At the beginning of this month, with much trepidation, I decided to give a bidding web site a chance.
I signed up for E-lance with every intention of giving it an honest shot.
I’ve bid for several projects, placing mid-ranged and reasonable bids. All went to outrageously low bidders.
Today, after three weeks, I’m canceling my E-lance account.
Here’s why:
These are snippets of jobs from the today’s daily email notification:
- Looking for writers to do 10 articles of 400 words regarding tattoos with different topic. Paid via Paypal at $1 for each article. No plagiarism whatsoever and must be 100% unique.Please submit a sample.
- I have a series of 14 articles of 1500-2000 words on management and leadership that I want ‘chunked’ down into 400-800 word articles. I don’t mean ‘edit’ as in boiling down the 1500 words into a 400-word summary – I mean breaking the 1500 word article into sub-topics and making each a standalone article.
- I need around 200 Articles about great Programming Scripts and semi-reviews of tutorials they dont need to be to long maybe 1-2 paragraphs. They need to be original. You dont need to do them all at once. I would need about 3 a day until all 200 are complete. I will pay 50-75 cents per article as it should take more then ten minutes to write one article as information on scripts and tutorials is in overstock on the internet.
- I need 100 articles written and submitted to ezinearticles.com Article topics will be on “Acai Berry For Men”
Article length: 250-300 words I will give you a keyphrase for each article which must be used in the article title aswell as the article 2-3 times. You will need to submit the articles to ezinearticles.com with YOUR own account. If you dont have an account, you can open one easily. I will provide pre-written resource boxes. An article will be deemed “completed” once it has been reviewed and accepted into ezinearticles.com If articles are not accepted, there is usually a simple problem which needs to be fixed and they can be resubmitted – this will be YOUR responsibility. Shouldn’t happen much though
I am looking to pay around $150 for the job. - Job simply involves writing 100 little blog snippets a day – each post will be 100 words. This is easy to do and 20 an hour is very achievable. Flexible in terms of the days worked and looking for about 400- 500 snippets a week at approx $60 per week.
Now I don’t mean to pick on Elance. As far as bidding sites go, they seem to run a pretty good operation. My beef isn’t with the bidding sites so much as it is with the writers.
As long as writers are willing to whore themselves out for less than one-half a penny a word, things will never change.
I know that there are folks bidding from other countries that are ok with that kind of wage, but in looking at the bidders, there are far fewer of those folks than one would think.
I wish I could organize a freelance writer’s strike. What do you think? Writers Opposed to Piss Poor Offered Rates (WOPPOR) How about organizing Writer’s Tea Parties? Maybe some folks could draft a Writer’s Declaration of Independence? – Alternatively, we could go to our windows and shout, “I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take it anymore!!!”
I may starve for a while, but I’ll keep my dignity in tact and perhaps make a small contribution to putting an end to this despicable smudging of the craft.
Rather than get paid a measly sum to write for someone else, I write for low wages and/or for free for my own sites and a few others. At least I get to pick the topics and occasionally the deadlines.
The internet has made the freelance writing world even worse than it was 20 years ago. Even then, the pay wasn’t good. And in what other profession do you do the work up front (writing on spec)and then they decide if your work is good enough for them? Can you imagine a hooker working that way?
Well, freelance writers aren’t even treated with as much respect as those madams in my opinion. D
id you say tea party? I love tea.
“The internet has made the freelance writing world even worse than it was 20 years ago.”
I disagree. The grumbles here are about ridiculously low-paying markets, but these markets didn’t exist at all 20 years ago. They work for someone. Not me or you. The vast majority aren’t editorial projects anyway. They’re all about keywords and SEO; i.e., Internet marketing to enhance Google rankings for commodities.
I always vote with my feet. Don’t go on strike. Just don’t bother with slave-wage sites, and NEVER write on spec. Walk away from high-paying markets that put you through the wringer. Stick with print, which actually pays, or start your own deal and get paid for it. My sideline site brings in a bit of income while I toil for print mags that pay very well.
Getting upset with sites like elance is like being peeved with lizards and bats for actually liking mosquitoes. Different world.
Nice site, George, by the way!
Hey Robert,
Thanks for coming by, contributing, and the kind words!
