My First 2-Week Salary on My Freelance Writing Job

My heart jumped out of excitement when I received a text message from Gcash saying that I have received 4,240 pesos from Gwen, my Filipino client/employer, as payment for the 13 articles I have written for her.

This amount is nothing compared to the earnings of those writers who have been in the freelance writing industry for quite a while now, but let me celebrate this small amount again as validation and proof that my passion in writing will get me somewhere better.

I wasn't really expecting that I will receive the payment today. I thought I will only receive it on November 15th. But I guess it is because today is Friday, which means salary/pay day for regular employees. Does that make me a regular employee too? Haha! 🥳😂

Anyway, I am still over the moon as I am writing this article, because this is my first time to receive a "salary" or payment for the articles I wrote for a couple of days. Aside from the $100 that I received here on readcash, this is my first time to receive this huge amount of money out of writing articles.

Before I talk about the topics of the articles I wrote for her, let me share my story of how I got hired as a freelance writer first.

Last October 17, 2020, when I was browsing through my Facebook account, I read a post from a college student who is looking for a suitable writing job that he can work on even if he is still studying. The post immediately caught my attention because, like him, I am also looking for a writing job. That's why I got into the comment section, and I read all the comments who tried to offer him a job. So I took the opportunity to also submit my proposal to them.

On October 18, 2020, out of the 6 proposals I sent, I only received 1 feedback from a prospective client. I wanted to share how my proposal was like, but I am a little bit embarrassed about it because it was too full of errors compared to my proposals now.

Moving on, her message goes like this:

"Hi, Florie Mae,

Thank you for sending your profile.

To assess your web content writing skill, you need to pass a written test.

Title: 4 Ways to Teach Your kids to love nature during the quarantine

# of Words: 300 (minimum)

Target readers: Filipino parents of preschoolers

Due Date: October 19, 2020"

If you still remember, I posted here on readcash the article that I wrote for the test. You can read it if you want.

4 Ways To Teach Your Kids to Love Nature During the Quarantine

I received that message at around midnight, so I only got to read it by 6 or 7 in the morning. Upon reading it, I immediately searched about the topic and wrote an article about it. Then I sent the file at around noon.

2 days later, on October 20, 2020, I again received another e-mail from her that goes like this:

"Hi, Florie Mae,

We would love to have you in our pool of freelance writers.

Kindly review the attached service agreement for the rate, process, and terms and conditions. If you’re OK with it, please send back the signed copy to me."

And again, my heart jumped out of excitement when I read it. So I immediately signed the agreement.

I thought after sending back the agreement, I will instantly get a topic to write about. I was wrong.

First task: November 3, 2020

It took me 2 weeks before I received an e-mail about the first task that I will write on. My first task was to write a blog post titled "How to Raise a Happy Reader". After confirming that I can write on the topic, I began searching and reading related blogs about it. In just an hour, I finished writing the articles so I shortly passed the file to her.

Second task: November 4, 2020

After a day of writing for my first writing task, I received another e-mail from her about the 2 topics I'll be writing. The topics were "Safe Food Handling Tips" and "Natural Ingredients to Prolong Shelf-Life". The due date for the articles was November 8, 2020, and I easily beat the deadline and sent the files last November 5, 2020.

Third task: November 8, 2020

I was shocked and excited when I received the list of the titles for the blog posts I will be writing for my third task. I was given several writing assignments for this single project, and its due date is on November 17, 2020, but I finished writing the articles earlier and passed it yesterday. The topics were purely about Health and Wellness, so it was just a piece of cake for me, as I am a self-proclaimed "health enthusiast".

Here are the titles of the blog posts:

• Proper Storage Tips to extend the food expiration date

• 7 ways to save money on food shopping

• What to eat after a Workout

• 5 Healthy chocolates to satisfy your sweet tooth

• 9 healthy staples to add to your pantry

• Health Benefits of Turmeric

• Cooking tricks to save money

• A beginner's guide to working out

• Why you should include oats in your diet

• Importance of Healthy Snacking

The blog posts I have written about have a minimum word count of about 400 words. I find it a little bit harder to write short blog posts because there are a lot of important details to include yet I have to pick the most important and relevant information for the topic.

That's it! I don't know when will I receive another writing task from her, but I am hoping and praying for more writing gigs and projects to come. Cheers!

I know some of you here are also planning to start entering the freelance writing world or freelancing in general. I feel like I am not in the position to say this because I am also just starting my journey in this venture but if you want it, go get it. There's no harm in trying. As cliche as it sounds, "try and try until you succeed."

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Follow my Freelance Writing Journey:

An Introduction About How Freelance Writing Works

Sample Test Articles for my Prospected Clients

My First Writing Gig Experience

Other Sample Written Task for a Prospective Client