Newbie Needs Guidance

Hi...
I'm looking for proofreading, editing, and/or database entry work. Am I in the right place?
Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.
(Today I received an email from Mark Fretz who says he is director of editorial services at Scribe, a Philadelphia-based editorial and production company serving the publishing industry. Can I get some advice on this? Is it legit? Should I call?)
Thanks, in advance, for all your help!!
P.S. Help again...why does my post say "I'm Spamming"?? Did I do something wrong already??

Yes, you are, I believe - welcome to Talk freelance!

Oh man...I've just been looking over all your ages! Are you sure I'm in the right place?...you are all so young, and smart!!! I'm so impressed. I'm 46 and still looking for direction!!!
Stay on track guys and if you can give this "old gal" some advice for getting freelance work, I'd sure appreciate it!
Before I had my children I worked in New York City for advertising companies...did proofing, editing, etc. But that was BEFORE computers. Did "paste ups" of ads manually after setting type. "Graphics" were done by hand...and "tweeked" by artists...again, by hand.
Okay, enough with the history lesson. Can any of you tell me why it says "I'm Spamming" under my name? Thanks!!!

Until you've made 5 posts that's the title you get, it's to keep people who come on to spam away

Thank you, Jhin. I was afraid I did something wrong.
Okay, so if any of you need a seasoned proofreader, editor, database entry person...contact me.
Any advice on other ways to "get the word out" on what I do? Again, any advice is greatly appreciated.

Originally Posted by Pegwing Thank you, Jhin. I was afraid I did something wrong. Okay, so if any of you need a seasoned proofreader, editor, database entry person...contact me. Any advice on other ways to "get the word out" on what I do? Again, any advice is greatly appreciated.

Try listing your services on eLance.com. That's where I hire most of my writers. A writer I started working with about 6 months ago has already made about $20,000. (she also does editing and proofing, and she's VERY good.)

(lol re: your comment about the ages here. It kind of stunned me, too. That said, there are some verrrrrry talented designers here.)

Anyhoo...head on over to eLance.com

Thank you, pcoskat! I'm going to head to eLance now!

Hello Pegeing, welcome to (tf)

Hi there Pegwing, please don't leave us so soon!

Welcome and please stay!

Originally Posted by Pegwing Thank you, Jhin. I was afraid I did something wrong. Okay, so if any of you need a seasoned proofreader, editor, database entry person...contact me. Any advice on other ways to "get the word out" on what I do? Again, any advice is greatly appreciated.

Hi and welcome. I'm a PR pro and a freelance writer and editor on the side, so here are a few ideas for you:

1. Search in unexpected places. It's hard to use freelance writing sites to find work, because every writer out there is bidding on the same project, and an inexperienced writer usually gets chosen, b/c they'll work on the cheap. I've had some good luck with Sitepoint.com's forum actually, but since they're now charging for people to post wanted ads, I think they'll drop off pretty quickly.

2. Look into big networks. I started out freelance writing by working for About.com ($500 guaranteed each month as long as pageviews increase, and $250 bare minimum if they drop - assuming your pageview rate doesn't already make it more than that, which it often does). Good for your professional credentials (it's gotten me lots of work, even though I'm no longer with them). They're a bit strict, and not great editorial guidance though. But an OK place to start. Click 'be a guide' at the bottom of their page to see what topics are available. I'm now an Editor w/ one of their competitors - Suite101.com (told you it helped me get better work). Suite's not looking for more editors that I know of, but they're hiring tons of writers now. It's similar to About in that it's paid on pageviews, but there's no guaranteed minimum. Being a large network, getting the pageviews isn't hard though (for example, I had 50,000 my first month with About, and I know at least one writer who's been with Suite for a while is getting 500,000 pageviews / month - it just takes some time and getting enough well-optimized content out there). The other big network is www.allinfoabout.com (started by some former About Guides). They don't pay, but you can control about 80% of the ads which you keep the revenue for, you can advertise other work of yours, sell your own products (like books, ebooks, etc.), and you get an enormous amount of control over your site, which is what keeps me passionate. I run two sites with them now. While it won't make you a fortune, it will help to give you good portfolio material in a digital medium and builds your credentials in the specific topic you're writing about.

3. Use The Writers' Market (www.writersmarket.com). I think it's around $4 / month, and you can use a yearly rate if you prefer. I use it all the time to find unusual markets. You can find contact info and writers' guidelines for everything from newspapers to trade magazines to web sites. There are a lot of people out there hiring who don't necessarily advertise it, and that's the best resource for you.

Jenn