Scripted is one of the top places to write online. They have a great format, they pay well and the editors are fantastic. There is give and take between the writers and editors as well as the writers and clients. It’s just an all-around great place to work with and if you haven’t already checked them out you should.
I wrote a review of Scripted some time ago and they were also included on the Top 5 list I compiled.
To briefly recap, so you don’t have to read the initial review this second, the important factor when applying for work with Scripted is your samples for each specialty. Unlike many writing companies, you apply to each topic separately. This means that you need a sample for each of these topics and that you need to present your best work for each of them. A rejection for one specialty does not mean a rejection for others.
When applying, pay attention to the samples of work that they show you. This is the type of writing that they are looking for and you need to present in your sample. If you have other published writing samples that fit in that specialty there is a place to include one. It’s a quick and painless process.
If you are not already working for Scripted, they have recently begun to require an English proficiency test. If you are fluent in English, this is not a problem. The purpose of this test is to make certain that those writing for Scripted are professionals. Again, anyone fluent in English should not have a problem with this test.
Once you have been accepted, check on your scores for each specialty. It should read somewhere between 80 and 100. The higher the score, the better the writing opportunities will be at the expert level. I’ll get to that in a minute. You can improve your score by submitting your work at least 24 hours before it’s due.
Finding Work
There are two ways to get work at Scripted. This first is to pitch topics to the open topics under your pitching tab. This was covered in depth in the review article so refer to it for a refresher if you need one. The second way to get writing jobs at Scripted is to select one of the unclaimed articles from your unclaimed tab. Go through the list and take the jobs you want. It’s pretty basic and simple. You have a chance to see what the client wants and how much the job pays. The one down side here is that many of the jobs are close to their deadline so you will want to pay attention to the due date as well with these.
Choosing Specialties
The key to making good money at Scripted is first in the specialties you choose. You want to choose those that you can generally write with as little research as possible. Sticking with the tops that most interest you is also a great plan. Put together a few great samples and use them to apply to the specialties of your choosing and then wait. It can take up to 2 weeks to hear back from Scripted.
Once you are accepted at Scripted, pitch a few articles and then check the unclaimed assignments tab. This is always a great place for quick work. As a new writer you will find that some of them are not yet available. One reason is because their deadline hasn’t run out on the other writer. The other reason is because only Expert Writers can take those jobs.
Scripted Expert Writers
You become an expert writer by turning in clean copy that rarely needs edits and meeting or exceeding your deadlines. That’s it as far as the big secret of becoming and expert at Scripted. Write a lot and write well. That is pretty much the secret to being an expert at virtually anything in life; do it a lot and do it well.
Even without being an Expert Writer you can make some good money. You can claim up to 5 articles at a time in your queue. The pay for these articles ranges from a low of $12 to a high of over $100. It depends on the client, topic, word length, etc. When either pitching a topic or claiming from the unclaimed queue, you will see a description of what the client wants from the article. This makes it easy to decide if the article is for you or if you should keep looking.
Working at Scripted
Once you find the articles you want, or have had a pitch approved, it will appear in your queue. Pay close attention to deadlines. Write as many of them as you can and then add more to your queue. This is the secret for most online writing: Write, submit, and write some more.
Payment
You will be paid twice a month here with the cutoff being the 1st and the 15th of each month for payment of all approved articles. There have never been any issues that I’m aware of with people not getting paid or payment being late.
Payment is through Bill.com and can be sent from there to your bank account or even to your PayPal account. It’s easy to set up and you only have to do it once.
Editing at Scripted
This is probably the best company when it comes to editors. Not only are they all on the same page with their standards, you can discuss issues with them and email them when necessary. You also have the option of messaging with the client, which is great.
Where is the money?
It would be so easy if I could give you the single topic that makes the most money at Scripted but the truth is that there isn’t one. The great news is that all of the specialties can provide you with a great income so no matter which ones you choose you should be fine.
Now your inclination is going to be to immediately snap up the highest dollar amount assignments you find. Curb that inclination! If you can write 3 $44 articles in an hour but it takes you 2 hours to write a $75 article…..well you can do the math on that! Always choose articles for maximum profit and minimum effort. Always be sure to read the description that comes with the article. You need to know what the client is looking for and what type of structure they prefer. If you pay attention to this you will be tapped as one of their favorite writers. Being a favorite means that when they have more work you are given preference for claiming it. You can also be given a bonus if the client really likes what you wrote, but that is rare and just take it as an anomaly when it happens.
Putting it all together
You have been accepted as a writer for at least one specialty. Pitch any topics that appeal to you and immediately search through the unclaimed tab. Find a few there and get started writing. As soon as you finish writing them you can submit them and then claim other articles. As long as there are good paying articles in the queue yours should not be empty. The last thing you should do before you quit for the day is to fill your queue back up.
There will be dry spells, as with any company. Work a lot while the work is plentiful and pitch a lot when it starts to slow. I generally work exclusively from the unclaimed tab when it’s full and the dollar amounts are high. Then I go back to pitching when the unclaimed queue is thinned out.
That is really all that there is to being a success with Scripted. Write, submit and write some more! This can actually, when you discipline yourself, net you several thousand dollars a month with very little effort going into finding jobs. Scripted will also help you learn to write well for the online market because the vast majority of their work, well over 99%, will be used on the Internet exclusively.