How can you make money writing on unfamiliar topics?
15th July, 2010 - Posted by admin - 6 Comments
Can you really make money writing – even when you’re writing about topics you don’t know squat about?
That’s a great question I’ve gotten a few times – so let’s take a look at what’s involved.
For one thing – research.
Obviously the fastest projects to write are on topics you know well enough that you can just write off the top of your head, maybe do some fact checking here and there, and they come out with a level of credibility and expertise that makes them valuable to readers. Everyone’s got several areas like this, where they could literally write the book on a handful of subjects.
As a general rule, the faster you can write, the more money you can make from writing. With that in mind, and knowing not every project will tie into your knowledge base, knowing how to do fast research is a good thing, too.
A little story:
Had a client who needed a boatload of articles on a really, really technical subject. It involved cabling, network security, disaster recovery… stuff like that. I know absolutely nothing about those topics. I can barely work our VCR (yeah, still have one) and need our teenager to come help me work the DVD player. If something comes unplugged, it stays that way. Protocols, wiring types, fiber optics, all that kind of thing is a sure conversation to make my palms sweat.
Oh yes. They needed this content within four days, and the pay was great. So, highly motivated to learn all I could to at least be able to write about it without sounding like a complete moron!
Resources that worked:
- Wikipedia – to at least get some sort of a layman’s understanding of what on earth I was about to write about. Also paid a visit to About.com. They’ve got info on just about every topic under the sun – and then some.
- EzineArticles.com – Helpful for getting information on tips, how-to’s, and other basics that gave me a bit more traction. Also visited GoArticles.com, Squidoo.com, and ArticlesBase.com.
- One more that was so clever I even amazed myself – I searched in Google for forums related to the topic so I could do a search for some of the keyword terms the client provided. That’s a good way to find experts’ opinions about almost any topic.
If I’d had more time, I would have interviewed the client as well, using these magic words:
Please explain this to me as if I were a five year-old. Make it THAT simple.
Works every time!
After you do your research, you have to somehow digest this info enough to be able to reword and repeat it. Two keys here:
- Close what you used for research. Not that you’ll intentionally plagiarize, but with it closed, it’s far less likely that you’ll reuse phrases you just read.
- Write FAST. The more you stew, the more you go into resistance about what an awful project it is, the more you try to wrap your whole brain around the topic, the worse it will get.
A final tip – be sure when you send your articles to your client to refer to them as being a draft. This way, if you’ve been completely blown off-course, the client doesn’t have that panic moment of wondering whether they’re stuck with useless articles.
Who else has tips about writing about unfamiliar topics?
Tags: Make Money Writing
Posted on: July 15, 2010
Filed under: Freelance writing, Make Money Writing, Uncategorized, work at home
6 Comments
Alla Goltsman
July 15th, 2010 at 11:21 pm
It’s amazing how this stuff works. I know nothing about oil, got a project, got paid. Things I know so much about – software, webhosting, computers, gadgets, security software, technical writing, software testing, user manuals – I can not get 1 damn project writing about all those things. How stupid is that? Now you’ve got to teach me, Sue, how to get projects I know so much about. No, I am not giving up. I’d rather die than give up.
Karen
July 16th, 2010 at 8:57 am
Once again, your timing is perfect. I just took on huge project on a subject I didn’t even know existed. I’m off to take a look at your recommended sites to become an instant expert. Thanks!
Joan
July 16th, 2010 at 9:47 am
Even when you know your subject, this is all good advice. I was in oil & gas for a couple of decades, so I still write a lot of white papers for engineers and geologists who are whizzes at math and science, but can’t put together a cohesive sentence. The contract I use not only always puts the source responsibility back on them–so they have to furnish me with the evidence I need, and therefore keep me from getting off-base in something I’m not familiar enough with–but also requires them to sign off on the copy. Usually, this is a ghostwriting thing, so their names goes on the articles anyway, and they want that final say. But even if it isn’t, they have to take final responsibility due to the technical nature of the pieces. My personal background, as a petroleum tech, allows me to understand the information and know how to explain it. So far, this has always worked beautifully. When I write up my job estimate on each assignment, I always include the projected cost of one rewrite as well, then add that further rewrites will add to the final cost.
sonny (Tribe)
July 16th, 2010 at 3:43 pm
HI Sue,
So , you have the same kind of fun as I do in
researching, although I didnot try it for doing articles
you just explained now, how I am to go about writing,
in “get paid to write ” more clearly, and I thank
kindly for sharing, and yes , i have learned that
many friends as well as Clients rather you do the
work ,no matter how easy it is to do, freinds come to
you complaining with an issue, and really they want
to ask you to do it for them, and of course when it’s a
Client, you can charge for the work, Thank you dear
friend, I was always so uncomfortable with this
subject , because of making mistakes, in typing and
the subject, Now , thanks to your style of teaching
I scan these gigs you send more closely, gotta run,
I like the way you (K I S S ) although I never liked the word stupid, you’re my good freind,
Sonny
Mike Aguilar
July 16th, 2010 at 5:14 pm
I need to find gigs outside of the company I currently write for that will pay decent money for topics I can write all day on, cooking, mechanics, computers. Google is definitely my friend when my current boss gives me things I’m either shaky on or know nothing about.
Ralston Heath
July 21st, 2010 at 3:14 pm
Hi Sue,
I have been writing for abour 7 years now, and a majority of my writing has been about stuff I was not an expert in. What you have suggested does work and I have used that method a few times.
What I usually do is “side by side” editing. I go to the library and check out a book on the subject. Then I sit there with the book on a stand next to me and read while I type. Not in the standard transcription method, but in the paraphrase method.
For example if the whole page is talking about how you compare the pound to the yen I may paraphrase a sentence or two of certain items that make sense to me. Like you said since I am an outsider I ad in words like “I don’t quite understand the whole international banking thing, but when it comes to trading pounds for yen….”
In this way I am not plagurizing, yet I do not really know a darn thing about the subject except what I just read. I also will type paraphrasing the whole book, usually ending up with about 2500 words, that I then subdivide, make them legible, add titles, and submit them all in one session.
This method helps me to get my quota of articles done for my customer, usually in one morning or afternoon.
I hope this idea adds to your tool box.
Be Blessed
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