Cheers
George
Michele,
True story. I thought I’d give it a good go, but three weeks was all I could muster.
Cheers!
Hi Julie,
Oh, I don’t know about that. A 200 word blog post that, with research, writing, adding a pic and posting takes me no more than half an hour.
I’m ok with $30 an hour for my time.
Am I really off base in thinking that is different from the 50 cents per article described in the post?
Cheers!
George
Hi Jill,
That’s a great analogy.
And I was only half way kidding about a tea party…
George
I knew that about the tea party but…
As for people who can so quickly, I’d like to take lessons in how to do that well.
I don’t think that $30 an hour as a freelancer is such great pay. What do you pay your doctor, dentist or attorney?
Ponder that for a few seconds.
Hi Jill,
I agree in that if I’d been doing this for a few years $30 would be a bit low, but as I ramp things up I’m ok with starting in that range.
George
It’s very sad that these type of “job opportunities” are still out there. I can only imagine what these articles must look like and I’m sad for the writers who are being exploited in this way.
While there may be exceptions, I do believe that usually clients get what they pay for. It would be interesting to find out how much of this work has to be redone.
I’m happy with $20-30 an hour but so many people think that a 400 word article takes 5 minutes to write. I can write a fair 400 word article in 15 minuts but that means I need to charge at least $5 for that to make my minimum acceptable hourly rate.
Hey Suejeff,
That is kind of an issue. I can take from 15 minutes to half an hour with a 400 word post depending my familiarity with the topic.
I’m discovering that there are apparently different strata of writer rates and what folks will work for. It’s very interesting.
George
This is something I struggle with constantly. I am trying so hard to stick to my morals about reasonable rates, but it’s hard to find work. There are so many online publications that are “start ups” promising that they’ll be able to pay writers once they get revenue on the site. On the other end, the paying markets (online and in print), are slowly dying out. Even the print markets aren’t paying much anymore. Honestly, though, what can we do to ensure that our writing isn’t made oblivious by people willing to work for less than a penny on the dollar?
I’ve still yet to be paid for a single word I’ve written. However, I’ll add that I tried E-lance out a few years ago and was so discouraged by the “offers” like the one George mentioned in his article that I gave it up shortly after opening the account. Writing as a full-time gig is my dream, but I’ll happily keep my day job to write what I want and when I want. Taking jobs like these would feel degrading and only encourage a frustrating industry-wide downward spiral, let alone greatly reduce the quality and creativity put into the writing.
Nice post. And I have to agree with the folks who take issue with the buyers especially. My favorite — and the reason I finally stopped even looking at bidding sites — was a buyer who wanted a ghostwriter for a 1000-page manuscript on some obscure niche topic for — no joke — $100.
But they’d provide the research materials, and you’d get to keep them — free!
Gee. Thanks.
I’ve known some folks to take some pretty lousy content-mill-type jobs in order to bulk up their portfolios, and I can’t pretend that I haven’t considered it myself. But I just can’t do it. Those offers are just insulting, and I refuse to provide value to someone who places absolutely no value in me or what I do. I would rather spend that time writing something that interests me or benefits someone/something laudable for free — or even counting the bathroom tiles — than work for wages that are worth less than the cost of the check that they’re written on.
JoAnna,
I don’t know what the answer is. It’s like the system is broken. I’d like to see it get fixed, but I don’t know how!
George
Dee,
Thanks. That’s is exactly what I was trying to put out there. Stopping the downward spiral – I guess the best thing I could do to contribute is to not participate and just write for myself, on my own terms.
George
I agree. It’s wretched. It’s not even a first rung on the ladder – it’s just pure exploitation. Nobody should be paid $1 for 400 words, and it simply isn’t anything you can put on your CV and look good as a result. I’ve seen it again and again on online freelance writing boards.
And your title nails the real issue: it’s the danger of scaring away or burning out all the real talent.
Nobody should offer this kind of thing, and nobody should take it. Appalling.
Great article. I always wondered who’d take those writing jobs for scraps. I assumed it was foreign bidders for whom that was good money. Looks like I was only partially right. It’s pretty frustrating because it’s destroying freelance as a living. I can’t put food on the table writing 500-word articles for pennies.
