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Home Based Business Ideas

Twenty Great Ways to Make Extra Money From Home

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Updated 25 May 2023.

Although the pandemic is now largely behind us, many of us are seeing bills rise as a consequence of lockdowns and other government measures, world-wide supply chain issues, gas/electricity and petrol price rises, the war in Ukraine, and so forth.

So today I thought I would set out some ways you may be able to make a few pounds extra to help defray the rising cost of living. None of these is likely to make you a fortune, but together they can certainly help keep your bank balance ticking over.

I have linked to relevant posts on Pounds and Sense for further information where appropriate. I have direct experience of all the methods set out below and therefore know that they work and are not scams.

1. Prolific Academic

Prolific Academic is a platform used by academic researchers world-wide to recruit participants for online studies/surveys. These are varied and often surprisingly interesting. They require anything from two minutes to an hour to complete, with payments based on how long (on average) they take. I’ve earned almost £400 to date from Prolific. For more information, see my blog post Make Money and Help Academic Researchers With Prolific Academic.

2. MobileXpression

If you have a smartphone, this is an easy way to make money from it. Just install this app (which tracks your browsing anonymously) and every few weeks you will receive a £20 Amazon voucher for your trouble (Amazon vouchers are pretty much as good as money, as you can of course buy almost anything there). You can read my full review of the MobileXpression app in this post.

3. Shop and Scan

Shop and Scan is a market research programme run by Kantar Worldpanel. Anyone can apply to become a panelist, and when you are accepted (which may be immediate or after a few weeks) you receive a barcode scanner and guidebook in the post. You are then required to scan all your shopping when you bring it home (or it’s delivered) and scan and submit your receipts..For doing this you get points. When you have enough, these can be converted into vouchers for a wide range of online stores (again, I normally pick Amazon). You can earn extra points by performing other tasks such as completing online questionnaires, so it doesn’t take long to earn enough points for a £10 voucher. For more information, see my blog post Make Money From Your Shopping With ShopandScan.

4. The Viewers

The Viewers is another market research company always looking for new members for its (paid) audience panel. As the name suggests, they research people’s TV viewing habits via surveys and focus groups. They pay participants in cash (via PayPal) or Amazon vouchers. They run ‘real world’ focus groups in large cities, and online studies of various types. For more information, see my blog post Make Money Watching TV With The Viewers.

5. People for Research

This is another opportunity to make money taking part in consumer research. People for Research are constantly recruiting people to take part in studies. Some of these take place in large cities (London and Bristol especially) but many are done remotely via the phone or the internet. The studies cover a huge range of topics and are for the most part interesting and enjoyable. But the best thing is that they are fairly (and sometimes generously) recompensed – usually in cash, though sometimes Amazon vouchers. For more information, see my blog post Earn a Sideline Income with People for Research.

6. Populus Live

Populus Live is a survey website that wants your opinions and pays cash for them. You can sign up free of charge and will then receive email notifications any time they have a survey you may be eligible for. Each survey is worth a set number of points. Once you have accrued 50 points you will be paid £50 (each point is worth £1, in other words). Admittedly it can take a little while to reach the payment threshold, but £50 is undoubtedly a useful sum to have when you receive it. For more information, see my blog post Make Extra Money From Populus Live.

7. Selling on eBay

One great way to generate some extra cash is to have a clear-out of things you no longer need and put them up for sale on eBay. All sorts of things sell here, and if you have never tried selling via the site you will be pleasantly surprised by how easy it is. What’s more, as long as you are selling your own possessions (and not buying stuff to resell) it’s tax-free too. For more tips about this, see Twelve Top Tips for Selling on eBay, a guest post on PAS by my money blogging colleague Luci Olivia.

8. Matched Betting

In the last year or two matched betting has undoubtedly become harder, partly due to the pandemic and partly to bookmakers becoming less generous with their offers. If you haven’t yet tried matched betting, though, there is still money to be made.

For those who don’t know, matched betting involves taking advantage of online bookmaker offers (especially welcome offers) to generate a guaranteed profit. It is emphatically not the same as gambling (which I don’t recommend at all). As per my blog post Can You Make Money from Matched Betting? if you are new to this field I recommend starting with the matched betting support and advisory service Outplayed [referral link] previously called Profit Accumulator. You can earn up to £45 (tax free) by taking advantage of the offers available to free members. You could then leave it at that or sign up as a full member with unlimited profit potential.

