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A discussion of and resource for freelance writing and working for the education market.
Statistics for Writing for the Education Market
Number of Readers that added this blog to their MyJacketFlap: 3
Many thanks to
Eloise Elaine Ernst Schneider for helping me work out how writers can edit their own profile. It can be done! What we found was that if you were a registered subscriber to the site and logged in before you filled out the form, that form automatically connects with your username and when you log in again, you can edit it.
I checkmarked that "Let users register" button without really knowing what it would do. Now we know!
So here are a few options:
- You haven't completed a profile yet, so you go to the Writers page and find the Register button on the right side. (Note: I only see this option on the full desktop site. I can't find it in the mobile site. ) Create a username and password and then log in and complete the profile form.
- You already completed the profile but there wasn't an option to register when you did, so you go to the site and register now with the same email address that you used on your profile. I will connect the username to the profile with the same email address. (I know, I know. There are already 162 writers that I would need to connect. It was my fault for not having it in place. I'll connect.)
- You completed the profile before registering, but you don't want to use the same email address to register, so register with your preferred email address and then you email me at [email protected] and let me know which username to connect to which profile.
Another step in the right direction. Thanks for bearing with me! Oh, and at a reader request, I added a Company Name field in the form and I added an Other to the subjects where you can type your own in.
Fun!
Laura
(Note: I thought I published this earlier in the week!)
Happy Independence Day! (Tomorrow...)
I will no longer post full entries here. I plan to get the email list switched over within the next few days. More info on that coming soon.
First, the Recap
Wow. Things are really moving along with the new site. I am going to publish this post in both
WritingForTheEducationMarket.com and
educationwriting.blogspot.com so that it's part of the new blog history but everyone on the yet-to-be-moved-over email list will receive it in their email from the old blog. All this will get cleaned up soon. I was able to get some advice on moving the list over.
I'm getting some recurring questions, so I am going to address some of them here. I'll set up an FAQ page on the new site soon (after the email list move).
- The new website address is WritingForTheEducationMarket.com
- The old blog address is educationwriting.blogspot.com.
- The old blog address is where you have been receiving emails from Writing for the Education Market.
- This will be changing very soon, so you need to
- read all then WEM emails or blog posts from last week and this week to stay updated on the move
- go to the Writers page on the new site and Join the List (I've had 46 new writers join since Sunday noon)
- Check the job board on your own until I can get the email thing sorted out (HINT: There is already a job posted there!)
- You can't edit your profile (yet), so if you need to change something, fill out the form again and then email me at [email protected] and let me know to delete your other one.
Moving Right Along
First, I got to meet Laura Bresko at ISTE today! Yay! Laura's been a subscriber from the beginning and hires writers through WEM. It was a pleasure to be able to talk to her in person. Laura also introduced me to someone who could help spread the word about WEM. It was exciting!
Then, I stopped by Gale Group booth in the expo hall and the person in charge of content development was super excited to hear about our community. That was a great feeling. So tomorrow, I plan to stop at a few more places to see if I can make some connections.
If you know of someone who hires freelance writers, perhaps you'd be willing to send me their contact info. Those folks know others of their ilk and I bet we could get it moving along at a fast clip just by being social.
Next Steps
- Move the email list over
- Figure out how to let writers edit their own profiles
- Notify all the folks who link to the blog of the new address
- Close down the educationwriting.blogpost.com site
I'm really excited to see the list of writers. We're at 55 writers at then end of Day 1. Woo hoo! What was most exciting to me was to see the names of people I've talked to over the course of the blog. I have the email list, but it doesn't have names. The names are what helps me make the connections. It's good to see you guys. (Hey! Maybe I can figure out how to add pictures of ourselves...)
I'm still using the old blog to send you this update because I haven't transferred your email addresses over to the other one. That's next on my list.
The job board is up. I'll spend the next few days making contacts (in between going to sessions and learning stuff, of course) and see if we can't get some listed posted directly by companies. Wish me luck!
Laura
Here's what the new site will have:
- A database (eventually searchable) of freelance education writers, correlators, and editors
- The ability for writers to create their own profile
- A job board for companies to post job leads directly
- A blog focused on the business of freelance writing for the education market.
