Feel like giving up!!

[Lelands Mommy]

Just venting.. since last Thursday I must have applied for 100 or more writing jobs through different sites that offer leads. I had like 2 responses and they both wanted a free sample article.. yeah. I feel like giving up on the search.

[tenderone]

I completely empathize with you.

[Lelands Mommy]

Ugh. Its really stressful. I mean I went to college for English, I created a professional looking website, I have tons of experience, samples.. I don't know what else I can do. Its a bummer because I've always dreamed of being a writer since I was a kid, but I can live on 1500 a month for the rest of my life, paying my own taxes and hoping the content mills have work. It takes a lot to get me down, but this whole writing bit has really been taking its toll recently.

[andra33]

I know what you mean. I have applied for over 50-60 writing jobs in the past two weeks, but I haven't received any reply. None! I don't understand what am I doing wrong - I send my best writing samples along with with several links to my websites, introduce myself, write about my experience, but I simply don't get any answer.

[anng]

Common courtesy would dictate at least some kind of response, but I can see from an employer's side why they don't. There aren't enough hours in the day. The last time I looked for workers, I got dozens of replies and copying and pasting a response led to my email getting flagged for spam with my ISP, so you have to either create a unique response every time, time consuming, or not respond to everyone. I end up doing the unique response and that took hours.

But one thing I've learned, don't give up. I've applied for jobs and had people respond more than six months later saying the first choices didn't work out and that I was a second choice. The longest it's gone was a full year, and in that case, the guy ran out of funding for the site he was building and had to put the project on hiatus while he secured more money.

[bax]

Don't give up. I went through a similar period last summer. I applied to dozens of opportunities every week and got nothing. The ones who responded either wanted free samples (I don't do that) or were offering slave wages.

Then in October I landed an amazing writing job that pays really, really well. I'm still working for that client. If I had given up in the summer, I wouldn't have found that job.

So keep trying. Something will come up eventually.

[mommy2onelittleboy]

Don't give up. These spells happen to the best of us. Right now I am swamped, but right around Christmas time I had absolutely nothing to work on and took scraps from content mills, some of which didn't pay me what I usually make.

[Lelands Mommy]

You are all so great and encouraging. I love this forum and am glad we can all relate on different topics.

[jenryan9278]

Originally Posted by anng

But one thing I've learned, don't give up. I've applied for jobs and had people respond more than six months later saying the first choices didn't work out and that I was a second choice.

That happened to me with Anng I ended up working with her and loving it. I have finally found something that is working out for me too. I was in the same place you were for awhile. It is frustrating and gets very tiring. Here's hoping you find what you are looking for soon!! Like the others have said, don't give up yet!

[BloggingToolsforMe]

Originally Posted by Lelands Mommy

Just venting.. since last Thursday I must have applied for 100 or more writing jobs through different sites that offer leads. I had like 2 responses and they both wanted a free sample article.. yeah. I feel like giving up on the search.

An option to consider:

Maybe it's time to think about fishing in a different pond? If you could write within your dream niche, what niche would that be? Figure out your dream niche, start a blog within that niche, and then feature businesses that are within that niche. Promote your posts on social media and include the social media addresses of the companies you have featured. For example if your niche is scrapbooking, you could feature a new scrapbook supplier or tool your readers might not have discovered. Not only are you featuring a business (who will also likely promote your blog post) you can promote a product via an affiliate link. You can include a widget on your blog so that other companies that want their products/business featured can contact you for sponsored content opportunities. Not only can you potentially earn from links on your blog, you are building connections within your dream industry. Allow yourself one hour a day to work on your blog, and use the rest of your time for content mill writing so that you still have ongoing income coming in. Think of your new blog as an investment (of time) in your future. Instead of continuing to focus on small fish, allow yourself the freedom to dream of much larger fish.