It’s hard to find clients that are willing to pay good $$$ for good writing. It’s a constant struggle.
Again, good write up.
Alan
http://www.twitter.com/aljmac
I remember when I lost a writing gig because someone came in and offered 200 articles for $200.
Whatever.
I know what I’m worth, and the people that realize that are willing to pay what I’m worth.
Let me know where to throw the proverbial tea and I’m in.
moosh in indy.´s last blog ..two dads.
WTF? Those ads are outrageous. It’s publishers like these that drag the quality of the whole internet down. I’m baffled that anyone would agree to any of those jobs. I know one thing I have no interest in reading something that was commissioned at 1 cent a word.
Hey Matt,
Me neither! Unless it was strictly for the entertainment factor of pointing and laughing…
George
Moosh…in most industries, you are worth what the market says you are worth. Writing is slightly different. If you choose not to work for $1 per article….you never will…and you never have to. Losing and having to replace clients is part of doing business. Its always going to be like this.
There are other reasons writers are hired other than price.
If every job was awarded on price, a load of kids in China would have the market cornered. Why don’t they?
Simply because price isn’t the only consideration for a lot of clients. It seems that the real issue here is that some writers have a problem conveying their value in a credible way. They can’t convince buyers to pay them more…or they are fixated on the buyers for whom price is the over riding concern.
Thats the nub of the problem….not a few kids in Asia who cant string a sentence together but who can run scraping software to write an article in 30 seconds.
Its as wrong to say that there are no high paying buyers on these sites as it is to say there are no low paid providers.
I think this proves the devaluation of the written word and of reading. Non-writers (not people who don’t know how to write but people who are not trained writers) do not understand how difficult it is to come up with readable content that is grammatically correct. Creative writing as well as accurate writing takes time. And why don’t they understand it? Because they don’t read. I am not talking about reading online. I mean reading actual books by actual writers.
Why do writers know how much time it takes to create something worth reading? Because they are reading other people’s work that took serious sweat to complete. We know this. We admire it in authors of all kinds.
I agree that there is so much crap online that people think they know what good content looks like. Judging by the job listings you showed us, they don’t.
Thanks for letting me vent!
People are reading fewer books/newspapers. No doubt. The game of freelance writing/journalism has changed. Traditional writers are producing Michelin cooking…the web is full of junk food.
Its cheaper, faster to produce and consume and…perversely, pays MUCH more per hour. McD’s makes more money that Gordon Ramsey ever will.
The lowest common denominator continually gets lower.
You can keep your creative standards or you can make a packet in the new reality….but its increasingly difficult to do both.
Hi Memoirgirl,
Come by and vent any ol’ time!
I love the points you make. I think that only true writers can understand.
And, where HAVE all the readers gone?
George
There’s so much being written about the poor shape of freelance writing these days and almost all the blame is being placed on “Asian writers”. Why blame the “Asian writers”? It’s not as if they are snatching away what is someone else’s. Nor is anyone forcing clients to go to those writers. Everyone has a right to offer services, and clients have the right to go to the writers of their choice. Instead of playing the blame game, why don’t the writers who are not getting jobs sit down and think where they have gone wrong. Why are clients going elsewhere and not coming to them?
I am an Asian freelance writer and my rates are compatible with the best. I don’t believe in bidding on sites like elance. I have my own websites through which I offer my services and I am getting enough work to keep me extremely busy the whole day, and very often nights as well. Why are clients willing to pay me good money? Because they know my worth.
The point I am making is – Stop complaining. Go out and show what you can do and there’s no way you won’t be paid what you’re worth.
Hi Anis,
Thanks for coming by. Near as I can tell, only one commentator mentioned “Asian Writers.” My sense from the rest of the comments is that no one is blaming any one specific region or group of writers.
“Go out and show what you can do and there’s no way you won’t be paid what you’re worth.”
That is good advice.
George
Thank you, George. I appreciate your response.
Hello George!
What’s that little song we all probably learned in Sunday School?
“Jesus loves me, yes I know, for the Bible tells me so…”
Well, Jesus was a very wise dude. He also said this:
“The servant is worthy of his hire.”