9. Trading 212

This online share trading platform is offering anyone who signs up and deposits a minimum of £1 a free share. This is chosen at random but could be worth up to £100. You can sell this after three days if you wish and withdraw the proceeds (including your initial deposit) after 30 days. I got a share in Ford Motor Company which was worth about £8. Obviously this wasn’t as exciting as I might have hoped, but it was still – in effect – free money for almost no time or effort. And, who knows, the value of my share could skyrocket in future if the ‘internal combustion engine’ really catches on 😉 For more information on Trading 212, including how to get your free share, see my blog post Get a Free Share Worth Up to £100 With Trading 212. Note that the current free share offer closes on 8 June 2023.

10. Selling Your Old Tech

Most of us have old gadgets we no longer use that are just gathering dust. They include mobile phones, tablets, laptops, cameras, games consoles, and even desktop computers. They may still work, but we have replaced them with new and (hopefully) better products. If that sounds like you, there are lots of ways you can make money from your old tech, even if (in many cases) it doesn’t work any more. Check out my blog post How to Make Money From Your Old Tech for a range of methods for doing this.

11. Freelance Writing

This is a subject close to my heart, as for many years I was a full-time freelance writer (I’m semi-retired now). It’s a competitive field, but there is still lots of money to be made. You don’t need to be Shakespeare either, just have a reasonable grasp of written English and be willing and able to write what the market wants. Check out my blog post My Top Ten Tips for Making Money as a Freelance Writer here. You can also read my posts Should You Write a Book? and How to Publish Your Own E-book on Kindle.

12. Cashback Websites

I’ve mentioned cashback sites a few times on PAS. These are sites such as Top Cashback and Quidco, where any time you make a purchase with a certain online store, if you go via the cashback site, you get some money refunded to your account. Obviously you aren’t actually making money in this case – but if you were going to make the purchase anyway you get some money back, and over time this can add up to a tidy sum. In addition, there are some offers listed on the sites where you can get ‘cashback’ without actually making a purchase. For more information, see my blog posts Save Money With Cashback Sites and Six Ways to Make Money With Cashback Sites. You may also like to check out my recent posts about Cashback Angel, a cashback site comparison service, and My Money Pocket, a new and upcoming cashback site.

13. Comping

Okay, comping, or entering consumer competitions, isn’t a guaranteed way of making a sideline income. Nonetheless, there are stacks of cash and prizes on offer at any time, and somebody has to win them. There’s no reason it couldn’t be you! There are lots that you can enter online – just check out competition listing website Loquax, for example. For hints and tips on getting started, see How to Win Cash and Prizes in Consumer Competitions, a guest post on PAS by Cora Harrison. I also highly recommend the book Superlucky Secrets by my UK blogging colleague Di Coke (also known as Superlucky Di). You can read my review of this in-depth guide to comping here.

14. Free Online Lotteries

This is obviously another opportunity where returns are not guaranteed. Nonetheless, there are various online lotteries you can enter free with a chance of winning (in most cases) cash prizes. Typically you have to return to the lottery site every day to see if you are a winner. My favourite such site is Pick My Postcode [referral link]. This site offers multiple chances to win every day, with prizes ranging from £10 to over £1,000. I have a particular soft spot for PMP, as back in the days when it was called Free Postcode Lottery, I was lucky enough to win £614.53 on it. You can learn more in my blog post titled How to Cash in on Free Lottery Websites.

15. Website Testing

If you enjoy trying new apps and websites and putting them through their paces, there are various sites that will pay you for doing this and reporting back. One I wrote about a while ago is What Users Do. Another, newer website testing site with a strong community angle is Crowdville. For more information about this, see my blog post Make Money Testing Apps and Websites with Crowdville.

16. Blogging

I make money this way, and there’s no reason you couldn’t as well. Blogging is by no means a get-rich-quick opportunity. But if you are prepared to put some time and effort in, the rewards will come. You can blog about any subject you like (though some subjects are easier to make money from than others). Once your blog is up and running you can earn from it in various ways, including advertising, affiliate marketing, sponsored posts, and so on. To get an idea how this works, check out this guest post by Ruth Hinds titled Five Things You Really Need to Know About How to Make Money from Blogging. In addition, my UK blogging colleague Emma Drew has an excellent course about making money from blogging called Turn Your Dreams Into Money, which i reviewed here.

