Online Writers Today are Quite Lucky Vs. Writers Decades Ago

Online writers, more so, freelance home-based writers today are very fortunate enough to work in  the comforts of  home with the use of latest technology.

Thanks to the internet, to the Wifi (wireless fidelity), to the mobile internet USB's, and to the gadgets like personal computers, laptops, tablets, ipad, android phones, that we use today to send posts to our favorite writing sites, or to clients who get our writing services.

Anytime that an idea pops up in our heads, we just sit in our favorite corner or place in the house and encode the article, submit it to the site or to your client. We can write for many sites, usually content sites, where we earn residual income. Though the income is quite small, it is less tedious, just like you are writing for fun, and earn at the end of the month, or once you met the specified cashout.

Gone are the days when a writer had to type voluminous text on paper, using typewriters, have it checked or edited manually using liquid erasers or plain rubber erasers to make clean copies. Or have a garbage can nearby to throw in used papers, when the writer could no longer remedy the errors using erasers. Such a lot of paper wasted. (Or when editors annoyed with the poor copy, throws in your article there!)

When the copy/article was finished, the writer have to submit it to the publication
or  client asking for the writeup, have it mailed using snail mail. It will reach the destination about a week, if it is for local submission. The writer has to pay the post stamp, enclose a SASE or a self addressed stamped envelope, where the editor/requester will mail back the copy for editing/revisions, or if it is totally rejected! (What a heartache!).

Good thing the fax machine came into use years later, in 1980's in the Philippines, where typewritten articles were sent to the requester or editor through it. The fax machine (short for facsimile machine) is like a printer attached to a telephone. If the copy is received, you will get a confirmation receipt, or you should call the recipient through the telephone for confirmation. This is also to assure that the copy received from the other end was clear. The writer has to re-fax it again if it is garbled or unclear.

This is just easier if you are not running after deadlines. But if you are a field news reporter, doing your article in a not so nice press office somewhere, it is such a big headache! The next day, you will find out that your editor just used four lines, or a paragraph from your report, which was just incorporated in a bigger story of the same topic.

These are just some of instances when we could say that online writers now are so "blessed!"

(Thanks for the visit. Next time, I will share with you some of my experiences as a news field reporter.