We're going to start with the searchable database. This means I need you to go to the
Join the Writer List page and create your profile. This information will automatically populate in the
Writers page. The ability to search will be in place by July 8.
My next steps are to move the email list over so you continue receiving blog posts and job leads. More on that later.
I am heading to ISTE tomorrow and plan to visit with several education companies to tell them about this service. I'd love for them to come to the site and see a huge list of writers!
You can reach me at
[email protected] or comment on this post. I get all the comments in my email. Please let me know if there are any glitches that I need to fix.
http://www.idealist.org/view/job/JTBXgBwJm7SP
https://re21.ultipro.com/HOL1002/JobBoard/JobDetails.aspx?__ID=*18653798E015E81C
http://www.idealist.org/view/job/Cw4N5S8ZCWmD
Work Type: Editor with elementary school teaching background
Description:
ABC Mouse would like to hire a full time editor for their office in Glendale CA. The position is responsible
for turning curriculum specifications and learning objectives into engaging and age appropriate fiction and non fiction children's books and book related formats.Their focus in on ages 4-8.
Location: Glendale CA
Rate: $ 80000 per annum
Contact Name: Judith Detuncq
Contact Company: JTH Consulting
Contact Website: None
Contact Method: -by email
Email: [email protected]
"Ever tried. Ever failed.
No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better." ~ Samuel Beckett
One of the recurring themes in all the listening and reading I’ve been doing lately is that other people’s failures are interesting. It’s not that we want to look at something terrible and say “Oooh, I’m so glad that’s not me.” It’s the idea that we can learn from other people’s mistakes or failures without having to make them ourselves. There is not enough time in a lifetime to make every mistake there is (not that we'd want to, of course), but when you have a community of people with the same interests and goals, those failures become gold.
In working on this redesign (coming soon), I have gotten a lot of feedback from writers who want to know how other freelancers deal with problems. This is definitely a case where the smartest person in the room is the room itself.
I imagine every member of the Writing for the Education Market community has made mistakes on this freelancing path. Yucky ones. The kind that make us cringe and hope no one ever finds out. But those are the stories we need to hear from each other. Freelancing can be isolating. You feel like you are ‘on an island’ as one reader said. That aloneness is heavy. When you hear a story of failure that resonates with you, you sigh and say, “Oh, I thought that only happened to me,” and the weight lifts a little. It’s always easier to carry something when it’s shared, right?
But the real value is hearing how that person picked themselves up and carried on. What did they change because of this failure? These answers give us the tools we need to face those sticky situations ourselves, perhaps changing our outcome armed with that knowledge.
So here’s my question:
Would you be willing to share with this community a story of one of your failures or mistakes and what you learned from it?
You can respond to the email feed or use the email address on the blog to write to me directly. I would love to collect your stories and share some with our community. Include #failup somewhere in the email so that I can search my inbox for them easily.
Good luck,
Laura
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Work Type: Series Editor with PhD Description:
Words and Numbers is looking for Series Editors for a summer long college book series project in the following disciplines: Criminal Justice, Sociology, Western Civ, World History, US History, American Lit, British Lit, and Political Science.
Job Description:
The Series Editor (SE) is responsible for the overall vision of the series, including the contents of individual titles within the series. The SE is the deciding and guiding voice throughout the content development process. The SE works closely with writers and the management team to ensure that the series offers a unifying thematic vision for the content, sets appropriate learning objectives for students, and meets expectations in terms of topical scope, coverage, and accuracy. Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
Review provided materials to create the list of titles within the series, and finalize the table of contents for each title (see "Series Information" for breakdown)
Determine which existing monographs (essays) should be permissioned for use in series with updates; make recommendations for topical and scope revisions required to such works [Estimate: 30-60 percent updates to existing materials]
Determine, broadly, the content and scope of new monographs, for new material to be produced by self or others [Estimate: up to 30 percent of title should be new monographs]
Outline vision, learning objectives, and scope of introductory essay per title, to ensure that introduction offers scholarly introduction to topic and introduces themes, points of view, and cutting-edge scholarship relevant to topic; SE may author this monograph if desired
Recommend topical experts for writing roles within the series; approve writers introduced by W&N if appropriate, perform outreach to candidates
Create and/or review outlines, samples, and drafts of essays from writers to ensure alignment with learning objectives; appropriate coverage, depth, and accuracy
Suggest revisions and/or make revisions to drafts as appropriate
Answer questions and provide direction as needed
Advise the management team in a timely manner if writers are not meeting expectations
IF responsible for writing new monographs for title, complete writing tasks
Assist in development of discipline-specific guidelines regarding types of sources referenced in "Further Research" section (scholarly monographs, authoritative websites, open access content, journal articles, etc.)