17. Online Design and Print

This is a great home-based sideline earning opportunity. No special skills are needed beyond a little imagination; although if you do have art and design skills, so much the better. I’m talking here about designing and selling clothes and other products, from tee-shirts to tote bags, hoodies to coffee mugs. By designing I mean coming up with slogans and/or graphics to adorn these products that will appeal to a particular target market. This opportunity has been opened up by web-based companies such as TeeMill that allow you to design and sell your products online. They provide all the back-end services, including taking payments and fulfilling orders. They charge you a set fee for this, which is covered from the fee paid by your customer. You charge your customers a bit more, and your profit is (of course) the difference between the two. For more information, see my blog post How to Make Money with Online Design and Print.

18. Virtual Assistant Work

There is a steady demand for virtual assistants who can perform a wide variety of tasks from home via the internet. The sorts of things VAs do may include research, writing, proofreading and editing, graphic design, publicity, data entry, programming and other technical tasks, and much more. Social media management is another very popular area. You can read my in-depth blog post on how to make money as a virtual assistant here.

19. Fiverr.com

As you may know, Fiverr is US-based site that lets anyone advertise ‘gigs’ they are willing to perform for five dollars (hence the name, of course). Gigs range from the serious (e.g. write a press release) to the creative (e.g. write a customized solo piano track) to the downright quirky (e.g. write a message, name or URL in chocolate). Most gigs are services delivered electronically, though there is nothing to stop you selling physical products if you wish (you can charge extra for postage). Obviously $5 isn’t a lot, but if you can perform your gig in just a few minutes it can still work out as a decent hourly rate. It’s also possible to charge additional amounts for ‘extras’ such as rapid delivery or upgraded features. See my blog post How to Make Money on Fiverr for much more information about this.

20. Investing for Income

This is obviously a different take from the preceding ideas. If you have money in the bank earning a derisory rate of interest (or nothing at all), however, you might like to consider investing some to provide an additional income stream for you.

This is obviously a huge subject and I can’t go into detail about it here. There are lots of possibilities, though. One would be to invest some of your money in dividend-paying shares. This subject was covered in an excellent guest post for my blog by Lewys Lew titled How to invest For Income From High Yield Share Dividends.

Of course, you should research any possible investment carefully and be prepared to lose money in the short term at least (see below). Note also that some companies – e.g. the big banks and oil companies – cut their dividends during the Covid crisis, so it’s important to pick your sectors carefully.

  • Regular readers will know I am also a big fan of the robo-adviser investment platform Nutmeg. They are primarily aimed at helping people build a savings (or pensions) pot rather than providing an income, but you can of course withdraw money from your account as and when you wish. You can read my full review of Nutmeg here.

Of course, all investment carries a risk of loss, so you should always do your own ‘due diligence’ and take advice if in any doubt before deciding to invest. You should also ensure you have enough cash and/or easily accessible savings to get you through a period of three to six months in case of emergencies.

As always, if you have any comments or questions about this post, please do leave them below. And keep reading Pounds and Sense for more money-saving and money-making ideas in the weeks and months ahead.

Disclosure: Some of the links in this post (and elsewhere on PAS) include my referral links. That means if you click through and make a purchase (or perform some other defined action) I may receive a commission for introducing you. This will not affect the price you pay or the products/services you are offered. 

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Make money as a freeklance proofreader or editor

Could You Make Money as a Freelance Proofreader or Editor?

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As you may know, for many years I made my living primarily as a freelance writer. But I also had a sideline as a freelance proofreader and editor.

Obviously the skills required are closely related, and I enjoyed the variety of proofreading and editing work. I still do a bit today, though I am semi-retired now.

So in this post I thought I would discuss how to make money as a freelance proofreader and/or editor.

Let’s start with the basics, though…

What Do Proofreaders and Copy Editors Do?

Proofreaders perform a final check on the text of books and other written documents before they are sent to be printed. They mark up any errors they find using a standard set of proofreading marks (usually BS 5261 part 2). These corrections are then incorporated by the typesetter before the book goes to print.

Proofreaders are typically asked to work in one of two ways. They may be sent the author’s original typescript with the copy editor’s corrections marked on it, along with a copy of the proofs. In this case they are required to check that the typesetter has carried out all the editor’s instructions and not inserted any errors of his/her own. This task is known as reading against copy.

