Writers Work Review (2021) – Why Freelance Writers Should Stay Away

At the start of the year, I quit my day job to become a freelance writer and blogger.

Roughly 12 months later, and I make the bulk of my income from writing for various personal finance websites (plus doing some digital advertising stuff on the side).

Now, I’ve been working towards a career in freelance writing for about 3 years now.

During college, writing used to be a quick side hustle to make $50 a day or so for groceries and bills.

After a bunch of ghost writing, I was eventually able to land better paying jobs in the personal finance space because of the connections I made through bloggers.

Ultimately, if there’s one thing I’ve learned during this time and from talking to plenty of other writers, it’s that connections matter a ton in this industry.

So, you can imagine my skepticism when I heard about Writers Work, a website that claims you can start earning $30 to $45 per hour as a writer without any experience because they do all the training for you.

I see these guys advertising everywhere, and have even heard them mentioned in some writing groups and forums I frequent.

So, the question is: is Writers Work legit?

Well, as we’re about to find out in our Writers Work review, I think this platform makes some pretty grand claims but doesn’t do much to back it up.

If you’re thinking about joining Writers Work, be sure to read this review until the end before making your decision.

Writers Work Review

Name: Writers Work

Description: Writers Work helps beginner freelance writers find work and launch their career as a writer.

• Checkout Writers Work!

Overall

1.4

• Features
• Job Postings
• Membership Cost
• Customer Support

What Is Writers Work?

According to their homepage, Writers Work is a all-in-one platform for launching your dream job.

As their advertisements stress, this website aims to help you launch a successful writing career from scratch.

Writers Work provides all the training, job opportunities, and help to guide you along the way.

In many ways, it’s similar to websites like SolidGigs that train freelancers and assist them in their job hunt.

Between a bunch of training modules, software, a job board, and flashy promises, you might think Writers Work is worth the one-time or monthly fee.

I’m going to save that judgement until the end of our Writers Work review.

For now, let’s examine all of the features this website offers and if they’re as beneficial as advertised.

How Does Writers Work Help Writers?

Writers Work claims they help remove the confusion and frustration from becoming a freelance writer.

To accomplish this, there are numerous features you unlock as a paid member.

1. Writers Work Job Board

If there’s one feature that might be slightly useful on Writers Work, it’s the aggregated job board.

Like other remote job websites, Writers Work aggregates a bunch of writing jobs from around the web and lists them in a central dashboard for members.

To begin your job search, you enter keywords or use a set of filters to find job listings.

You can search for beginner-friendly jobs, or enter keywords for a particular niche. In theory, this sounds pretty awesome!

However, the sad reality is that these jobs are just pulled from around the web; you can find them on your own just by looking on Indeed, ProBlogger, ZipRecruiter, or other job aggregators that do a better job.

Plus, a lot of the jobs on Writers Work are a tad old, meaning you’d probably waste your time in applying for a gig that’s already been filled.

If you compare Writers Work to SolidGigs or even manually searching for jobs yourself, I don’t think Writers Work is where you should hedge your bets to find work.

When you find a job you’re interested in, you can expand the specific application details to get started.

Most jobs require sending in a resume, pitch, or your portfolio, and Writers Work redirects you to the original website where the listing was posted.

Ultimately, this is just a lackluster job aggregator for writers, and there are better options out there (that are also free).

2. Submission Finder

Another way Writers Work tries to help you find gigs is with their submission finder tool.

Writers Work has a database of publishers that pay you for writing articles and content for them.

Like the job search tool, you can search up publications by keywords to find a niche you’re interested in writing about.

However, there’s no real way to tell if these listings are still accepting writers.

Plus, there’s a frustrating lack of payment info and requirements.

In my opinion, you’re better off searching on Google for your niche topic + “write for us.”

This is actually how I found and then started writing for the website Money Crashers, a popular personal finance website:

In my opinion, doing this plus using job aggregators is a better use of your time than Writers Work’s outdated submission system.

3. Your Portfolio Page

Another feature Writers Work offers is a portfolio page that you can use to help pitch and land more clients.

