I was a struggling writer who’d been working on a novel for over a year. Needless to say, writing a novel when you’re an unpublished author doesn’t pay all that much–approximately zero. Since I was behind on the rent and slowly drowning in a pile of bills, I realized that I had no choice but to get a second job. My first job was teaching night classes in creative writing to a group of untalented suburbanites at the local community college.

I had just applied for a position in a bookstore when I learned about writing articles for online publication. I had never considered myself a journalist or an article writer, so I dismissed the suggestion out of hand. That was until he told me how much money he was making. No, it wasn’t a six-figure salary, but he was making a lot more than I ever could working at a bookstore. He also said he made his own hours and could write as many articles as he wanted each day. The advantage of his job was not having to spend cash on gas or tolls, because he worked out of his own home.

I was hesitant, but I decided to give it a try. Truth be told, I was a tad scared in the beginning. I didn’t know if I’d be any good at it. I wasn’t sure I could write articles, as my expertise was in writing fiction. My friend impressed upon me how simple it was. He said all I had to do was create a writing resume and submit it to any one of a hundred freelance writing sites online. These sites were driven by businesses who were looking for writers to compose articles that would then be submitted to an article directory.

[1] Article directories are websites that gives users free access to insightful, informative articles. The writer usually receives instructions from his new employer about the articles they want him to write, which he then submits to an article directory. If the article is accepted, the writer receives two back links, which he then connects to the website of the business he works for. The purpose of the article is to drive traffic of interested consumers directly to the business’s website, where they can then purchase products.

After I had landed my first client, I wrote ten articles on the best way to wax hardwood floors. My employer asked me to be as creative as possible, which gave me the ability to write in a style that was basically narrative fiction. Once I was finished with the [2] web content, I next took care of submission to the pre-determined article directory of their choice. While all of the articles were not accepted the first time out, the article directory gave me expert advice on how to improve my articles and give them just what they were looking for.

Instead of working at the bookstore to pay my bills I started working for an article directory. It even paid my rent. I also enjoyed the fact that the [3] article directory I was submitting my work to was providing useful information to interested users for free.