Alternatively, the proofreader may simply be sent a set of proofs and be asked to read through them checking for any errors (e.g. spelling, punctuation or factual mistakes). This is known as a straight (or blind) reading.

Either way, proofreaders generally make two marks per correction: one in the margin and another in the text itself. The idea is that the typesetter can glance down the margins to see where a correction might be required, and then look across the line in question to find it. This reduces the chances of a correction being overlooked.

Copy editors are involved at an earlier stage of the publishing process. They generally work with the author’s original typescript. As well as correcting spelling and punctuation mistakes, their task also includes correcting grammatical errors, checking for bias or possible libel, and generally polishing the text so that it reads well and conforms to the publisher’s house style. They also apply ‘weights’ to section headings (H1, H2, H3, etc.), so that headings and sub-headings are properly printed and arranged in a logical hierarchy.

Copy editing is a more creative task than proofreading, and also more demanding. Many freelances start off as proofreaders and perhaps graduate to copy editing later.

  • Both proofreading and copy editing are increasingly done electronically. That means working on screen, on a word-processed document rather than on paper. The underlying skills required are the same, of course, but you won’t be required to make the traditional proofreading (or editing) marks. You will, though, be expected to use ‘tracking’ to ensure that any amendments you make are easy to see (and can be reversed if the author or publisher dislikes them!).

What Do I Need to Get Started?

To start with, you must have an interest in language and a love of good writing. A good grasp of grammar, spelling and punctuation is essential, though you can take courses if you are not as strong in this area as you ought to be.

You will also need to learn the standard proofreading marks. These are reproduced on various websites (e.g. this one) and in a number of published books, e.g. The Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook (see below).

You should also have a good modern dictionary to check spellings and usage, and – for copy editing at least – a style guide such as the Oxford Guide to Plain English (see below).

Clearly you will also need a computer and an internet connection. Even if you are working on paper in the traditional way, this will still be required for corresponding with clients, marketing your services, invoicing and record-keeping, and so on.

Who Will My Customers Be?

Your main clients will be book, magazine and newspaper publishers. You may also obtain work from businesses looking for someone to edit and proofread their brochures, newsletters, annual reports and so on. Writers and aspiring writers may also require your services – in the case of the latter, they may be hoping you can bring their work up to a publishable standard.

Other potential customers include design houses, advertising and public relations agencies, printers and typesetters.

How Much Can I Make?

For freelance proofreading, the NUJ (National Union of Journalists) Freelance Fees Guide recommends a minimum rate of £24.00 an hour and for copy editing a minimum of £28.00 an hour. In practice you may not always be able to get NUJ minimum rates when you are starting out. Equally, however, you may be able to negotiate rates above the NUJ minimum as you gain experience.

How Can I Sell My Services?

You could start by sending a mailshot to publishing houses offering your services. A good selection can be found in The Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook, mentioned above. This is a highly competitive sphere, however, so it may be best to focus on those publishers who are active in areas where you have some specialist knowledge. If you are a keen birdwatcher, for example, you might decide to target specifically those publishers who produce ornithological titles. When you write, don’t forget to mention any relevant qualifications and experience.

Local businesses and advertising/PR agencies are also well worth trying. In addition, you could try advertising your services in publications likely to be read by potential clients. Several proofreaders advertise regularly in journals such as The Author and Writers News, and this can be a good way to attract business from writers. You could also try advertising in local business magazines and directories (online and off-).

Having your own website/blog and perhaps a Facebook page to promote your service is also highly desirable.

Where Can I Get More Help?

There are various distance-learning courses you can take in proofreading and copy editing. One long-established commercial provider is Chapterhouse. They offer a range of introductory courses in proofreading and copy editing. These cover the basics and will help you discover whether proofreading and editing is something you enjoy and have an aptitude for.

More advanced (and expensive) courses are offered by the Publishing Training Centre. These include short, classroom-based courses, online tutor-guided courses (leading to the award of a certificate of achievement from the Publishing Qualifications Board), and e-learning modules. If you want to gain an industry-recognized qualification, studying with the PTC is probably the way to go.

The professional organization for freelance proofreaders and editors in the UK (and overseas) is the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP). Members receive a regular newsletter and discounts on various publications. They are also entitled to a listing in the Institute’s Directory of Editorial Services. CIEP also run workshops and online training courses in proofreading and editing.