Someone (maybe it was you, George) used the word “whore” or “whored” to describe the sorry state of much of freelance writing compensation. (The same could be said for the Country Music songwriting market. Or Hollywood auditions).
But you know what? People aren’t born whores or forced into whoredom (usually). It’s a conscious choice those people make when their self image has sunk so low that they think of the “world’s oldest profession” as their easy way out.
It all sounds so “cool” to call oneself a writer or a freelancer. Cool enough to screw up your moral compass and lead you to drive your artistic ship onto the rocks in the name of being a published writer.
But there they go, month after month, year after year, like lemmings off the proverbial cliff, starry-eyed with their cool freelancer hat at a jaunty angle, never thinking that maybe Jesus was RIGHT.
Let’s face it. We all want to be loved. We all want to be noticed. We all even want to make a buck in this life.
But don’t blame “them” for their predatory hiring tactics, their blood-from-turnip pay plan, their side-show bait and switch.
“They” are only giving “us” what we want. The promise of something for nothing. Just like in Vegas … the house usually wins.
In my neck of the woods (Milwaukee), there’s an independent, alternative newspaper aptly named “Art Muscle.” Maybe it’s high time we keyboard artists started “pumping up” to avoid getting sand kicked in our collective 99-pound faces. Using the religious metaphor once again, ask yourself:
What would Jesus do?
Seems I remember him flipping over the tables of the frigging moneychangers in the temple. Jesus was an activist. He also told us to “Go and do likewise.”
There you go ….
Wayne C. Long
Writer/Editor/Internet Publisher
http://www.LongShortStories.com
Where the Short Story LIVES!
Wayne,
I love it when you come by and comment. Such a great analogy.
I’m gonna order up the Bowmaster Writer’s Edition and start pumping, buddy.
George
Hi George,
First up, I have to congratulate for hitting a home run with this post. Talking about viral power hey.
The topic of crap pay for freelance writers is an age old argument and will no doubt continue to ruffle feathers. I myself have enough experience with being paid crap money for months on end after I started in the industry.
I simply didn’t deem myself worthy enough of that fat paycheck. After all, I was from a non-English speaking background which still ruffles feathers now (which of course is totally idiotic because I speak and write better English than many natives).
Once I realized that only I could be made responsible for my own worthy income I increased my pay rates which each new client I took on board. It was either pay me or get lost.
This tactic worked! Yes, I did lose clients but in the bigger scheme of things I didn’t lose many – only the crappy once I didn’t want anyway.
Using this tactic I quickly increased my hourly rate for writing well above $25 and then soon after that even more.
So I guess we should really ask ourselves, not why are there clients who refuse to pay us what we are worth, but why ARE THERE STILL WRITERS who work for a pittance?
The answer is not an easy one, because in India you can live a comfortable life with $1000/month. Here in Australia you need to quadruple this figure at a minimum. So you see, we are governed by our heritage as much as our abilities.
In the end we just have to take charge of our own destiny and stop writing for a pittance UNLESS we are prepared to make up small pay with speed!
Monika,
Great comment and a great strategy.
I’m adding it to my mix, for certain!
George
Oops, sorry for those spelling errors. I tried to edit my comment but must have been too eager to publish. *Blush
George, even whores have better deals than that.
Sad state of affairs, this. But to ignore this just because a few offer decent pay for writers – does this correct the situation? Nah.
A writer worth his salt has got to make a personal stand on this. Blithely ignoring this sorry state isn’t going to solve this problem. You’ve got it down pat, George. It’s despicable. Bah!
jan geronimo´s last blog ..Warning: Are You a Caveman Blogger?
T-Moose – there are many ‘clients’ who use underhand ways to keep writers at their beck and call.
For example, they withhold payment while requesting more and more writing. They have excuses for only making small payments every now and then. Writers want to get their money and are too afraid to stop writing.
Does this sound like a form of enslavement? It damn well is. If not enslavement it’s bullying.
There are writers who actually have to eat.
Paisley´s last blog ..Women
You are right, Paisley. But who do you think is really responsible for the payments not being made? I have a policy – make your payment first, then get your thing written. And it works. Build a reputation of being trustworthy, and clients will be willing to make payments first.
Anis – I hear your advice.