Attend team meetings and occasionally perform ad-hoc assignments
Qualifications:
PhD in field
Extensive teaching experience at the introductory level in the specific course area
Experience creating content for a college-level audience
Deep research and/or scholarly publishing experience within discipline
Familiarity with emerging research and/or controversies within the discipline/course
Workload (Initial Projections)
Develop vision, title breakdown, learning objectives, and TOCs. Review existing monographs provided by management team. Suggest, approve, and outreach to candidate writers as needed.
Review and edit and revised submitted monographs; produce new materials.
Write or review overview essays based on final makeup of each title. Sign off on final manuscripts.
Series Information:
Each series includes ten individual titles
Each individual title includes 10 monographs (essays), broken down as follows*:
o Introduction (1 new monograph; outlined by SE; may be written by SE or other)
o Review/revisions to 6 existing monographs (revisions completed or managed by SE)
o Production of 3 new monographs (written by SE OR reviewed/coordinated by SE)
*Note: This breakdown may vary, depending on availability and currency of existing materials. All titles will include new introductory monograph but breakdown of revisions/new will be dependent upon content availability and permissions.
Location: Remote Rate: $ 7000 per series
Contact Name: Krystian Dawes
Publishing Solutions Group has postings for freelance ELA writers and editors and all subject assessment writers, but they are also conducting their annual freelancers update. It sounds like a good time to get yours in. Check out their Careers at PSG page for more info.
Thanks to Carole Gerber for the lead.
Laura
Job Description:Professional Course Writer needed for a Nationwide association of Property Managers to rewrite existing courses and apply the course "looping" methodology to materials.
- Ability to understand and grasp basic real estate management terminology, skills and procedures.
- Scholarly Research will be required to provide additional reading and resources to support concepts taught.
- Experience in adult education professional course writing required.
- Excellent English/Grammar/Spelling/Proofreading skills required
- Ability to Create Power Point show of Material for presentation by Association Instructors -along with Instructor Notes/Guide for presentation
Courses that require immediate work are on two topics:
- Marketing
- Advanced Personnel Procedures
Courses are 6 hours of class time minus breaks = approximately 4.75 hours of content required.
A 30 questions multi-choice exam will be required
Your responsibilities:
- Develop content themes based on the direction and creative brief provided by our team
- Create high-quality, original content designed to engage an audience in a business environment
- Take on ad-hoc writing and marketing projects as they arise
- Contribute ideas on improving existing messaging and content
Your qualifications:
- Fluent English including excellent writing, grammar, spelling and formatting
- A work style that is extremely detail oriented
- Strong communication skills
- An exceptional portfolio that demonstrates strong instructional.curriculum design (formerly: an ability to create compelling copy for a wide variety of brands, audiences and industries)
- References
Send resumes and letter of interest to Michael McCreary,
[email protected].
Start date: June 22, 2015
Laura's note: This came in by email but was also posted on elance.com
Wow! I love the responses. They started coming in 10 minutes after the feed went out to email. There were also comments on the original post today. There's a lot here, so take your time, if you like. I think this discussion could stew all week and be the better for it.
I'm compiling what was said here so that you can see what the community is saying. Thanks, Marcy, for pointing out that this was all a whole lot and I probably would need help. That helped me step back and look at the bigger picture. I think what I'm looking for is a moonshot and the baby steps to get here. What percs out as the most useful will be implemented first. The rest can come as we need it.