Final Thoughts

Freelance proofreading and/or editing can be a great part-time sideline, or even a full-time business. No special tools or equipment are required, so it’s quick, cheap and easy to get started. It’s reasonably paid, and you can work from home at hours to suit yourself.

It’s also suitable for older people and people with disabilities, with the one proviso that it becomes a little harder if – as in my case – your eyesight isn’t as good as it once was.

  • I am, however, still available for small- to medium-sized proofreading and editing projects – so if you need any help in this department, please do drop me a line!

I hope you have enjoyed reading this post. If you have any comments or questions, as always, please do leave them below.

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Free Kindle Ebooks

Download My Kindle Ebooks Free This Week!

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I’m a bit off-topic today, I know. But these are – to put it mildly – exceptional times, and we all have to respond as best we can.

I know many people are having to self-isolate right now, or at least spend a lot more time at home. So I thought I would make a small contribution towards making life more bearable by offering both of my Kindle ebooks free of charge.

My ebook The Festival on Lyris Five is a tongue-in-cheek science fiction novella featuring illustrations by the talented Louise Tolentino. You can download it free (until Thursday 26 March) by clicking here or on the ad below. I hope you enjoy reading it. If you do, a review would be appreciated (though certainly not a requirement!).

My other ebook is called Three Great Techniques for Plotting Your Novel or Screenplay. As you’ll gather, this is aimed at writers and aspiring writers. If you are in that group, I hope you will find the tips and advice it contains helpful. Again, here is a link or you can click on the display ad below.

As you may know, you don’t need a Kindle device to read Kindle e-books. You can also read them on your mobile phone, tablet or PC using the free Kindle app available via Amazon at https://www.amazon.co.uk/kindle-dbs/fd/kcp

And since one of these titles is aimed at writers, I thought I would also include a plug here for Best Writing Forum, which I helped set up a couple of years ago. BWF is free to join and has members all over the world. If you are looking for support or feedback with your writing, you will find it here. Equally, if you are just seeking online companionship from fellow writers during these most stressful of times, you can find that here as well.

As ever, if you have any comments or questions about this post, please do leave them below.

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Make Money with Magazine Letters

As I Write This Letter – How to Make Money with Magazine Letters

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Today I have a guest post for you from my writing colleague S. Bee (her pen-name) on the subject of making money writing letters and fillers for popular magazines.

This is a money-making sideline I have a soft spot for, as many years ago I started my writing career doing exactly this. I remember, for example, having a series of letters published in The Sun newspaper, for which I received the not-exactly-princely-even-then sum of £2 each. I treasured those cheques when they arrived, though!

It’s good to know that this opportunity still exists, even in this digital age.

Over to S. Bee then…

 

When I began writing seriously in 2011, I focused on the fiction market for women’s magazines.

As I became more involved in it, I discovered that several of these short story writers had also enjoyed publishing success with letters in national magazines.

More importantly, they’d been paid a small fee for their efforts. If there was no fee, a prize was offered instead.

I thought, Why don’t I have a go at that? So I did, and eagerly began to send letters in.

My spirits were high. Surely I’d see my name and piece in print somewhere? But no. Sadly, I didn’t get anywhere at all!

After a few months, I felt ready to try again. However, this time I carried out research first. I studied the tone and style of the magazine I intended to submit to, and what type of letter was likely to be picked for publication, plus the subject of it. For example, I learned that positive feedback about a previous feature was very popular.

I kept my submission short and snappy – and my hard work paid off. I was absolutely thrilled to see my very first letter published in What’s On TV magazine. I was delighted to receive a payment of £10 for little more than a paragraph.

Since then, I’ve had lots of letters published in Woman’s Weekly, The People’s Friend, Yours, My Weekly, Web User, Vegetarian Living, Take a Break and Your Cat. And lots more in What’s on TV – I even made Star Letter status once! (I was paid £25, instead of their usual £10).

How do I find ideas for letters? It’s easy – you need to think of what could appeal to readers.

For Woman’s Weekly, I once wrote about the tests I undertook for breast cancer. I urged readers not to ignore any call-ups. (Thankfully, I was okay.)

I’ve also been featured with several opinion pieces for the ‘You’re Telling Us’ page in Take a Break magazine. The ‘You’re Telling Us’ question can be found on the TAB Facebook page. They request a photo of yourself and your age, too.

TAB also publish call-outs for a true-life reader experience type of feature in the magazine. I’ve had ‘A letter to your younger self’ piece published and a ‘Christmas cringes’ one too. These can pay more – up to £100.

