Freelance Writing on oDesk - Hourly Jobs vs Fixed Rate Jobs

The first two articles in the freelance writing series showed you how to sign up for oDesk, fill out your profile, and begin to navigate the job posting boards. If you have not read these, please find them at:

Freelance Writing With oDesk - Filling Out Your Profile

Freelance Writing on oDesk – Finding Assignments

There are two main types of assignment on oDesk, hourly jobs and fixed rate jobs, both of which differ in many ways. oDesk advocates hourly rate freelance writing jobs and offers a guarantee, but there are a couple of downsides. Fixed rate oDesk assignments are far more flexible, but you are on your own where payment is concerned.

oDesk Hourly freelance writing assignments involve agreeing an hourly rate and number of hours with the buyer, before the task, and you log these as you start work. This is akin to a regular job and the client has the right to monitor your work to ensure that you are working on the assignment, not looking at bigandbouncy.com or FaceBook.

To protect the buyer, for hourly jobs you need to download the oDesk diary application which logs your hours and takes regular screenshots. You log on for work and the application monitors your activity level, taking screenshots to prove that you are working hard.

Personally, I detest the activity logger and find it to be a waste of time; if you are doing a lot of research, it can be difficult to keep the keystroke count up. As a result, I use the arrow keys to scroll rather than grab the scrolling bar on a webpage. Completely insane, but that is the way it works.

This may seem to be big-brother in action, but there is a perfectly good reason for this intrusion into your workplace. oDesk guarantees payment for hourly assignments and, unless the buyer contests hours because he caught you arguing on the Hubpages forums in his time, then you are automatically paid.

The application protects the buyers from dishonest providers; there are many of them on oDesk, as with any freelance site. No word of a lie, I know of buyers who found that their provider was looking at porn and getting paid for it!

I just hope that they did not have the webcam switched on…

Ultimately, if you do not like being monitored, then you have to concentrate on fixed price jobs. Personally, I like to work at my own rate and rarely accept hourly assignments, but that is my choice and I take the risk. That is no different from working privately, where thee is always an element of trust between client and writer.

For fixed price jobs, you agree a price with the buyer, finish the assignment and receive your pay. However, fixed price assignments carry no guarantee and, whilst the vast majority of buyers are honest, you will be stiffed once in a while. To a certain extent, you can protect yourself by asking for an upfront payment or staged payments.

Receiving payment upfront is a little tricky unless you have a reputation and can afford to dictate your own terms. In this case, staged payments can be useful, allowing you to reduce the risk. For smaller jobs, it is probably not worth it – two articles, 20$ - do it get paid. If the buyer does stiff you, you have not lost too much and can leave them some harsh feedback. For a $1000 dollar job – go staged – insist on staged payments. If the buyer seems reluctant, walk away – it costs them no more to pay you five times than one, and that shrieks scam

Bad buyers do exist and it always seems to be the ones who pay lowest that want you to do extra work or they keep changing the specs. If you find yourself banging your head against a brick wall, you can always walk away.

Now that you know the difference between an hourly oDesk assignment and a fixed rate oDesk assignment, the next Hub in the series, Freelance Writing With oDesk – Cover Letters and Interviews, concentrates upon writing a cover letter and ensuring that you maximise your potential. This is the crucial part of the oDesk experience and is where you can really start to push yourself to the front of the queue.

If you are interested in signing up for oDesk, please use this referral link. It costs you nothing but I will be paid $50 when you earn your first $1000. Happy Days.

Freelance Writer Editor – My Personal Site

How to Become a Writer – The Tools for Developing a Writing Career – Many people, swayed by the explosion of online writing, are considering developing a writing career, as an author or freelance writer. This guide explains the mentality of the writer, showing you the dedication and skills needed to become a writer. The foundations of success are built upon hard work, as well as talent, and this advice will help you take the final step and turn the dream into reality.

Freelance Writing for a Living – This Hub provides a stern test of whether you have what it takes to become a freelance writer, questioning whether you have the desire or talent to take up freelance writing for a living. In reality TV style, the article gets rid of contestants until only the best, brightest, and most dedicated remain

Freelance Writing for a Living - Active Income – This article explores some of the options for making money from writing, showing you to turn your skills into money. From freelance boards to seeking private clients, this Hub gives a broad picture of the various options.

How to Become a Writer – Article Writing and Avoiding the Article Mills – As part of developing a writing career, many aspiring freelance writers make the mistake of becoming sucked into the article mills, which specialize in churning out generic content. This article shows you what to look out for and how to avoid them, instead concentrating on building a private client base.

Freelance Writing With oDesk - Filling Out Your Profile – This article guides you through the process of joining oDesk, one of the leading freelancer sites. It shows you how to fill out your profile and apply for jobs, chasing the better paying jobs rather than becoming bogged down in the article mills. Freelance writing with oDesk is a great start to developing a writing career, and this advice will help you to take the first step.

Freelance Writing on oDesk – Finding Assignments – You have finished your profile, and now seek to find a paying gig on oDesk. This article shows you how to find the best assignments on oDesk and build up your reputation. Like most freelance boards, there are cheapskates and bad clients on there, and this article will help you to avoid the cheats and wasters.

Freelance Writing on oDesk - Hourly Jobs vs Fixed Rate Jobs – This article explains the oDesk trade off and the difference between fixed price and hourly rate jobs, highlighting the pros and cons of each. Some freelance writers prefer the flexibility of fixed rate, others the guaranteed payment of the hourly model. This guide will help you to decide.

Freelance Writing With oDesk – Cover Letters and Interviews – Sometimes, despite filling out your oDesk profile and applying for good jobs, many freelancers cannot seem to make the final step. Most of the time, this is due to weak cover letters or interview techniques, and this Hub gives a few pointers to finding that first assignment and starting your freelance writing with oDesk career.

How to Become a Writer - Business Website Design and Marketing for Freelance Writers and Editors – As you develop your career as a professional writer, you will eventually need to create your own website, for maximum impact. This article shows you how to develop a business website design for freelance writers, from purchasing a domain name, to designing and marketing the site.

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