Online writing is fun and highly rewarding. Many people don’t believe it when I tell them that I have been a writer for more than ten years.
Let me tell you a short story of my
writing journey.
Just like most people, I wasn’t born a writer and I was an average student in essay writing. I had a crush on creativity and invention, and, coming up with new things was my weakness. I was fascinated with design and creativity and loved reading fantasy and fiction books. I wasn’t and still not the type of guy who will sit down and read books talking about chemical reactions, and how Hitler or the early president signed a treaty with I don’t know who, some white people. Stop wondering how I passed school! For your information my curiosity for invention made me a software developer by profession.
I lived at the edges of the earth (rural area) and adding to my financial background, I wasn’t able to lay my hands on what I wanted to read. Therefore I began writing my own books and before I hit high school I had polished two romance novels namely, ‘a better place than home’ and ‘twisted bridges’. I dished them out to my friends and I got some highs from the fans of reading and nah`s from those who said they hated reading.
I then went to college and that is how I and the internet officially met. Life got tougher at college which made me start finding ways to make ends meet. I became desperate and that’s when one of my friends set me up with internet marketing and multilevel marketing (MLM). No offense to those who love that kind of hustling but I got tired of attending meetings, hearing and telling people the same story over and over. Most of my friends didn’t like when I came to them trying to convince them to join what I couldn’t point a finger clearly what it was. I wasn’t a social guy either and jeopardizing the little social network for that was not a
smart move.
I had no money and therefore beginning a business was not an option. I had to find other ways of making money without having a lot of money. I heard there was a way people make money online and my browsing sessions pointed me to online surveys and advertising. Naively, I signed up to some sites and if my parents heard I was paid cents, after wasting pocket money and time at a cyber café they could have literally strangled me.
I was at the verge of giving up when another friend of mine told me that there was a person he knew that made a living through online writing. I went and Googled online writing and that is when I believed in love at first sight. My first site was Iwriter, where I signed up and picked jobs completed them and submitted. My writing skills by then were good and you guessed it wrong, my first work was not good, and I found it on the rejected section after two days.
Here, I had two things to worry about. First was finding a genuine site and the other were my writing skills. Trust me when I tell you that by then not many people knew about online writing. Therefore, I had to figure out most things by myself in the uncharted territory. First was to find a trainer and mentor to teach me what it takes and second where to find jobs.
I joined social media groups and there I found some mean and boastful writers. Some were very honest and kind but I cringed to send money to someone I never knew. Luckily I found someone who had a blog and felt that was a bit of a supporting document and sent him the cash for training and began learning. Other international online writing training courses were going for over $30 and that was a whooping 3000/= for a struggling student. There was also this issue where the banks that were doing online transaction were expensive to maintain. Those days having a visa or a master card to connect to online payments such as PayPal was tricky and probably for the able.
I combined with other resources and after a month and a half I was back on track. I logged back to Iwriter again with a thud! I picked two jobs and they got approved. By then I didn’t have a computer leave alone internet modem. I found a cheap cyber and paying for 30 shillings one hour, working on an assignment which will earn me 300/= wasn’t bad. Sometimes I spent almost the entire day and making over 2000/= in a good day. I then signed up with other sites for academic jobs, opened a PayPal and a bank account, connected the two, and that’s how I bought my own computer and a modem in weeks.
After working for months I had people gathering around me asking how I do it. I spent much of my time showing people how to do so and I was glad when I meet someone who I trained doing well or even better than me. A normal human will feel jealous when your student is earning more than you but as an inventor I love seeing what I started doing better than I expected.
I then decided to go public and that is when Clearphrases.com was born. Some people ask me why I charge for the training but claim to be a genuine helper. A simple answer. Looking at the current cost of training sites, we are technically offering free services. Sending assignments and lessons to students I incur internet costs and therefore the small fee we charge is considered as a token of appreciation for the sleepless nights I spend preparing for the lessons and going through the assignments. It is usually hard to convince people to trust cleaphrases.com but we always make a promise to our students we will never let them down.
Trust me again when I tell you that I have seen students with very bad grammar but with time and practice, they get it right. The secret is all about passion and ambition. Therefore, whether it is freelance or conventional writing such as books or poetry, there is nothing that can prevent you from achieving your dreams.
There are several writers who earn six figures and you too can be one of them but you need to start from somewhere and this is your first step.
Without a doubt, writing is the most interesting and fun careers that one can ever have.
Having what you have in mind out, put down on paper and have you or other people get the idea of what you had in mind is fun. Writing can be a talent or an acquired skill and you may not need a PHD or deep knowledge about the topic you want to write about.
• If you can form a correct English grammar sentence, and inspire or pass a message across, you are a writer.
• If you can grab the mind of a reader through your writing, you are a writer
• If you can be given a topic you are not knowledgeable about, research about it and come up with facts, you are a writer.
All you need is to just grab a pen and paper and find out what kind of writer you are.