Ditching articles for blogs?
May 23, 2008 by Deb Ng
Filed under Freelance Writing
by Peggy Rowland
I’ve been trying to decide whether I should continue to submit queries to
print pubs. It’s not that I’m giving up or that I don’t like writing
articles, but that I’m tired of working so hard to get ignored by editors.
The ones that are replying sometimes say things like, "I like your idea, but
can’t afford to pay you right now. Could you do it for free?" Excuse me, but
you didn’t mention "free" in your guidelines.
Sure, some writers have the absolute drive to keep at this, but it started
wearing on me after a few months. And I started comparing it to blogging.
There are lots of reasons blogging is more fun for me.
For one, I get to spend more time writing and less time sending queries and
proposals for reprints. Sure, queries are words, but not so fun. While page
views (and pay) may vary somewhat, I always know I’ll be paid with a blog
job. Also, blogging has lots of little deadlines to keep me motivated.
There’s not much to motivate me to send out more queries. And writing many
shorter blog posts on different topics allows me to change up my subject
matter frequently without having to conduct too much in-depth research. Not
to mention, blog posts allow me to be myself. So long AP style.
Of course, there are some downfalls to blogging instead of writing articles.
If I want to delve deeply into a topic, does that necessarily mean my blog
readers will be interested as well? I could spend days researching and
interviewing to come up with a series of blog posts that get few page views.
With print, I’m fairly sure subscribers are interested in reading or they
wouldn’t bother paying for the magazine. On the web, who knows. Plus, that
print paycheck is often going to cover my time much better than blog posts
can. There’s also the matter of articles paying per word. Most blogging jobs
don’t do that, so it doesn’t pay to write long, involved blog posts.
There are many more pros and cons that could be discussed, but I think
what’s bugging me the most about print is that blank, hopeful check that so
often isn’t filled out. Those writer’s guidelines are dangled out there for
many. Sure, I may go through all the trouble of writing up a perfect query
just the way the magazine suggested. Then, I may also go through all the
trouble of never getting a response. That’s what I can’t take.
The response I get with blogging is seeing my post up anytime I want, night
or day. And I get paid for it. Not bundles of dough, but the check is filled
out. And sometimes I get comments from readers telling me how much they
enjoyed my post. I love being what Google finds and actually providing the
answer the reader was looking for.
But, dear Freelance Writing Jobs readers, please don’t think I’m trying to
convince you that blogging is better than writing articles (online or off),
or that all editors ignore queries. I’m just talking about my choice and my
experiences.
Peggy Rowland writes at Tree Hugging Family and Junk Creation, as well as her personal blog, Light Green Stairs. She also still writes some articles for editors that do respond.
I feel your pain, having just got a rejection letter yesterday. On the one hand I want to do magazine and print work. On the other hand, blogs are easy, quick results and I need to make money. It is a toughie sometimes.
I started out in magazines and I’ve stopped submitting to them pretty much across the board in favor of webwork. The magazine biz isn’t what it used to be. The staffs are smaller, mags fold all the time and the pay is getting lower. Sure there’s the Time’s and People’s but I made a living in niche mags and those days are pretty much gone.
However, I still write articles, I just write them for online magazines instead of print.
The funny thing about this post, is I literally just said to my husband, I’ve been blogging for so long, writing mostly short news blurbs, I don’t remember how to write an article.
I spent the day on the set of the TBS comedies last week and I was typing up my notes I found a wealth great material for a full article, but it’s like I can’t remember where to begin!
Man, we’re creatures of habit.
Hello Fiona and Cynthia. Thanks for your comments. I half expected to get a sermon about giving up on print too easily. Maybe that’s not still coming! : )
When I first dreamed of becoming a freelance writer, I was armed only with a current copy of Writer’s Market. I sent out a LOT of submissions (I have the old-fashioned rejection letters to prove it) and didn’t publish a single thing. Since I found Craigslist and sites like this one, I’ve published hundreds of articles and gotten into proofreading and language assessment writing. I couldn’t break into print, and I don’t try anymore. However, I would feel more like a “real writer” if I could name some presitigous magazines when people ask me who I write for instead of giving them the names of sites they may never have heard of.
