Hi, I'm a first year student in NLSIU (National Law School of India University) - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Law_School_of_India_University. It is the top ranked law university in India (and supposedly better than many other good law schools around the world). We produce a Rhodes scholar almost every year, we have the biggest law library in India, the best mooting team (if you know what that is) in Asia and win international moots on a regular basis. Admission here is by an exhaustive exam in which only top 55 students taking the common entrance test are selected. I have pretty good research skills and I was looking to capitalize on that. We have access to a number of online research databases (jstor, springerlink, westlaw etc) and have been taught to research in-depth. I know how to use google to get the most obscure and hard to find (but credible) sources. How do I go around marketing myself? There is a natural bias against Indian writers but I'm pretty well educated and my English has never been a barrier for me on DP. I have pretty well established clientele, some coming from DP and some elsewhere. I charge a pretty flat rate of $1/100 words and I have no problems in getting work in the BST forum but I want to be able to use my research skills in law to charge a premium on my services. Not looking to do mass production so to speak, but a small project here and there which I can really devote myself to and be paid well for. The India legal system is styled after the UK legal system, and most of our case laws, acts etc come from British antecedents so research won't be a problem when it comes to UK based buyers. I'm also not looking to start a blog. Any tips?
Hi Kunal If you want to write on topic related to laws, I think your law degree will come in handy once you have completed your program. However, if you can show others that you have fair enough knowledge of law at this stage, you can get good gigs. btw, are you from NLSIU Bangalore?
Yes I am, you know of it? I have access to quite a large law library (as I said in my first post, best in India) and I know how to research quite well. Just wondering if I can make anything with those skills. Regards
well you can make use of resources at your disposal but you need to show prospective clients that that you are good at it. You can post in the BST section that you are can write on legal topics and take some gigs. That ways you can create samples which you can show to other clients and charge a premium for your work. You can get decently paying gigs at elance, but there clients usually look at your qualifications. And yes, I know about NLSIU as I am from India as well. I may join it once I have completed my CS.
If you specialize in writing articles related to legal matters, your degree and background will help. If you write articles on heart disease, you are just like the rest. I would recommend that you never charge the current rate for legal articles no matter what (Because you are hopefully very good at it). Fix a rate 20% less (Or something else not too low) than your dream rate, and focus on UK and Indian customers the most.
What IS the current rate for legal articles? Any particular web sites which deal in legal content only?
With such specialization, I wouldn't go below $0.03/word, probably $0.05/word. Any good writer can earn that, it's just hard to do that on DP. Writing rates are very individual though, so you may want to look at the websites of some successful legal writers (Google will help ) and do some comparisons to figure out what's reasonable.
Take a look at Constant-Content. You can see the kind of articles they want, and charge as high as $100 for a 500-words article. However, I advice you to build up a portfolio. You can submit some articles to writing sites. Those very simple topics, such as how to study for civil law etc. Most buyers will look at your existing articles before they fork out the money. Some writers even specify that they accept writing assignments, so that webmasters can contact them directly.
There is no current rate, and even if there is, it might not be the right one for you. You can charge what you feel your time and effort is worth, or you can charge a rate that would enable you to make a happy living. Or you can do what the others above me suggested.
Hi, Write Law books & be a journalist! You can make aware of Law your nation by writing columns in newspapers & magazines. You'd earn good income too by doing so.
Subscribe to IPKat.com This is an Intellectual Property blog. The bloggers on there produce very high quality blogs daily. (one to three per day). I am doing moots at Oxford next month for IP So congratulations on your achievements on it.
Starting a blog would be a very good ideas. You can develop as you wish including various aspects of law, types of law , recent judgements and so many other things related to it. Due to your personal interest it would be very easy for you to develop it.
kunalbhatia, you have very very good English writing skills. Your nationality should be NO BARRIER to you selling your writing. My only suggestions would be: 1) Get a copy of E.B. White's "The Elements of Style." It remains the quintessential guide for writing well in English. Should be available online or at any library, for free. Ask the librarian. 2) Research every British and American legal magazine and journal, and start submitting your work. True, it's not "hired pay"; you'll have to put in the effort, and then hope to receive publication and payment. But with the quality of your writing, that is the direction I would advise you to go. (Note: There have been a number of native Indian writers recently who have been successful at publishing in America. The market is still wide open, and I encourage you to pursue it!)
Hey kunal, i am doing law too but not from NLS..Oh how i wish i was!! Anyways...you are right about the biasing point, however, there are plenty of people out there who are willing to try. Since, we are not at advantage of being a native English,so, i would suggest you start at the rate you normally charge, let them see your work and then...well...you probably know what happens after that....i wish you the best. P.S Don't just go for Indian or U.K. clients ( because you won't find many of them looking for legal articles). Most of the legal articles i have written were for Americans. No no no i think every legal article i have ever written (for the purpose of selling) was on American law and trust me i have written plenty of those. And in case you need another motivator, we already study about Indian and U.K. laws, Knowing about another legal system would definitely come in handy some time. Cheers
OP - What are you doing here if you're trying to work as a legal writer? There is a huge market for legal writers, but you won't find many legal businesses here searching the BST forums for researchers and writers. Here's a few suggestions. 1. Do a quick search for "legal writers" and related keywords or "legal researchers" and related keywords 2. Look at some of the websites and companies to see how they are marketing, i.e. their websites, portfolios, etc. 3. Quit writing $5 articles and spend that time building a real online presence through a real website or at the minimum a blog. 4. Submit guest posts to other legal blogs to build a decent portfolio (skip article distribution sites, they aren't respected in the industry) 5. Query legal firms and websites about adding blog posts and articles to their websites once you have a real portfolio and website. As far as rates, you should set your minimum rates based on what your time is really worth - not what others are charging, especially what they are charging here. A minimum professional hourly rate would range from $50 to $100 - that's the minimum, but if you aren't experienced enough in your industry or have the marketing or writing skills to earn that rate, you need to build up your business platform before you start seeking clients. Networking and querying business or legal websites is a much more effective means of working professionally than posting in a forum or answering ads. Build your website and learn a bit about marketing and as your brand and reputation grow, your business will grow as well.