You love to write but you're finding it difficult to market yourself or your work. Is it best to work as a "private contractor," or should you work for an established company such as St. Martin's Press? Maybe it's best to post your services/skills on a site such as Craigslist.com and then wait for people to contact you. Or, maybe, you should use Craigslist.com or a similar website to check out and respond to individuals or companies who are offering work. What to do, what to do?

Your opportunity to write as little or as much as you want is right at your fingertips, literally. There are dozens of websites that focus on writing positions available online. Some of them offer actual jobs or links to actual jobs. Others post suggestions about how you can find writing opportunities on any topic, from dental floss to steam engines. You can explore writing jobs where you "telecommute," as well as ones where you work in an office - or a combination of both.

If you've written or are in the process of writing a book or short story, there are websites that tell you who to contact in order to get your work published. Poems? The same thing.

In other words, it's a "heyday" out there for writers who are willing to invest some time and effort.

Picking and choosing.

Having visited many of the websites devoted to writers, you now have the opportunity to decide exactly how to proceed. For example, let's say you've written a series of five informative articles about how to locate no-cost legal services. Now, you want to get paid for your efforts. Visiting websites that specifically cater to people like yourself could start you on the road to success. You might even be lucky enough to find a publisher who's willing to pay a percentage up front. Visiting writer-specific websites gives you the chance to "pick and choose" about how you'll proceed.

While visiting a website that offered "writing gigs," for example, a person searching the Internet found a business that was soliciting individuals to write e-books on several different topics - one of them being basketry. As it was, this topic greatly appealed to the person, because they collected all kinds of quality baskets. Realizing this was a "slam-dunk," they agreed to write a 12,000-13,000 word e-book about basketry, including imported photographs, for a set fee of $750.00. Not bad for a few day's work!

The web's your world!

There's lots to be said about using websites, available through the Internet, when researching topics for almost any type of writing assignment. That's why these websites are such an essential tool for everyone who's exploring a specific topic or topics. This is true for "professional" writers, as well as for students who are researching a term paper, or an individual needing to complete a written test to qualify for employment. By simply logging on, the web becomes your opening to the world. Every country, no matter how big or small, offers information, via the web, about their history, culture(s), educational system and more. It's out there waiting for you - even if it's posted in a language you don't read or understand! Writers can spend days or even weeks scouting websites for detailed, accurate and little known facts about their chosen topic. By using websites, particularly those designed especially for writers, you can link yourself to profits while engaging in a very pleasurable pastime.