However, I would never demand payment for work I have not yet delivered. I wouldn’t ask someone to paint my house and pay him or her first.
As for your question “who is really responsible for the payments”. My answer is, I have every right to be paid for a job well done (and I do sterling work). I can’t make the payment to myself.
I’m not quite sure I understand what you mean about being honest? Do you mean me or the client? I am hardworking to a fault and honest that’s why decent clients eventually came my way.
Just because there are writers who are desperate for work (if you don’t work you starve kind of desperate) and are naive, does not give anyone the right to keep them in a cycle of exploitation or to rip them off.
As if that isn’t enough, they also pay fees that are an absolute disgrace no matter where in the world they live.
Paisley´s last blog ..Women
T-Moose – there are many ‘clients’ who use underhand ways to keep writers at their beck and call.
For example, they withhold payment while requesting more and more writing. They have excuses for only making small payments every now and then. Writers want to get their money and are too afraid to stop writing.
Does this sound like a form of enslavement? It damn well is. If not enslavement it’s bullying.
There are writers who actually have to eat.
Paisley´s last blog ..Women
P.S. – Sorry, forgot to tell you great post!
Thanks, Paisley
I’m excited to see your contributions to the conversation here.
George
George, now you’ve done it. I wrote a Declaration thanks to you.
Do you pledge your allegiance?
Monika,
No, no, no! Now YOU’VE done it! The Writer’s Declaration of Independence is AWESOME! Folks, go check it out here:
http://www.thewritersmanifesto.com/blog/2009/06/23/a-freelance-writers-declaration-of-independence/
Go get your badge – I did!
George
Yep, thanks to you I might add. I appreciate your allegiance and the kind words. What can I say, that sticker looks mighty powerful and nice on your site. If you like, you can make it half the size if you want it to take up less space.
I can help you if you are not sure how to. Good on your for raising some important issues here.
Wow — have you EVER touched a nerve here, George. Bravo!
It’s unbelievable what people expect from writers….but they expect it because writers are doing it. If we didn’t write for squat, this wouldn’t be happening.
But you get what you pay for, right?
Laurie PK´s last blog ..7 Tips for Television Interviews for Writers
Hi Laurie,
Thanks for that, and thanks for coming by this raucous conversation!
Declaration of Independence – that’s the way to go!
George
I agree that Elance is a junk job site. Nothing but low paying flunkie jobs. I have had much more success on Guru and limited success at Scriptlance and believe me I have tried them all!!!
The best jobs are not found on subscription freelance sites though. You have to pound the pavement, so to speak and track down leads and do private inquiries. That is really the only way to find well-paying work! I think that the convenience of these sites is the trade off for spending your time hunting down jobs on your own. Yes the pay is less, but so is the time you waste looking for work.
What we’re seeing is a classic commoditization of a craft. Due to the huge need for content (blogs, websites, content marketers, etc) and the low barrier of entry to freelance writing, prices are being suppressed for the *average* written work.
As noted much of the freelance work has been outsourced so to speak to countries where a few bucks a day can go a long ways, and they are eager to work for that amount. They have a low barrier to entry as all these people need is a computer and access to the internet and then they can work for “pennies” and do quite well for themselves in their home country.
You may not find quality this way, but you’ll find quantity, and that’s what many people are looking for.
Look at those ads, wanting 100-200 articles…those folks aren’t expecting Hemingway, they just want content they can push out to a website, drive traffic to, and make money off CPA, CPC, or affiliate type campaigns. Couple the need for huge amounts of content, with an abundance of people happy to make a couple bucks a day, and you have a commodity.
I’m not saying I agree with working for so little, but when something becomes a commodity, as written information has, this is what happens.
The alternative here is that there are still people out there like you who put out first quality material. Unique, well thought out and well written. Some people will pay a premium for that – and will laugh at the quality of work being produced by the .01/word guys – that obviously is your market, not the “I need 300 articles” types of people.
For example not long ago guys were charging outrageous rates to build web pages. Now, just about any 10 year old can put up a pretty good looking website. Thus the prices the average website builder can command dropped. However, there are still people who want sophisticated, quality websites built for them that are out of reach of the 10 year old, and they are willing to pay top dollar for them. So now instead of your garden variety web developer you have folks who are extremely bright pushing the envelope and creativity of their craft, looking for the next “thing” and raising the quality bar to new heights. There are still 10 year olds willing to put up subpar websites for you, but they don’t get the privalage of charging a premium for them – that’s reserved for the folks doing something really special in the web development world.
