Word on the Suite
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Posted by Colin Smith Aug 14, 2009 |
Hello Readers,
My name is Colin Smith and I'm proud to be the Editor-in-Chief for Suite101.com: our company's flagship website and home to thousands of professional writers.
Despite the fact I've been in the driver's seat since last December, this is my first appearance in the Limelight. Typically, I work behind the scenes with my esteemed colleagues to make Suite101 the best place online for freelance writers and journalists. This week at Suite has been particularly exciting and inspirational, so I felt it was high time to share my thoughts about Suite101 in public.
First and foremost, I love my job. I love the challenge, the opportunity and the simple fact I get paid to help support a stellar community of writers who respect the craft. Writing is a fantastic career choice and a fascinating hobby. Writers are curious people by nature and there are literally millions of things to write about. It's the kind of occupation that inspires creativity and rewards the intellect.
In the 1980s and 1990s, I was a freelance writer who penned many hundreds of articles for print: newspapers, magazines, trade papers – you name it, I probably tried to write for it. It was an exciting and challenging time of my life but my choice of career was not one that typically leads to fame and fortune. Despite the fact I pitched stories to editors all over North America, spent countless hours doing interviews on the phone and faxed miles of queries to every publication on the planet, I never managed to get rich.
I might have earned precious little income during that period but despite the myriad challenges associated with self-employment, I would do it all over again. The difference today – the huge advantage that all freelance writers enjoy today – is the power of the Internet. Communication, research, writing, editing and publishing tasks are so much easier to complete in 2009 than back in 1989! It's much less expensive to operate a freelance writing business now, too. But the most significant "leg up" for freelance writers today is the freedom to publish their own work online, and earn revenue, in a completely independent fashion.
Writers at Suite101, for example, are able to write about practically anything they want and instead of "pitching" story ideas to editors, they are in charge. Ye olde print model remains an attractive option for many writers but web writing has turned the publishing world right-side up. Writers are free to do their own thing at Suite101, but they also get invaluable support from a crack team of editorial staff, technologists and business professionals. For free! All the while, they are crafting articles that earn them a share of the advertising revenue associated with each story. That's a sweet set-up.
For example, this week a Suite101 writer set a company record for monthly earnings when it was reported s/he earned almost $5,000 USD in July. That is truly a phenomenal figure and Suite101's writers' forums are abuzz with comments, but the most significant part of the conversation boils down to this: "If that writer can do it, then so can I".
All Suite101 writers start out earning small amounts of money but over time, the earnings can really escalate – depending on what you write about, how well the articles are written and how many articles are produced. Time is on the writer's side at Suite101 because the longer a writer remains committed to the craft, the greater the potential reward. Many Suite101 writers earn hundreds of dollars a month, every month, based on our residual payment plan. Not everyone will be able to claim $5000 in a single month but it's possible.
I try to imagine what kind of success I might have enjoyed had a Suite101 been around in the 1980s. Perhaps I'd be officially "retired" by now and writing articles from a beach in St. Kitts! A man can dream, right? Well I'm seeing writers' dreams come true all the time lately and it's my great privilege to be part of a team devoted entirely to supporting a writer's career, every step along the way.
Suite101 affords writers great long-term revenue potential, the opportunity to be read by millions of readers and rub virtual elbows with some of the best writers-editors in the business. If you want to elevate your career and advance your skills as a professional writer, then I can't think of a better place to be than right here, right now.
Cheers!
Colin Smith, Editor-in-Chief
Suite101.com
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