The TAB letters page, ‘We’ve Got Mail’ currently pays £25 and £50 for the star letter. They like photos with the letter.

TAB also have call-outs in the mag for paid photo opportunities, e.g. pets or kids in a messy/awkward situation.

Some publications offer a prize to the star letter only.

I attempt it, and often I don’t win the prize, yet I’m still pleased to see my piece published.

I’ve won a small beauty prize for my star letter in the free TESCO magazine, and being selected for Your Cat‘s star letter scooped me a range of cat toys and biscuits. Your Cat will pay for true life cat tales, too.

Update: Tesco now only award a prize to the star letter in their mag – it’s a £50 Tesco voucher. That’s bound to help with the grocery bill!

My prize letters in a monthly writing magazine netted me a free one-year magazine subscription – twice! (a fantastic saving of around £160).

If you have a hobby, e.g. computers, gardening, cooking – pick a suitable magazine that accompanies it. For instance, my hubby is a very good cook and baker. He’s had several recipes published in Take a Break‘s My Favourite Recipe magazine. (He was awarded £25 per recipe.)

It’s not just letters. Some magazines also publish short poems.

I’ve had several poems published in the fortnightly Yours magazine, and a weekly, The People’s Friend. These magazines like rhyming, upbeat, reader-friendly material.

TPF award a small prize (I’m not sure, but it used to be a tea caddy and a packet of loose tea) if your poem is selected for publication in their letters page – however, they pay £15 per poem if you target your poems to their other publications, e.g. their fiction special, annual or fireside book. The magazine has different email addresses for these slots.

Yours pay £10 in gift vouchers per poem. The vouchers can be spent practically anywhere. They pay a £10 gift voucher for a normal published letter too.

Yours regularly publishes call-outs in the mag for specific reader’s memory/nostalgia experiences. They sometimes require photos to accompany the feature, so you’d need to scan these in and send them with your article [or of course send digital photos – Nick].

Don’t forget that fillers such as top tips, funny photos, a ‘pet of the week’ type of feature, puzzles, jokes, beauty queries, travel articles (think about what’s interesting about about your town/city – photos required) and ‘items to be valued’ pieces are high in demand, too.

I’ve had my childhood teddy valued in Real People magazine (I earned £25). My cat has been featured in My Weekly (another £25) and I’ve had beauty questions featured in Take a Break. (They pay £25 for this.)

I’ve also made it to the TAB letters page, with their ‘What a laugh!’ slot. I was £50 richer for just a few lines of text!

A writer friend of mine likes to create her own word puzzles (not necessarily crosswords) and she has these published regularly in Real People magazine. If published, the fee for this is either £30 or £50.

I’m not a gardener, but my writing friends who are have hit the jackpot with letters and hints in gardening magazines. Prizes and cash are up for grabs.

Although you won’t be able to earn a regular salary with letters and fillers, the odd £10 here and there soon adds up.

Bear in mind that no matter how many letters you submit, you won’t be chosen every week. Consider the fact that the editor or team will become familiar with your name. However, saying that, they do appreciate regular contributors – just don’t swamp them!

Publications are always looking for well-written, entertaining, intelligent letters that fit in well with the editorial style of the magazine.

Always be cheerful and polite, don’t waffle, and make sure you follow the magazine’s submission instructions. It’s all done via email now.

Your subject heading should be: ‘Letter for consideration’.

Work can be edited, changed or even added to – to me, this doesn’t matter as I want to be published and I want to be paid.

Some magazines let you know beforehand if your letter/filler/poem has been selected, and some don’t. If you submit material regularly, this means a weekly scan of the magazines in newsagents or the supermarket to check if your piece is in.

Some prizes arrive completely out of the blue. One Christmas, I won a prize of a large jigsaw puzzle, yet I hadn’t a clue who had sent it or what publication my letter was in. All I had was a snail mail letter saying ‘Congratulations!’ from the makers of the jigsaw, which didn’t really help.

Later, I realised I must have been awarded star letter in Down Your Way, a Yorkshire-based nostalgic magazine. I quickly emailed the Ed and he confirmed it. (Update: I’ve won this prize a second time with a piece about phone boxes.) As it was approaching Christmas, it came in very handy as a gift for a family member who loves jigsaws.

So, what’s stopping you from having a go?

