Let’s Brainstorm: How to Empower New Freelance Writers Not to Settle for Low Pay
February 19, 2009 by Deb
Filed under Freelance Writing
Yesterday’s post about what freelance writing job ads really mean hit a nerve for many writers. I’m glad to see I’m not the only one finding many of these low and non payers ridiculous. Why is writing the only field where the client is expected to work for little or no money? The mind boggles.
A few commentators wondered how we convince newer writers not to accept low wages in order to break the habit and raise the rates. It’s not easy. Many new writers believe they have to start low, or even with no pay to gain experience and build up clips. This isn’t true at all. My first writing gig paid .10 per word. While this isn’t a fortune, I didn’t come off the gig earning $5 for my 6 hours of work, either.
So how do we convince others not to accept the low payers? Let’s brainstorm. I’ll share my thoughts and you can post your comments below.
Education – This blog and others often talks about fair wages. If more writers knew there were plenty of opportunities for them, many that pay a reasonable rate for a newbie, they wouldn’t be so inclined to accept nothing for their work.
Guidance – If new writers are looking in the wrong places, let’s guide them in the right direction. Let’s point out the jobs that are good opportunities and discuss why others aren’t such good opportunities.
Lead by example - Don’t just talk the talk, walk the walk. If you think low wages are ruining it for everyone, stop accepting the gigs. Many writers who complain about the unfair wages are also applying for jobs that pay $5 or less. How can you convince your client or other writers the rate is unfair, when you’re happy to do the job?
Show us the good jobs – If you see a job that pays well and we haven’t posted it here, let us know. Post it in the comments or send it to me at deborahng(at)gmail(dot)com. I’m always happy to share the good gigs!
Now it’s your turn. What are some ways writers can become empowered and stop accepting less than a living wage?
Make noise, as long as it isn’t white noise that fades into the backround. Talking about it among ourselves hasn’t gotten us anywhere, that’s why we are still talking about it. Many peices of legislation trace their origins to an individual or group of individuals who started out saying I have no clout, but got mad enough to do something anyway.
We need to get past the discussion stage, that’s why this brainstorming session got started. The only way to find out if something works is to try it.
I’m a good year into freelance writing (though I write articles–I’m not doing technical writing or copyediting, etc).
I worked for an entertainment website (which is what I’m interested in writing about) and made $15 per hour starting out. These were full length, 1,000+ word articles–not blogs.
I did that for a good eight to ten months–writing three articles a month. It didn’t bother me too much, because I knew I was building a portfolio of great work. Around October of 2008, I started writing entertainment articles for a website for $100 and $200 per article. That didn’t last too long (maybe a couple of months) because the site is “restructuring” their approach and may or may not issue out new contracts to us freelance writers.
Here’s my question/problem. I don’t see a lot of jobs out there paying too much (online). Now, maybe it’s just the field that I want to break into is the problem, and if you want to be a copyeditor or something else, maybe it’s easier to find more jobs.
But for me, mostly what I see is either “we don’t pay anything” or “come write for us for maybe $15 or $20 per article.”
Now maybe I’m not searching in the right places or often enough–I don’t know. I’m also thinking to myself, “OK, what’s the NEXT step from here.” If I’d like to be a freelance writer for a magazine instead of a cheap website, how do I realistically make that happen. I’ve heard you pitch to magazines or publishers–is that the only way?
Months back, I did see an ad for an entertainment publication that I was excited to write for. Didn’t pay a ton ($50 to $75 per article), but I didn’t care because I had an opportunity to write for a magazine. And it was a start. I apply and hear nothing for a month or two. A woman responds out of the blue from the magazine saying she’d liked my work and would be interested, but for me to first contact the publisher to see if he’ll pay.
So I contact the publisher. He says “email me you bio, resume, samples” at “blah blah blah” and I’ll read it and get back to you. I do, and I hear nothing. So I call back a few weeks later, remind him who I am. He says the same thing, and I send him another email, and I hear nothing. Call back weeks later and remind him who I am. Asks me what ideas I have for an article pertaining to the Academy Awards. We agree on a rate for the article, and he says I should email him and he’ll get back to me.
Well, I email him everything as well as pitch ideas, and I still hear nothing.
My thoughts are–is this a lost cause? And is this how it’ll be for freelance writing? I just have to call people and hope someone actually checks their email or returns my calls? It’s very frustrating to me.
So, in that sense, I can see why people want to write for $15.00. It seems that there’s no clearer way to make more money for your services (at least to me). Sure, everyone gets lucky and will hit an ad at the right time and respond quickly enough to be within the top 30 of the huge email barrage, but other than that, I’m at a loss in figuring out how to take the “next step” in freelance writing (for the web, newspaper, magazine, etc).
And my guess is, if I’m not clear on what to do next after a year to year and a half of freelance writing, I’d have to imagine that a newbie would be completely clueless.