As hard as it has been, I’ve doing both! Blogging gives me some instant gratification but I enjoy the excitement of waiting for that acceptance (or even rejection) letter in the mail. That’s the best part about being a writer, you can have the best of all worlds.
@BooBoo,
That’s what I hate about writing online. People always ask, “Oh, you’re a writer? What do you write?”
And I respond, “Well, I write articles for this website and this website and…” and then I stop, seeing the blank look in their faces.
I understand your frustration with print articles. It’s a much longer and somewhat more competitive process. (Although, writing for a popular online site can also be competitive.)
Personally, I’m hedging my bets against putting all my eggs in one basked. I do web content. But I also do traditional writing for corporate clients.
I’m smiling because while I seem to have the ear of a couple of magazine editors and write for small “real” magazines, I’d LOVE a regular blogging gig.
A regular paycheck and I’d be a happy camper. No more queries etc.
I’d be proud to blog! (Hey, I’d just be proud to pay my electric bill without flinching!)
Wendy
It’s funny, but I find myself doing the opposite. I tried my hand at blogging but have found that it really isn’t worth the time and effort for the pay.
Of course, I’m aware of exceptions – that some bloggers make six figures and so forth. But it seems to me the vast majority of bloggers out there are making less than 5 grand per year, and most can’t even make that much.
This is a tough nut to crack, I suppose: On one hand, I see the value of blogging if you are using it to tout your expertise or drive traffic to a web site where you are making money through advertising, selling a book, etc. But to simply be blogging for pay by the post or to get a bit of Google Adwords revenue just doesn’t seem to add up to me. Of course, we are all in different situations.
I find myself gravitating more toward writing for book publishers and writing the occasional article. Every once in awhile, I’ll write for web sites, etc., and these are typically lower paying, but if it’s a topic I enjoy, I don’t mind writing something that’s 800 words even if it’ paying me only 50 bucks or so. But I try keeping those jobs at a minimum.
I suppose blogging probably has more value to full-time freelance writers (I do frelancing part time), but I don’t know many folks getting rich off of it unless they are themselves operating a whole network of web sites, selling advertising, selling their books and positioning their blog as a component to drive traffic to their site for various reasons.
Ah … but I’m blabbering. I wonder if there are folks out there who agree with me?
Thomas, and others who work primarily in print: I’d be interested in hearing more from you about how you were able to break successfully into magazines and other print media.
Dang, I was hoping there was pay in blogging. Don’t some of the bigger sites pay fairly well? I’m not looking to get rich.
For example, About.com commits to $725/a month to start. Sounds good to me.
I am concerned that Thomas is right, tho.
I need a drink.
Wendy
Thomas, if you get a paid blogging gig (like at a network), you don’t have to worry about AdSense, etc. Of course, you’re right that not many people get rich from blogging.
Wendy, it’s possible to make a living at blogging, but you’d need several blogs (like Deb has). And Jennifer Chait! You really do need to enjoy your topic(s) though. Otherwise, it’s not worth it.
I can tell you there is money in blogging. I posted a blogging job yesterday paying $3,000 per month.
I can tell you that I earn more now through blogging than I did as a New York City Administrative Assistant or working in accounts payable.
Here’s the thing about blogging – you get what you give. If you give it the minimum, you get the minimum. If you work hard to find a formula that works, bring in traffic, etc. you’ll do well. A lot of people look at a network’s base pay and say “wow that sucks.” Once you add in traffic bonuses, it’s a whole other story. I have four blogs with one network and combined they earn a nice amount of money – for only an hour’s worth of work each day. I have a few other blogs with another more lucrative client as well. Out of the blogs I own, this is the only one that earns a decent income, but that goes to Jodee and maintenance – but the good news is that it’s starting to to do better and this may be the first month I make a profit since last summer.
Again, if you put the effort into making a successful blog, you may be pleasantly surprised. If you just post and forget it, you won’t earn much at all.
I have a friend who “let’s” me write for her blog and it’s such a cute, important concept. But she doesn’t know much about marketing so it’s pooped out.
I know she’d “put the effort in”, but didn’t seem to know how to make it successful. And I didn’t know what to tell her.
It’s http://www.romanceandthemommy.com.