I want to stress that I am not taking the side of those working for next to nothing while quality producers, such as the readers of Tumblemoose certainly are, can’t get decent work. It’s just the game has changed and the only way to differentiate your product from a commodity is with quality and presenting yourself to the market looking for that.
Matt
Matt | Small Biz Bee´s last blog ..Stop! Don’t Spend One Advertising Dollar Until You Read This
Hello George,
I don’t have time to give a full comment..darnit! But this is exactly why I walked away from writing years ago. A co-writer and I have voiced our opinions on this many times. I will dig up some of her posts and get the links back to you.
Thanks for posting this. Sadly, I thought it would be better this time around…and it will, just a bit slower than I’d like.
I agree with most of the comments. However, I think some of you are not aware of what’s happening in other industries too. Many of the out-of-work professionals in management and IT areas are also “working for free” in hopes of networking or getting discovered by an employer. In addition, at least some of the bidders are probably using a writing program that drafts an article on any topic and then it just gets cleaned up. I didn’t say these are good articles, but I know it’s done and the programs exist. One other issue is that some companies and groups are making posts look like they are from individuals.
One thing I’d like to add is that I see many posts from writers that are so poor in grammar and spelling that I have to bite my tongue and not say anyting at all. I’ve been seeing this on several of the networking sites. Either they are paying someone to post or they need to really work on their skills if they want to work in the U.S. market. I don’t say anything because I usually notice that no one is responding to those posts anyway. The problem may be self-limiting, but it does reflect poorly on independent writers that work on their craft. The economy has created a “survival at any cost” market.
George,
You have created quite a discussion around this subject. I see this all the time in my husband’s business (floor cleaning) too. He has over 35 years experience however, he will have potential clients who “think” it is no effort to clean a floor. Well, if it is done correctly, there is tons of things to consider when doing it. My husband values himself so he will walk away from jobs when the potential client doesn’t see his value.
When I first met him, I was working as a secretary in a floor cleaning department at a carpet sales company. One day I had an idea for the department to streamline a process, however, I felt I didn’t have much value. He said to me, “Teresa, you should tell the boss what your idea is to create this new process.” I replied, “Why should I? I am just a secretary.”
Right then and there he stopped me and said, “If you think you are just a “something” then that is how others will perceive you. You have to find value in what you do before anyone else will. You need to realize you are the central communicator of this department. You are the first line of communication with our clients. If you don’t do your job right, the client may never come back to us.”
Ever since then, I haven’t doubted my value. And I hope no one else does either. It takes knowledge and skill to be a writer. And passion. Not everyone can do what we do and not everyone wants to. You deserve your value. Don’t allow someone else to say you don’t have value.
Actually, I would blame Elance for promoting such nonsense, but that is a subject for another article.
I’ve put away the bidding sites for the reasons you mentioned. Most of my work comes from people who have found me online. Occasionally, I’ll run an Adsense campaign which has been known to bring people in who are willing to pay my prevailing rate.
Thank you for the article. A post like yours is very useful.
Yes and here’s what goes on our signs:
1. Freelance isn’t free!
2. Freelancers have families to feed, too!
3. Take the free out of freelance!
Alisa,
Right on! I’m digging the signs.
Also nice to see you at the forums. I hope you’re having a great time!
Cheers
George
Amen to every word. It’s very disheartening to a professional’s business when there are amateurs out there perfectly willing to submit their awful crap for pennies just so they can tell all their casserole party friends they’re published authors.
The upside is that these people aren’t bothering me anymore–they have an outlet for their crap other than whatever magazine I happen to be working on at the time. If I see another boilerplate, generic, insert-the-industry-appropriate-noun-here business article I’d have to pound nails into my ears with a scotch tape dispenser.
So, uh, good on ya, I s’pose. Cheers. Yeah. See you around.
Dave,
Hey, thanks for coming by and commenting. I think the undermining of my professional efforts is what initially set me off.
Hope to see you again!
George