One thing I'd love to suggest is a "Yelp"-style review section for freelancers to review companies they've worked for. It would probably need to be monitored closely, and folks should be careful about how they word their reviews (or remain anonymous) but I think it could be really valuable both for freelancers and small freelance managers like me, who depend upon positive word-of-mouth to attract new members.
I am most interested in opportunities with companies needed educational freelancers.
I like the idea of writer profiles and company profiles.
I don't feel a need to add more, but I understand if you want to grow. If you would like to add articles to aid in the job search of education writing career, that might be a productive addition.
Mainly, I rely on your job listings, so thank you!
I love the blog as it is
I would like a place where I could find online curriculum and educational writing jobs.
I'd be most interested in these resources: (x 3)- guest blog posts with companies who hire freelancers
- interviews with companies who hire freelancers
- a writer page with short profiles of our freelancers
- a company page with short profiles of companies who hire freelancers
You may want to add how-to articles, with a call to readers to send successes. You may also want to include the international market, as that would open the door to the world. To promote the redesigned site, you may want to ask readers to add a link on their blogs and websites to your blog.
Help in moving my (and others') long-term expertise into new areas would be great!! Many of us are print people with invaluable expertise into kids at a variety of grade levels. Our ability to motivate and engage children with content that is on target for their age and ability levels is something that can be invaluable to newcomers who are developing APPS and home entertainment experiences.
...perhaps, you can have an occasional FREELANCE post of people who serve particular age groups or content areas? ...I wish your name had more “cache” with companies for I find that once I see your blog, I still have to reach someone I know within a company to see if they, are in fact, staffing or have already staffed for a given project through their own network of people.
Personally, I find that freelance work has declined these past ten years, so expansion into new areas (with people who do not know us by name or expertise!) would be one area that would be great.
Also, may trade people do not know educational publishing people and I, personally,would like to see some cross-pollination into trade educational products to the home: Workman, Sterling, National Geo.. Even Scholastic do trade materials that are as engaging and high-interest as many classroom products but the two industries (and the people) are different.
Content about how to work effectively with freelancers would be helpful too. Most of my clients provide clear specs and strong editorial support, but I’ve had a few that have had me wanting to bang my head against a wall and scream “I can’t give you what you want if you don’t tell me what you want.”
Your ideas are interesting, but for me, I'd like more information about resources other freelancers use. For example: How do other freelancers deal with estimated taxes? What to do about clients who don't pay, or pay very late? Do other freelancers use a bookkeeping app?
Also, just another idea that came to mind is to have some sort of freelancer meet-up. I am part of a similar email list for educational writers in the ESL space, and they recently organized an event, but it was based in England! The event had a few guest speakers, including a hiring manager from Macmillan and a tax professional to help freelancers understand tax rules. It would be great to have a similar meetup for educators. It was just a one-day conference called Freelancers day away.
Maybe an online 'event' featuring interested and experienced participants?
Do you know about jobs for correlators for textbooks? I'm subscribed to this blog hoping to find a gig for correlating textbooks.
Seeing the leads is the biggest thing for me. I didn't know there was a forum. The idea of blog posts or interviews with those hiring would interest me. Reading about other freelancers, maybe not so much. I would like to see posts about the business of freelancing and how you find leads.
With regard to your questions, personally, I'd love to see a writer page with short profiles, particularly if those included website links. I think it would be helpful to companies and perhaps allow writers with similar backgrounds to get in touch with each other to ask questions or share information. I think it would be great to also have a company page. This would let writers learn more about a company before they respond to an advertised opening.
I also think having interviews with people who are hiring writers would be of value since that would enable writers to (hopefully) better understand what these people want. Interviews with writers would work for me if the interview focused on how that person lands jobs, mistakes or challenges they had that could help others, and so forth. I don't know that I'd do more than skim an interview that just told me about that writer.
So, yes, the current format is effective. Normally, I can't say that I'd explore the newer, upcoming features, but because I feel such a loyalty to the blog and trust it, I actually kinda dig them. I look forward to the changes.
From a publisher's standpoint, I'm happy right now. I like receiving job postings and I like offering jobs.
