Textbroker - Writing for money (not vouchers)

SarahCarer

cte1111 wrote: »

My articles were rated today, 50+ were 4 star and just 1 3 star (used same word twice in one sentence). I've passed the proof reading test too, but haven't been put up to 5 star.

I might contact them at some point and ask if they would consider putting me up to 5 stars. I haven't written much recently, I go through fits and starts with it, either 10 in 2 days or none for weeks.

They probably also look at other criteria, e.g. how many revisions you get, how often you write, perhaps whether you get direct orders or do well on team orders? This is just a guess BTW, not inside information.

I was wondering about this a while ago, so I emailed them and just came out with it..lol.. They told me in order to be 5* you have to pass the PR test. But it's not automatic after passing the exam. They choose who they'll take on to the 5* from past work.

In answer to another query, that I'm curious about as well... What elevates a 4* article to a 5* one? I read the papers a lot and there's some very crappy journalism, I wonder what textbroker would grade them as? I'm hoping sommer will give us all some hints....lol. Does having a stream of direct orders have any effect on your rating for example?

Anyway! With the amount of grammatical errors I had 5* remains a distant dream for me at the moment... :rotfl:

cte1111

I don't think they rate any articles at 5*, they only seem to rate either 3* or 4*. This is based on the fact that lots of us have had loads of articles rated recently, none of us seem to have had any 1, 2 or 5 stars.

Sommer43

I am not a 5* writer, a minion 4* writer and am very content to be so. I have about three weeks before I can do the PR test again and I shall do it. I have no urgency to become a 5* writer, but they do invite you to become one, when you have passed the PR test and you have completed enough articles. I have over 200 articles in and a 0.52% rejection rate as I had one article rejected which TB upheld. But the client and I had a conversation about it and to be honest, I had to agree with them. The work it would have taken to edit, would have taken me away from earning on other articles, so I took it on the chin.

I make an income from 4* and have a good direct order price and that's where I make the income. Because I am logged on for around 12 hours a day, I simply pick up a lot of orders, can spend time writing to clients and shamefacedly ask for work. That's about as complicated as it gets for me. Mind you, this week, it has been slow and waiting for clients to get budgets from their clients is pretty slow.

sonicetomeetyou

Hi everyone, just came across this thread and it sounds like something I would be interested in trying. Just wondering if it is necessary to declare yourself as self employed by doing this? I'm unsure how that would work as I work part time as well and don't really know about these things. Any advice would be appreciated.

googler

sonicetomeetyou wrote: »

... sounds like something I would be interested in trying. Just wondering if it is necessary to declare yourself as self employed by doing this?

You'll be working as an independent contractor, textbroker do not employ you. Therefore, your earnings from TB are regarded as self-employment, and you should follow the HMRC guidelines with regard to completing the appropriate self assessment for each tax year.

https://www.hmrc.gov.uk

If your current earnings put you in the basic rate tax band, then all of your TB earnings will be subject to that rate of tax. This may affect your decision about whether to join up...

sonicetomeetyou

googler wrote: »

You'll be working as an independent contractor, textbroker do not employ you. Therefore, your earnings from TB are regarded as self-employment, and you should follow the HMRC guidelines with regard to completing the appropriate self assessment for each tax year.

www.hmrc.gov.uk

If your current earnings put you in the basic rate tax band, then all of your TB earnings will be subject to that rate of tax. This may affect your decision about whether to join up...

Ok. Thanks for that. I'll look into it a bit more before I do anything.

Catriona_P

Has anyone actually passed the PR test? Did it again for the second time a few days back and despite spending lots of time reading and checking, and looking at the OUP style guide (which they say they use), I still only came out with 40%. Ironically when I did it the first time a few months back, off the top of my head I got 70%.

kiss_me_now9

Finally got my last article! 140 words on Angry Birds Android game, awesome Now how long will it take them to review my work... lol

cte1111

Catriona_P wrote: »

Has anyone actually passed the PR test? Did it again for the second time a few days back and despite spending lots of time reading and checking, and looking at the OUP style guide (which they say they use), I still only came out with 40%. Ironically when I did it the first time a few months back, off the top of my head I got 70%.

I passed it on the second try with 90%. I found it better to print the test out and go through it slowly on paper before submitting it. Good luck!

CWSmith

Another one done!

I'm learning a lot from this too. I'm absorbing a whole plethora of useless facts on random subjects!:D