If I can do it, so can you! Get writing and good luck!

S. Bee

 

Thank you to S. Bee for an interesting and inspiring article. Paws For Thought

I would just add that you don’t need any special writing skills to win cash and prizes this way. It’s really just a matter of keeping your ear to the ground about current events and issues, and coming up with positive, upbeat angles on them.

S. Bee isn’t being paid for this article, but she asked me to mention a charity ebook she is promoting on behalf of the RSPCA (who receive all profits). It’s called Paws for Thought – 27 Tail Thumping Stories (see front cover, right). It’s for a great cause and only costs £2.99 from Amazon as a Kindle ebook. If you enjoy short stories – and especially if you love animals – why not check it out? 🙂

As always, if you have any comments or questions about this article, please do post them below.

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Best Writing Forum

Get Feedback and Advice on Your Writing at Best Writing Forum

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I know quite a few Pounds and Sense readers have an interest in writing, whether for pleasure or profit (or both). So today I thought I would share some information about an invaluable free resource for writers and aspiring writers.

Best Writing Forum is a discussion forum for writers that was set up by my old friend (and former publisher) Karl Moore a year ago. It was created in response to requests from members of My Writers Circle, another online forum I helped set up with Karl and managed for almost ten years.

In the last few years My Writers Circle has changed ownership several times and been rather neglected. So in response to members’ requests, Karl set up the new forum as an alternative place for writers to share their work and get feedback and advice.

Best Writing Forum uses the popular SMF messageboard software. Anyone who was ever a member of My Writers Circle will find it quite familiar, therefore. Of course, the board names and overall design are a bit different, but most people soon get the hang of it. And if you have any problems, there is a dedicated volunteer moderator team on hand to help you out.

If you have any interest in writing, I highly recommend that you check out Best Writing Forum. And if you like what you see, please do sign up. It’s free of charge and only takes a few moments. You will then be able to:

Now is a great time to join Best Writing Forum, as it’s still quite new and you really can play a part in helping guide its future direction. I’ll hope to see you there soon!

Note: this is an updated version of an original article about Best Writing Forum first published on my Entrepreneur Writer blog in December 2017.

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Writing for Newsjack

Earn Some Extra Cash Writing for Newsjack!

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Today I want to share an unusual opportunity to earn a bit of extra cash. It should appeal particularly if you are:

  • interested in writing
  • have a good sense of humour (especially the satirical type)
  • are interested in the news stories and issues of today

The BBC’s satirical radio comedy show Newsjack is back for a new run. They describe is as, ‘The scrapbook sketch show written entirely by the Great British public’ and anyone is welcome to submit short topical sketches and one-liners for it.

This is primarily an opportunity for UK residents, though if you live outside the UK (and understand the British sense of humour!) there is nothing to stop you submitting work as well.

Submissions are open now, with a weekly deadline of noon on Mondays for sketches and noon on Tuesday for one-liners. Last submissions for this series are Tuesday 12th March 2019.

More information, including the format for submitting work and downloadable templates you can use, can be found on the Newsjack website at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/1hDdvFLfWClPHW7zT3sq01S/submit-a-sketch. You can also view example sketches and one-liners on this page.

And there are more tips on writing for Newsjack in this BBC Blog post from 2015.

This is, as mentioned, a paying opportunity. Payments are as follows:

£45.50 per minute for sketches
£22.75 per 30 seconds for sketches
£22.75 per one-liner

They say this fee will take in all rights for the work on a non-exclusive basis (so no repeat fees, unfortunately!).

Obviously there will be a lot of competition, so it’s important to study the guidelines carefully and listen to the show itself (it’s broadcast at 11 pm on BBC Radio 4 Extra). Although it’s primarily a bit of fun with a chance to earn some cash and have your work (and name) broadcast on national radio, this can also be a good entry-level opportunity for anyone hoping to get into radio comedy writing. If you consistently submit work that gets noticed, you may be invited to join the show’s team of commissioned writers, which in turn will present all sorts of further networking opportunities.

It’s also an opportunity I have a soft spot for, as many years ago I had a number of sketches and one-liners accepted by the long-running predecessor of Newsjack, Weekending. I was invited to meet the show’s producer and was sounded out about joining the writing team, but in the end decided against as it would have meant relocating to London.

Good luck if you decide to try submitting work to Newsjack. Please do leave a comment below if you are successful!

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