I have noticed that a lot of postings/jobs come from listings on other sites. I would like to see more publishers listing directly with you. That means that they need to know about your work.More publishers with better and more frequent jobs listed on Writing for the Education Market would grow your community in a positive way.
I think that all of your suggestions are great, but perhaps they would be too many to manage.Do you have any help?
Gosh— I need t pay more attn . . .I wasn’t even aware of the discussion site!
As to how-to articles, they're similar to success stories in that they often address a particular challenge, in this case, in education writing/publishing. Whether you write and/or solicit readers for these, you may want to view recent job postings to discern common challenges. You can also check for outside-the-box challenges, which are more specialized and would thus be helped by how-to information.
I like the idea of a discussion group, but honestly, I don't take time to use it and it looks like others face the same dilemma. Perhaps keep it, knowing that use will be sporadic depending on participants' time. Or, maybe it's time to move that aspect to facebook, since people seem a bit more willing to take time (via mobile) to fool around and discuss there. Either way, if there's a way to make it mobile friendly, I think you might get more discussion.
I'd love to see more information from companies - interviews and/or profiles.
The job leads have been what I was most interested in. I love having it come right to my inbox. I like your idea of short profiles of both writers and companies who hire them.
I think focusing on getting more publishing and online companies to send leads to the blog directly is going to give us a lot of value. I am attending ISTE in Philadelphia this summer. I may try to connect with those companies there. Anyone here going to ISTE or live in Philly? I'd love to meet.
The writer profiles or database is looking like a great idea, too. It could be used by companies to reach out to freelancers, and it could be used by freelancers to connect with folks in their niche. (As if writing for the education market were not niche enough. Oy!)
Please continue sending thoughts and suggestions. I won't make any decisions until the weekend and your conversation is supremely helpful. It looks like I missed the feed for tonight, so you'll get this in your email tomorrow.
G'Night,
Laura Coulter
Hi...came across this the other day...some interesting gigs under the Jobs tab.
https://www.edsurge.com/
Work Type: Microsoft Office 2016 and Windows 10 writer
Description:
BarCharts Publishing, Inc., a premier publisher of quick-reference material (laminated study guides, flash cards, books, and posters) is seeking author(s) for planned guides scheduled for publication in December 2015: Word 2016, Outlook 2016, PowerPoint 2016, PowerPoint 2016 Tips & Tricks, Excel 2016, Excel 2016 Tips & Tricks, Windows 10, Windows 10 Tips & Tricks.
Our QuickStudy guides would each be three panels (six 8.5x11-inch laminated pages), approx. 8,000 words with screenshots and icons.
Requirements for author(s):
Understand the average user's level of technical knowledge of the Microsoft products today. For example: from 1998 to 2002 many people were transitioning to using Microsoft Office products who needed basic help. Today the average user has evolved. In an office environment, expectations are higher--more intermediate and high-level functions are required.
Know the most popular use of the various Microsoft products for business (i.e., the typical sticking points of the software's use for your average business user).
Author(s) must have access to and be very familiar with the beta version of the software and the experience of its evolution during beta testing. Author(s) should have been involved with beta testing of previous versions that have been released. The more familiar the author is with the beta process of evolution and the outcome, the more confidence there is that the author(s) will use experience to develop content on those parts of the software that are closer to completion although still in the beta phase. The goal is to develop content before release that has less chance of changing once the full version is released. We know there is no guarantee, but this experience has been very useful in the past.
Review of previous Microsoft Office guides:
Previous QuickStudy guides covering Microsoft Office have some instances of "fluff," which is wording that does not contribute to an "action" that would resolve a user's issue. A user's issue is a question or sticking point -- a need for an integral "click" or action that would move the user along in their work.
While our intro level Microsoft Office guides have been very successful, we believe they could be more successful if there were less fluff to navigate around while attempting to accomplish a task. This would in turn allow for more content that focuses on actions since fluff elimination frees up word count. Most fluff in previous guides can be found in intros and explanatory paragraphs before certain sections.