Functionality is pretty basic, and it’s similar to creating a portfolio on a WordPress website where you list your services, portfolio, and an about section.

Let me tell you: having a portfolio definitely helps increase your odds of landing a job and goes a long way in making a simple email pitch seem a lot more professional.

Because of this fact, I started my own portfolio at the beginning of the year: Tom Blake Digital.

I also created a profile on Muckrack, another tool writers and journalists can use to share their work.

Finally, if you try writing on Medium to make money, you can also use the pieces you publish there and in publications as a sort of portfolio.

The point I’m trying to make is that there are so many ways to create your own portfolio that’s professional and affordable without having to rely on Writers Work.

Besides, if something happens to Writers Work, do you really want your portfolio to be hosted there?

I don’t think so.

4. Text Editor & Spelling/Grammar Checker

If you pay for Writers Work, you also gain access to their online editing program.

Honestly, there is zero point in using this thing.

Yes, the editor catches spelling and grammar mistakes. You can also publish posts right to your blog or export them as a PDF if you want.

However, there’s not much different between this editor and writing in WordPress’ back end, Google Docs, or using an editing program like Hemingway:

Plus, while the Writers Work editor provides a writing score and identifies lengthy sentences that could use some trimming, Hemmingway does this for free with their web portal and is pretty awesome.

I actually use the Hemingway Editor for the majority of my writing for clients, and it’s great for catching passive voice, lengthy sentences, and over-usage of adjectives.

Hemingway is free online, and you can also download the desktop app for $19.99 (which is cheaper than Writers Work).

5. Habit Builder

Another Writers Work feature is their habit builder tool.

Basically, you can set specific writing goals like writing X words per day or finishing articles by a certain deadline.

To be blunt, if you need to pay for software that encourages you to write a certain amount (i.e. to do your job) you might want to look for a different line of work.

If you’re serious about freelance writing, you do it because you enjoy it and because you can make money by writing.

Your paycheck should be the best habit building incentive that’s out there, not some flashy software.

6. Project Organization

Alright, it wouldn’t be a fair Writers Work review if I was just overly negative for the sake of it.

The one tool that I think is somewhat decent is the project organization page.

Basically, you can use this tool to enter the projects you’re working on, create subtasks, and track your time per project.

Writers Work also lets you set up notifications so you get a reminder when a deadline is approaching.

The time tracking isn’t too useful since, from my experience and what I’ve heard, most writing jobs pay per-word or per article.

However, it’s still nice to track your time so you can figure out your hourly rate.

Plus, the entire tracking idea helps ensure you don’t forget deadlines and upset clients.

Now, I personally use Trello, a project management tool for teams, to organize my content (plus Google Calendar for reminders).

So, if you’re on a tight budget, once again, there are free Writers Work alternatives that work just as good or even better.

Extra Reading – Jobs That Pay $5,000 A Month.

7. Training Modules

Like other freelancer marketplaces, Writers Work main selling point is that they help train you to become a paid freelance writer.

They have about two dozen video modules in the form of a mini course that help you learn skills like:

• How to create your portfolio.
• How to send pitches to editors.
• How to invoice and manage your finances as a freelancer.
• How to become a better writer.

After looking at the modules briefly, there’s nothing groundbreaking here and the videos are pretty short.

Plus, in my opinion, I think your best bet is to just start working and to find a great editor to work under and to learn from them.

I’ve been fortunate to have this experience with Ashley Barnett, who currently edits quite a few impressive personal finance websites.

Ashely also created her own course, Hit Publish, which is a much better resource for honing your skills as a writer and blogger.

PLUS, I also made a video on my new YouTube channel about how I got started with freelance writing:

Again, don’t be afraid to start out with writing…you’ll learn as you go and you shouldn’t obsess over courses and modules if it prevents you from starting!

How Much Does Writers Work Cost?

Writers Work has two available plans: a monthly plan and a lifetime plan.

The lifetime plan costs $94 but is always advertised as being “on sale” for $47.

Trust me…this has always been the price, so it’s a fake sale.

Alternatively, you can pay $15 per month to access the platform, which could be worth it if you still want to try out the platform for some weird reason after reading our Writers Work review.

