Digital Point forums was an eye opener for me. I had been toiling away for what seemed like an eternity on Associated Content, Demand Studios, and other online writing sites. I was churning out a minimal living doing this, but I knew that something better had to be out there.

Then one day, I had the pleasure of visiting a blog that changed my outlook on things. The name of the blog is onlinewritingjobs.net and it is run by a man that changed things for me. Not only is the blog great, but good ole Robert is pretty great too.

On this blog and in Associated Content’s forums, Robert pointed out that you an actually market your own work directly on digital point’s forums to private clients. No strings attached, and no bull. You simply post what you have for sale, and you get real time offers and feedback from other members!

This was rather exciting to me, and it changed my writing career.

I headed right over there and started checking it out. When you first sign up, you have to participate in the forums for awhile, and post some comments,etc. After you go through that initial warm up, then you are allowed to post on the site’s “buy/sell” area.

The first day on digital point’s buy sell area I sold nearly one hundred dollars worth of content. From there it just grew more and more.

The best part of digital point was that it taught me to value my work more. I made several contacts, and now I am working directly with a gentleman in a full time gig. This job would never have come along if it had not been for digital point forums.

There are a few things to keep in mind when you sign up there:

-Always request at least half the payment upfront. Do not do work without payment upfront unless they have a very good itrader. itrader is like ebay feedback, and can be found under their user name.

- Be patient! Many people start dropping their prices if their content does not sell the same day. Be patient and the buyers will usually come and find you.

- Never ever bump your thread. You will get banned.

Outside of that, you should have no problems. If you would like to see some threads that actually work as far as how to format the thread, etc, feel free to let me know and I will gladly try to help you with how to put it together.

Every once in a while in the world of online writing, you come across a kindred spirit. You meet someone that for whatever reason, spurs you on to bigger and better things. If you are really lucky, that person turns out to be a pretty fine human being to boot. My good buddy Randy over at Barefoot Scribbles is just such a dude. I dare say that it is hard to imagine how anyone could be unaware of his blog by now, but if you have not checked it out, click that pretty link above and give him a visit.

You can thank me later.

What is so cool about Barefoot Scribbles is that you can learn something about online writing while laughing your arse off. His writings are always chock full of great advice, while still entertaining as hell. He is what I aspire to be – A writer that keeps people coming back for more, if only to find out what he is up to.

On a personal note, this guy has always had an open door policy with me. From the first day I met him in Associated Content’s forums, he has made himself available to help. That is rare in the cynical world of web writing. I hope that I have been that same thing for others, and followed his honorable lead.

If you have a budding online writing career, I would highly suggest that you head on over and subscribe (after subscribing here of course) and dive into his huge amount of content. You will find more advice than you will ever need on virtually any subject you can think of where writing is concerned.

Thanks Randy for being a friend and mentor as well.

A very common misconception is that writers do not need to pay taxes. This couldn’t be any further from the truth. Just like any other American citizen, freelance writers do need to pay taxes too.

Why do people think that writers don’t need to pay taxes?

One of the reasons may be because a lot of the jobs that you find over the years will not require you to provide them with any tax information. If you are dealing with clients on a one-time or inconsistent basis, it is unlikely that they will request information from you. They may not even want to have to deal with the issue themselves. Unless you are working for a well known website or company, such as Associated Content or Demand Studios, you probably won’t have to send a thing.

In addition to the people who are misinformed about not having to pay taxes, there are also many people who also think that they can hide the money that they are earning. It may seem a lot easier to hide money from the government when you are a writer, and in many ways, it can be. This does not mean that you shouldn’t pay taxes, however. Sooner or later, the IRS is going to catch up with you and realize that you haven’t been paying taxes.

When do you need to pay taxes if you are a freelance writer?

If you have made at least $500 a year, then you need to report your earnings. There are many people who feel that you do not need to pay if you have only earned $100 from one client, $100 from another, and so on. This is not true. If you have earned $500 total, then you are required to pay taxes on this money. Your clients or the companies that you work for many not necessarily be required to report the amount of money that you have made, but you are going to need to.

Self-employed individuals are also recommended to pay taxes on a quarterly basis. If you have a business name, not doing this according to regulations can come back to haunt you. That said, reporting any earnings that you have made, even if it is only done once a year, can help prevent you from getting into trouble with Uncle Sam.

Since not paying taxes is a federal offense, it is important to make sure that you do so. The best thing that you can do is keep good records of your earnings as a writer. Check back tomorrow for some tips on how to keep track of the amount of money that you make each month.