Melissa Tripp: The One-Woman Agency for Writers and the Life Around the Work
Writing My Way Here
Named one of “12 Female Poets to Watch” by Nylon Magazine in 2016, I’m Melissa Tripp, a Boston-born writer who has built a life from words beginning in 2015 working across poetry, prose, and the evolving space between writing and livelihood. HelloGiggles once described my work as “life rafts where we can all fit,” a framing that has stayed with me because it reflects what I’ve always tried to do with language and help people translate lived experience into something they can name.
My work has historically explored themes of personal empowerment including leadership through vulnerability, love, emotional intelligence, and trauma-informed reflection reaching readers around the world and recognized by both literary and mainstream media including ABC7, NFL Network, and more.
Alongside my creative work I founded Remote Writing Jobs to make reliable remote writing work easier to find, bring visibility to writerpreneurship, and challenge the misconception that writing isn’t a serious or sustainable profession.
Why I’m Not Just Another Job Aggregator
My work doesn’t stop at connecting writers to external paid opportunities. I’m proud to share that RWJ is also a paying market where writers are fairly compensated for their work. To differentiate myself and earn real trust, I launched an in-house publication that invests in writers directly by commissioning $1/word for work that explores the craft, culture, and business of writing and $300 for poetry. Through this vertical I aim to deepen my platform’s impact by moving beyond listings to the creation of opportunities, celebrating the art of writing, and elevating writers so their work can be seen, heard, and valued. Supporting writers is more than a promise, it’s an action.
Representation Matters
This platform carries the imprint of the person building it. Representation shapes how I lead, how I advocate, and how I imagine a more inclusive creative world.
RWJ is proudly:
woman-owned
Black-owned
lesbian-owned
Not to perform but to show up fully. Seeing yourself reflected in leadership matters. It opens doors, expands what’s possible, and changes the culture of creative spaces. This work is for anyone who’s felt unseen or overlooked. I hope that in every listing curated, every choice made, and all that unfolds in between, you can feel the presence that guides it.
Navigating the Deepest Loss and the Work That Endures
Remote Writing Jobs began as a way to give back to the writing community but after the sudden and devastating loss of my mother in 2024 it became a personal lifeline. She was my biggest supporter and always encouraged me to keep this project going. Losing her broke my rhythm in every direction. I deleted the lucrative social media presence I’d built because maintaining it felt too heavy. This directory became not just a service for others but a way to hold on to something that still feels like purpose.
My own writing has mostly taken a backseat and some days it feels like the words have left me entirely. When I’m not curating job listings I’m rebuilding my life in the margins through The Write Tripp. You can also find me on Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
The words are slow to return but I’m trying to find them again, one piece at a time:
For anyone wondering why I charge for access to RWJ this is the labor you may not see. I’m a writer, too. A writer still trying to find my way back to the page and yet every day I show up with care and focus sorting through leads, trusting my instincts, and making judgment calls that take time and clarity. This is real labor. It runs on hours and on a standard I will not lower. That paywall, what some hesitate at or question, isn’t a gate. It’s a boundary and a promise to myself and to the writers I serve that this work holds value. I no longer feel shame in asking for support. I no longer shrink from the fact that RWJ has become my livelihood. There’s nothing else like it. Not this precise. Not this faithful. Not built by a writer still betting on the worth of our craft. I’m doing this as one of you steadying the ground for others while my own still shakes.
Everything that goes into building this space and honoring the writers it serves is laid bare in my piece, How I Built a Writing Job Directory That Pays Writers What They’re Worth:
It shows why this labor deserves respect, reward, and above all, trust.
If you’ve supported this work, thank you. You’re giving a fellow writer space to breathe, to grieve, and to keep showing up with integrity. This is more than job curation. It’s the scaffolding that holds me up, too.
Thank you for being part of something that means so much.
Melissa Tripp, Founder of RWJ
What Else I’ve Been Building
Tip the Founder, a Writer First
If my work has resonated with you, made you feel seen, or sparked momentum, I gratefully accept tips.
For those already supporting RWJ through a paid subscription, thank you. That support is what keeps the directory going. This is simply another way to invest in the person behind it.
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