The part that irks me about the whole pricing thing is that you can’t really learn that much about the platform without going to the sales page.

Pretty much every click leads you right to the sales page…there’s no demo, testimonials, or feature breakdown to dive into.

Pretty salesy and pretty sketchy if you ask me.

Other Writers Work Reviews

Writers Work has been around for a while, and from what I can tell, the consensus is that you’re better off staying away from this platform if you want to make money with writing.

Here are a few reviews I stumbled across on the web.

In this Reddit thread, you can see the common complaint that Writers Work is really just a lackluster job board in disguise:

I seriously recommend reading that thread if you’re still on the fence since it sheds some light on what you should expect.

Another common complaint I’ve seen and experienced is that Writers Work endlessly tries to upsell you stuff.

There’s more manuals and training you can buy to find your next job, of course, but this is really just a money-grab ontop of a money-grab website.

Checkout the Better Business Bureau and other reviews if you want to see what I’m talking about!

Extra Reading – How To Make Money As A Creative Writer.

Frequently Asked Questions

Time to wrap up our reveiw of Writers Work with a few of the most commonly asked questions I’ve seen online.

1. Does Writers Work Offer Refunds?

On their website, Writers Work claims you can try the platform at no-risk because they have a 30 day refund.

However, I’ve seen so many negative reviews that center on trouble getting your money back.

If you still want to try this website, be prepared to flush $47 down the drain!

2. Is This For Beginner Or Experienced Writers?

According to Writers Work, the platform works for beginner and experienced writers alike.

They state the text editor and job marketplace is great for veteran writers, while the educational modules can help beginners.

I’ll admit, the modules are decent if you’re brand new, but you can find this info for free online.

Better Alternatives To Writers Work

In all honesty, I wouldn’t touch this website with a 10 foot pole.

However, I want to end this post on a positive, so here’s my two cents.

The best way to get started with freelance writing jobs is to expand your network.

For me, starting a blog was what opened the door to writing for several personal finance websites and getting out of the low-paying world of ghost writing and content mills.

As mentioned, you can also try writing on Medium if you want a faster route to getting published.

However, my tip is honestly to start a blog, and I’m not just saying this to try and get a juicy affiliate commission from SiteGround (but it would be nice 😉 ).

A blog lets you hone your writing skills, prove you can grow organic traffic, and helps you network with other bloggers and editors.

Plus, if you can get into ad networks like Monumetric or Mediavine, your blog can also be an income source as well as a portfolio piece.

Ad revenue from Mediavine from January to October this year. Pretty crazy what can happen in about 2.5 years of blogging.

All in all, blogging absolutely transformed my life.

It let me start a new career, grow my income, and even try out the digital nomad lifestlye and live abroad in Colombia and Florida for a year.

Took a recent trip to Colombia to write while living somewhere with a low cost of living. Highly recommend checking out Medellin if you ever want an adventure!

It might take a year or two to really get going, but I think Medium or blogging are a much better use of your time than paying for websites like Writers Work.

If you need help starting your blog, I suggest reading my post on blog niche ideas for some inspiration!

Need affordable hosting? Signup for SiteGround and launch your very own blog today!

Is Writers Work Legit?

The whole reason I decided to write this post was because I see Writers Work advertise everywhere.

In fact, I’ve even seen their ads pop up on my own blog! I wouldn’t be surprised if they disappear after this one haha.

I was curious about this tactic, so I actually checked their traffic on SEMRush:

As you can see, most of their customers find them through paid search.

So, this company attract writers with promises of $30 to $45 per hour writing jobs and the start of a new, lucrative career.

In reality, I think it’s truly just a job board with some modules and features.

Ultimately, I don’t think Writers Work is legit because I don’t think it is worth the money or helpful for finding work (compared to free options).

It isn’t a scam or illegal by any means, but I just think there are too many free alternatives and better ways to begin finding work as a freelance writer.

Anyway, best of luck, and hopefully other remote job boards or starting your own blog prove more fruitful!

I hope this Writers Work review has helped you in your decision making process.

I’ll catch you guys in the next one.