After you have completed your indexing trial, compare your entries to those found in the back of the book. See if your selections are close to those that were selected by the book's packager. This is a good exercise, as indexer employers will ask you to submit a sample index based on sample proof pages that they provide. If you are able to impress them with your indexing skills chances are that you will get the job.
How Much Does It Pay?
One of the most important questions to ask about a job is how much does it pay? The answer to this question for an indexer position is difficult to answer because it is often gained as a freelance position, and as such, the freelancer often sets the price. You can negotiate your fees as a fixed price for a project, or you can set a per-page rate, or even a per-entry rate. However, an employer may offer to pay you by the hour. To determine if the hourly rate that you have been offered is worth your time and energy you should make sure the offer is a fair wage for a book indexer. In 1993 the average pay range for an indexer was between $20 and $25 per hour. To determine what today's rate should be you should multiply the current minimum wage by four to determine the low end of the pay scale for book indexing.
Blog for Money
One of the newest writing careers available now is the position of the blogger. A blog is an online journal that contains whatever is in the author's mind. You can design you blog to address politics, the environment, trends in Pop Culture, or you can direct viewers to great websites or important information.
How to Blog?
If you don't have a website of your own where you can post your blog, there are several blog sites that offer free hosting and set up of your blog site. If you need additional support or options you can always upgrade your membership for a fee. You can decide if you want to keep your identity anonymous or if you want the world to know who you are. You can also decide if your blog site will be available to everyone or if you want only a selected few to be able to read your blog.
How Much Does It Pay?
Blogging for money is possible. Some companies are hiring professional bloggers to promote their company or their political platform. To get one of these jobs you simply need to keep your eyes open for blogger positions that are advertised online or in your local newspaper. These positions will probably be offered as a freelance position, and paid based on a minimum number of entries per week. For example an employer may offer to pay $200 a month for a minimum of 15-20 entries per week. These entries will not be several pages long, as that is not blogging. Instead, the blog entry will be a brief description or commentary on a topic and then followed by a link to an article or website.
If you can't find a paying blog position with a company, you can also try attaching ads to your blog site. Placing Google ads on your site is one popular option that pays you per impression on your site, or per click through to one of the advertisements. In this situation the amount of money that you earn will depend on how much traffic you are able to draw to your blog. To attract more people to your blog site you will need to develop content that is popular and useful. For more information on how this works visit Google's website.
Web Content Developer
With billions of websites available for viewing, the position of web content developer is yet one more 21st Century writing position that is in high demand, yet it still has a relatively low profile.
What Does a Web Content Developer Do?
The duties of the web content developer will depend on the web site that is being developed. For example if you are working for an educational web site, your content development duties might include researching and developing articles, captions, and games that encourage learning or that are geared to develop certain academic skills. However, if you are developing content for a video game site, your duties are more likely to focus around a certain demographic that the games are targeted at, and have more technical writing involved.
Web content developers also may be employed to oversea and manage other freelancers who are submitting material to the sight. The web content developer may also be required to edit, review, and decide what articles will be used and what articles will be rejected. Recruitment of new talent may also be included in the web content developer's list of responsibilities. This means that they will be responsible for placing ads and screening applicants.
How Much Does It Pay?
Pay for a web content developer will greatly depend on what duties they are required to do, and whether the position is considered freelance or a regular employment position. For web content developers that are hired as a regular employee and who have supervisory duties and editing responsibilities assigned to them, a mid-level salary should be expected between $25,000 and $35,000. Again this amount is going to be determined by the financial stability and resources of the company doing the hiring as well as the amount of work involved.
Freelance web content developer positions, on the other hand, will probably focus only on content creation. These positions will pay based on word count, marketability, and the company's paying policies. In most cases a 1,000 to 3,000 word article will pay anywhere from $10 to $75 per article. The total amount of money that can be earned in these types of positions will depend on how fast you can work, and the quality of work that you produce.
Online Auction Lister
The final new writing career that will be examined in this article is the online auction lister. With the growing popularity of auction sites such as eBay and Yahoo! Auctions, the demand for auction listers has greatly increased.
What Does an Online Auction Lister Do?
As an auction lister you will be given an item and instructions on how to list the item. Following the instructions you will go through the auction site's protocol for listing an item including uploading a photograph, typing a description of the item, providing contact information, and entering pertinent data about the object such as minimum bid amount, how long the auction will be for, shipping costs, etc.
This position requires strong clerical skills such as data entry and fast and efficient typing speeds. It also requires creative skills and great marketing skills. You will need to be able to accurately describe an item, and at the same time describe it in a manner that will entice people to buy the item. The headings for the auctions that you list also will need to be catchy and attract attention. For example if you are listing a used shirt and list is as a "Used Girl's Shirt Size 8" your listing will probably get less attention than if you list it as a "Vintage Girl's Blouse." You can also see from this example that people will be more willing to pay a higher price for a "Vintage Blouse" than for a "Used Shirt." These are the small differences that separate an online auction lister from a successful online auction lister.
Finding the Writing Career of Your Dreams
The market for writers is expanding rapidly because of the spreading utilization of the Internet and the globalization of the world markets. To find your niche and dream job in this expanding market you will need to first gain the skills that are in demand, and secondly market yourself and skills in a way that will have companies chomping at the bit to hire you to promote their company, develop their web site, or index their materials. Put together your best pieces of article writing, blogs, or indexing samples to submit to potential employers that demonstrates your skills, your proficiency, and your desire to write. With these tips in mind, go out there and claim your piece of writing history.