Hope you get it!

I expect there was high volume submissions.

Let’s hope either way they will be in contact.

Good luck folks!

If these would-be employers are so tender they won’t post, oh, well. It’s OK if you want to leave the better paying jobs for me–thanks!

You may not approve of the low payers but that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of us who appreciate this offer. I may not like the food sometimes but I’d never crap where I eat.

So sorry Ann to hear about you losing out. Let’s hope you get some good luck soon, and don’t forget that if you’ve got the skills to transfer into another good gig, then go for it girl! Even if the gig isn’t article writing but something that would benefit from your background and experience

Deb – I also appreciate the variety of what is presented here. I haven’t always had as much luck finding something that fits to even apply for, much less get hired for. I think this is a great writing community right here, and I am confident I’ll get hired for something good if I just keep looking and getting more experience. Please keep everything coming!

Kati- That’s pretty funny! I don’t feel so bad now – I know I’ve done stuff like that, too.

I have no problem with a rates discussion as long as we’re civil. I wouldn’t post any jobs to this blog I feel are insulting. I don’t want to scare away people who want to post jobs here either. They’re giving our community the first shot at the gig, don’t we owe them at least a little respect for that? Or would we rather they give another community first shot?

And what happens if the same person posts a higher paying job in the future? (Indeed, Ryan posted a job at Performancing yesterday paying $1,000 per month. ) A higher gig may be more to your liking, but if the people who post the jobs remember you as a chronic malcontent, they’re not going to hire you.

You’re welcome to say whatever you like on your own blog, I’m just asking everyone to treat the people who post jobs here with the same respect as someone visiting your home.

I had to laugh at your comment… I’ve done that plenty of times, too!

Good luck… you never know!

I think part of my problem is that I’d spent the past year working for a company that was paying $80 an article for web content. These were all topics I excelled at – travel guides for towns/cities in my own state. I could whip out an article in an hour and knew the material was up-to-date. (Vermont’s not that big so I’ve been to all areas in the state numerous times.)

That company sold themselves without warning and opted to not pay writers for jobs completed – though I did finally get paid after some threats. Many of us were working on jobs when they sold, so those projects were scrapped completely. Now finding anything even remotely close has been a struggle. Going back to $20 articles after a year of earning $80 articles has been a bit of a shell-shock.

So for the newer writers, I have a word of wisdom – don’t get to complacent about your writing jobs. Your best paying ones might disappear without warning. I know Deb had posted about this before, and while I had back-ups in place, the pay difference has hit hard! Then to learn our chimney liner is cracked at the same time the propane company announced they were upping rates to $4.90 a gallon – I’m becoming depressed with the entire economy this winter. I went after a job this morning only to learn that the guy though he posted “Excellent wages” was offering $7 for an 800 word article.

“My writing is credible and I high high standards for being accurate and current.”

I’m a fairly new writer, but I am refusing to go the way of $5 an article. Ann, you go girl! It’s sad that some folks doing the hiring are willing to undercut a perfectly good candidate desiring the *stated rate*.

I’m a real rookie writer here, and absolutely no expert in big business economy. But here is my hunch. It appears to me that there are a few key differences between the magazine writing market and the internet writing market. The internet is very fluid and “reactive,” needing fresh content on a regular basis. Magazines are well planned for many months in advance before anyone sees it. Upside – internet has way more opportunities with generally less competition for each “position.” Downside – generally less pay per position. Upside – magazine has much higher pay per article. Downside – long waits and higher chance of rejection.

I’d love to get paid more for an article, and there are certainly gigs that will do that. Like Phil said, it takes work (and good clips) to find those. No reason I can’t write $30 per 500 words while I’m looking.

There are better paying gigs out there, though it takes work to find them. Again, the rate above is still better than some and is better than just twidling one’s thumbs. But it’s still extremely low.

For that reason, I wouldn’t knock either of these jobs!