Wendy
The problem with blogging and the internet in general is that nobody else reads what you’ve written before it appears. You don’t have an editor, or a peer reviewer, so it leads to a high incidence of crap on the internet.
People don’t trust internet content for this same reason.
So if you blog 9 times a day, but produce poor quality work, ya you might get a little bit of ad revenue, but you havn’t produced anything to be proud of.
Not to say you can’t produce good work on the internet; you just have to police yourself to make sure that you do.
I’m with Thomas. I tried blogging for pay a couple of years ago, but the site owner and I didn’t see eye-to-eye so I quit. I had another offer to write for a sports blog, but he wanted 2-3 posts a day, and I couldn’t commit to that and keep my sanity. If a blog job falls into my lap that works for me, I wouldn’t rule it out. More power to those of you who are successful at it.
I broke into print media by pitching and marketing myself to publications who I felt were a good fit for me. Once you break into a couple, it becomes a snowball effect. Other editors see your work, might be familiar with your name, and when you come calling, they’ll give you a shot. But it is like anything, you have to plug away at it.
Adam, you’re wrong about no policing. Blog readers always let you know if you’ve made a mistake!
@Adam – It depends on who your writing for. Most networks and portals employ editors. Plus as Peggy stated above, our readers let us know if we messed up.
At the present time I’d have to say that I blog for myself. I’ve looked at some of the blogging jobs and even considered applying however some seem to want a proven “traffic record” and I don’t have that. I enjoy blogging but I also enjoy writing for an online magazine for which I have a column. I’ve been published in print a couple of times.
I believe that you can find poor quality writing in both print and the web just as you can find good quality writing in both.
I enjoy having the mix of the two and although it would be great to earn some money from my blog that isn’t my reason for setting up the blog. I just wanted to have the experience and be able to say, “Hey I know how to do that!” I enjoy it more than writing on a blank page for a journal because of how it appears once you press publish and view your blog.
If I had the time to post several times a day I would, but that too is another reason why I have not applied to many blogging jobs.
My choice right now and other priorities.
Thank you for sharing Peggy.
I can see there is quite a divide on this subject, but that always makes things interesting!
I’ve written for blogging sites that pay a flat fee as well as sites that also pay a fee in addition to sharing in the ad revenue.
Quite frankly, I wasn’t really satisfied with either. I just find that I make more money for my time and get more satisfaction out of writing for traditional media outlets or doing marketing copywriting; less glory but more money.
Personally, I’d be much more inclined to operate a blog myself, sell advertising in addition to Google Adwords, develop a niche and an entire network of blogs and therefore be making some decent cash.
I do realize that there are some blogging gigs out there that pay very good, but I don’t see many people who are not the owners/operators of blogs really making so much money. Just an observation.
But again, I’m not trying to bad mouth blogging or anything – I understand there are people out there – particularly full-time freelancers – who are making a good income. But I do think that the people making the most money are those that tend to be the owners of the blog, and that entails a lot of marketing, working on social networking sites such as Mixx, Propeller, Alexa, etc. … and all that just becomes a full-time job in and of itself.
Like Deb said, you get what you put into it and some people are probably more astute at this sort of thing than I am, but I find I get more from my effort in working in print media.
Again, this might come down to the full-time versus part-time freelancer. If I make five figures a year from my freelancing, which I can usually do pretty easily, then I’m pretty much accomplishing what I want and find no shortage of work. If I was counting on freelancing to make six figures I year, perhaps I’d be scrounging for every single blogging gig I could find – even if it only paid $10 per post and I devoted a few hours a day to it … who the heck knows.
As far as print, I’ve been well served by working in newspapers and magazines and happening to be a pretty decent writer. More often than not, my work speaks for itself and I can get work without an insane amount of effort.
Well, that’s my two cents … again.
The decision to go web or print can also depend on the subject matter. I’m an entertainment reporter and that means that there’s a limit to the magazines I can write for and when it comes to breaking news, it’s web or it’s old. Magazine lead times are perfect for every green interviews but not for a hot story.
I did like having the second eye of an editor when I did magazine work and I’m surprised by how many sites publish webwork without anyone giving it another look – everyone’s work benefits from a good edit and that’s sorely missing on the web.