I cannot imagine most people making the statements to a prospective brick-and-mortar employer that are written back in email to virtual prospective employers.

A good rule of thumb: if you wouldn’t say it to the person’s face – don’t type it in an email or post it on a comment board.

Knowing she couldn’t live on that, she started looking. Pepsi offered her a job as their front office manager for $7.75 an hour. That’s barely over minimum wage and for a manager at that! She didn’t tell them they were insane. Instead, she said no thanks and moved on.

What’s the point in complaining about a wage you feel is too low? If it’s too low for you, move on. It may be just what someone else is looking for.

Would the people who complain to clients about their rates here, complain to brick & mortar employers about what they are offering for a job? Probably not. They’d just say no thanks and continue to search for something suitable for them. Why can’t it be that way here?

Nothing looks or sounds worse than seeing a fully grown adult act like a spiteful child in a playground. How embarrassing.

I’m not sure where you got the impression I need “external validation.” Frankly it doesn’t matter how you feel about me. As I said in the post that started it all, I’m not looking for a praisefest or group hugs, I just don’t want clients to feel uncomfortable about posting jobs here. Nor do I want to make the members of this community uncomfortable.

I don’t care if you discuss wages. I don’t care if you feel a particular client doesn’t pay enough. All I ask is if you’re going to discuss a gig, in a post where the client emailed the job, you don’t insult the client – or each other. I really don’t think that’s too much to ask.

As tired as you are of hearing me “complain” I’m equally as tired of having to moderate comments, ask people to be nice, soothe the ruffled feathers of clients who longer want to post gigs here, and deal with emails calling me fat, stupid, and a dictator.

I love the interaction at this blog, but that doesn’t mean I want to see a lot of negativity or hostility. If that’s being controlling, so be it. I don’t ask for praise. I don’t ask for money and I don’t ask for thanks. I don’t even ask for you to show respect towards me. The only think I ask is for everyone here to be nice to each other. I think that’s a reasonable request, don’t you?

I think the issue has nothing to do with Deb personally, but the way her clients are being treated. This is a business essentially, and she has to consider the people who are coming to her to post jobs or else they won’t. That hurts the business. I haven’t seen Deb or Jodee asking for thanks or praise or ‘external validation’ either. I think they’re looking for people to behave as grownups and professionals. But I can see how you might have missed that.

This blog launched my freelance career two years ago. With barely a portfolio, I landed a regular PT gig at $50/hour that lasted almost a year. I have received three fabulous gigs off of here, and each time, I have sent Deb an hour’s pay — usually around $50. It’s certainly worth fifty bucks not to have to do all of this info gathering myself, especially if the gig is ongoing, as mine have all been. Deb and Jodee find jobs I could NEVER find on my own. I simply don’t have time. I do hope other people show the love, though!

I for one am SO grateful for everything Deb and Jodee do. I have steady work now, but I’ve been so pleased with the content now on the site … lots of great tips, ideas, and advice. Even when I’m not looking for a gig, I come here just for the info. Thank you x10!

Beth Grant

Thanks for taking the time to work on this site.

If anyone is interested in finding out how writers determine their rates (and the additional costs/time involved with self employment), google “how to set writer rates”

http://www.writedirection.com/rprt300e.htm

Some people seem to have a hard time with some of the pay rates. As others have said, if it’s not your cup of tea, pass it up for the next thing. Rather than complaining, I’d imagine that time would be better spent searching for opportunities that suit you. Not everything is going to be a perfect match for every visitor to this site.

For the job posting in question, I’d imagine it would not take so long to do the work as the posting implied this would be a topic familiar and part of the daily life of the writing. Was the pay rate that bad for a half an hour of quick work really?

There are a lot of different factors to consider for each posting, and those factors vary to each individual. A hard topic for me could be a breeze for you. I don’t think it’s really fair to judge postings because it simply does not apply to your individual situation. It might be the perfect fit for someone else.

I’ve gotten a few different things from ads posted here and some resulting in ongoing work. If I see ads posted I don’t like for any reason I just click past them – no big deal.

Some of the ads have inspired me with ideas for new blog posts to write or new articles to write in order to create new areas in which I have writing samples.

I love this site, and I truly appreciate Jodee and Deb!!!!

{{Big Hugs}}

It is unfortunate that vocal and rude minority is selfishly endangering such a great resource — but that’s people for you.

Most visitors are looking for work that will lead to more work; it is incredibly counterproductive for any one of us to be unprofessional. This really just makes me shake my head.