Recently I landed an ACTUAL writing job. A real job that PAYS me to write! (Cue the guy tossing $$$ into the air)

I searched for the right opportunity for months before realizing that I would be hard-pressed to find something substantial without a degree. I have my Associate of Applied Science from my paramedic program, but that doesn’t get me too far in the writing world. Medical charting is not entirely what the social media age blog posters are interested in.

And to be fair, I’m not even the best medical charter… God, I hope I never go to court…

But one company took a chance on me. They asked me to submit a 100-200 word article on “How Do I Make My Bed?” So with zero expectations, I submitted my response and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

But then I received an email that more or less said:

“Hi Holly, We would like to pay you to write for us. Take our training course and write a 1000 word article on the following topic. Also, we’ll pay you $20 even if we don’t hire you.”

This company ghostwrites blog posts for clients trying to increase their chances of showing up on the first page of Google when you search for a question or phrase. So my work would be uncredited, but I would have a portfolio and the tools I needed to become a better writer.

So, with nothing to lose and $20 to gain, I took the training course and submitted my article. Twenty bucks richer, I was offered a position to write 5,000 words per week.

I wrote two probationary articles that required heavy editing.

The first article? Something about “How to Eat Leftover Boiled Peanuts.” Yes, that’s the actual title. No, I’m not kidding. I made another $20 for that one.

But I did notice a rapid improvement in my writing. The research started to fall into place, the formatting was straightforward, and the submission program was user-friendly. Plus, I received a free version of Grammarly for all of my writing needs.

I’ve been slacking in my creative writing, but my research-based writing is better than when I was a student. I’ve learned quite a bit about “Can You Freeze XYZ Food” and wrote an 1800 word article on muffler deletes versus straight pipes. ME! Holly wrote 1800 words about a car modification. Who knew??

Ty and I had made fun of some of the article search questions: Why Your RV Toilet Smells and How to Fix It, Ways to Melt Ice Without Heat (the answer is: temperatures above freezing), Can You Bring A Fan On Vacation.

But I decided that someone needed this information. Google is such a wealth of knowledge, and if I could compress that knowledge into one searchable article that could help someone, I would be doing a good job.

Today I wrote an article about what types of glue are best for building pasta structures. Yes, you read that right. Pasta. Like Spaghetti. Apparently, this is a big thing for architecture and building classes (I learned that in my research).

As I typed the words, “Hot glue will not interfere with the structural integrity of the noodle,” I paused. Then I read it out loud.

And then laughed.

And laughed

And laughed.

Then I read it to Ty, and he laughed with me.

This is the hard-hitting journalism I’m happy to share. Exposing the truth: Spaghetti buildings and what you need to know. Tonight at 9.

Jokes aside, I am so happy I landed this job. It doesn’t pay the bills, but it gives me experience and a portfolio to draw from. It’s my first writing job. My first step into the world as a published (and paid $$$) author.

Plus, it’s $20 a day more than I was making before on my days off.