Content coverage of high-level functions:
Some of the higher level guides such as Excel Formulas appear to have fluff in the number of words used, but in actuality that content is covering a more intricate function that takes more "actions" to accomplish the task. In the case of Excel 2013 Formulas or Excel 2013 Advanced, it would be very hard to edit any words out of the content as they all support executing a function.
You can take a look at some of our products on our website, including our Word 2013 QuickStudy guide (http://www.barcharts.com/9781423220046-details.aspx#.VWxr8vlVhHw) and our Excel 2013 Advanced QuickStudy guide (http://www.barcharts.com/9781423220008-details.aspx#.VWxsxflVhHx).
Please email me a resume as an attachment and put your first and last name in the file name. Feel free to provide any additional information you think might be helpful.
Please indicate what beta versions you have access to, what software guide(s) you would be interested in writing, and when you would be able to submit the guide(s).
Location: Remote
Rate: $ 3000 per QuickStudy guide
Contact Name: Elizabeth Ronne
Contact Company: BarCharts Publishing, Inc.
Contact Website: http://www.barcharts.com
Contact Method: -by email
Email: [email protected]
Speaking of writing jobs, here is an interesting one:
http://www.idealist.org/view/job/wd2nz45FNzh4
So, I’ve been thinking a lot about this blog lately. I think it’s time for a redesign. I’d love to see a new look, but while I’m at it, how can I make it more useful?
I remember the year I started this blog. I had been freelancing for a year and had landed a job as a project editor for Harcourt’s Randstad division. I searched the Internet constantly for a resource that I could use to help me find freelance jobs focusing on education. Nothing. After a few months of this, I realized that if I was looking for that resource, then so were other people. And in January 2008, this blog was born. I started by sharing my thoughts on breaking into freelance education writing and by posting leads that I’d found in my daily searches. If they weren’t a good fit for me, then they were a good fit for somebody and it was a shame to waste all that searching.
2008 still has more blog posts than any other year. What I remember most about that year is the sense of community I felt. When I went back into the classroom and couldn’t keep up with the posting, that community took up the slack. Terry, Beth, and Michele started posting leads. Michele is the only volunteer still posting and she's a big part of why this blog is still alive. Thank you, Michele. You are appreciated.
So now what? I know that this blog has become a solid resource for both freelancers and those who hire them. It’s not going away. But it may be time to evolve. I’ve thought about the focus and here’s where I stand: I want to help connect education freelancers with the companies who need them. That’s my focus. If, within that focus, I can help new freelancers get started or experienced freelancers move into new market areas then so much the better.
I know that this blog has about 1,000 email subscribers. (Wow! I remember how excited I was when we hit 200!). Most of those are job seekers, but some of them are people who hire freelancers. With this post going out to 1,000 subscribers, I should get some solid feedback.
So here’s what I need from you. What do YOU want out of this site?
We currently have:
blog with job leads
discussion board
small list of writers
Are these effective? Do they need to change?
I’ve been thinking about:
guest blog posts from freelancers
guest blog posts those who hire them
interviews with freelancers
interviews with those who hire them
a writer page with short profiles of our freelancers
a company page with short profiles of companies who hire freelancers
What do you think about these? Are they too much? Is there something missing? I need feedback!
I would love to hear from you on this. If you want to share your thoughts with the community, go to the post and comment directly there. If you want to respond to this post by email, I'll be the only one who receives it. If you give me permission, I can add it to the comments as submitted by a subscriber. Reading your ideas might generate more ideas. Post links if you have examples of what you'd like to see here. I found that the more people involved in the conversation, the more people will get involved.
I look forward to hearing from you!
Laura Coulter
Good luck!
Laura
Freelance
Publishing OpportunityGood luck!
Laura
Description: Sinauer is an established publisher of college-level science textbooks and supplements. We are looking for an experienced educational assessment writer with an advanced biology degree to create original stimuli and items at Bloom’s levels 3-6 in the areas of genomics, genomics, and/or evolution.
Required experience: Ph.D. in science (preferably biology). Three or more years’ experience writing college-level science items.
Timeline: May through December 2015
Location: Remote
Rate: $250 per stimulus/item set
Please send a current résumé. List your areas of content specialty, and provide an original stimulus with 4 to 6 free-response items and answers.
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