I think Anne G’s story is a perfect example of why a hard-nosed approach to the problem won’t help. No one should fault Anne for doing what she needed to do to keep her family afloat. She did the responsible thing to get the bills paid.
At the same time there may be writers who really and truly don’t know what they should be earning and aren’t between a rock and hard place. Those writers might think that a penny a word is all they are worth. Those are the writers that need our help, through education.
Speak of work – I’d better get back to it if I’m going to make my deadlines. Obviously a nerve has been touched here.
Wow. I am a little offended by your statement Marc, “they’re not looking/working hard enough.” That’s a pretty big accusation to make about people you don’t know. I am new to freelance writing and I can tell you that I am indeed “looking/working hard enough.” The truth of the matter is that for some of us (who haven’t been published) have to take the lower paying jobs in order to build a portfolio so we CAN get the higher paying jobs. Just because we accept jobs for $5.00 or $10.00 doesn’t mean we aren’t working hard and it doesn’t mean we don’t have a plan. I have a degree in English and I am very proud of it, it took me a long time to get it, but jobs don’t want to read my college essays, they want to read published works. And if I can’t land a decent paying gig based on my education and training then I’m going to have to start taking the low paying gigs just to get some clips. It all seems like a double edge sword and I don’t really know if there is an answer to this discussion. As a “newbie” my advice to new freelancers would be to definitely go for the higher paying jobs, keep at it, keep applying, don’t give up. But, if you find yourself accepting a job for low pay don’t beat yourself up over it, by all means don’t make it a habit, just chalk it up to experience, something you can learn and grow from.
Give writers enough credit to know that a penny word is far less than they should expect. However, that doesn’t mean they won’t accept it if they feel they have to, and that doesn’t only mean becasue they are between a rock and a hard place.
Taking the hard nosed approach that you can find it if you keep looking doesn’t help anybody. Maybe they will, maybe they won’t, but what about in between time? Educating people isn’t giving them platitudes about reaching for the gold, especially when the there is less and less gold.
I think most writers are smart enough to know what they’re worth given what stage of their career they are at. The question then becomes how do they realistically get it?
I’ve enjoyed today’s topic. As a rule, I will not work for what I consider slave labor rates; nor will I pay someone for the privilege. That said, I’d like to share this item I recently received after applying to a posting. It’s so stupid, it made me laugh. If you’re new to writing or freelancing, please run from things like this:
Hey there!
Thanks for replying to my ad and sorry for the delay in responding, we have received much more demands than what we expected. A few openings has been filled but we still have jobs to offer. Go on : http://www.home-writers-pro.com/writer-job.php, subscribe to the newsletter and once it’s done, you’ll have to pay a 7$ fee to get access to our job bank and to postulate our job offer. I know it might sound kind of harsh to pay to get a job or to get access to a job bank but it’s the only way we found to restrict the access to qualified and motivated writers. . We are simply tired to lose our time with non-qualified workers. Also, by subscribing to our newsletter, you’ll receive every openings we might have during the upcoming days.
You might also want to add this site to your favorites as there are always new jobs coming up.
All The Best,
Melissa Arnold
Project Manager
I, too, have to get back to work. I wish all who took part in this discussion the very best in their careers.
@Anne G. – My thoughts and prayers are with you that your husband will remain employed full-time.
Another hit of a post! Very interesting reading.
I too must say that I check the leads on this site very often, & have done so for a couple of years now. I agree, responding to most of them is like hollering into a deep, pitch-black well and just hoping something good comes back up.
Too many responses, I think.
@Mike:
My ONE current (well, just-started) gig that I got from a lead here I landed because, I think, a) I had the qualifications the employer needed, and b) I politely yet consistently emailed him to check back in–did you get my email; okay, I got yours, now what; oh, cool, you were busy, thanks for getting back to me; here are my article ideas; thanks, got the paperwork to fill out; etc. etc. In other words, I didn’t give up, even though his responses to me had lag time. (I think Deb has mentioned this tactic before.)
I also consistently pitch magazines I’d like to write for, in a professional, non-stalking way. I do think that method will yield the highest return on actual assignments! Takes persistence and, of course, good writing skills. Nothing yet for me…but I know it’s coming. I also only pitch what I’m really qualified for; my specialties, I suppose.
But overall, yes, I think most freelance leads get such huge responses, especially these days, that the posters only respond to the first ones (or consistent ones) that respond. Not sure I’m giving up on these leads yet…but I do find it daunting to not get replies.
@Joy V.:
Yep, those are the types of scammers to run from! Good reminder for newbies.
@ Maria –
You wrote: “Give writers enough credit to know that a penny word is far less than they should expect.”
No disrespect meant, but way, WAY back when I started, I worked at gigs that paid $2 for 500 words. I believe that comes out to $0.004 a word.
At the time I began, that was all I could find, because I had never written for pay, didn’t know where to look, didn’t know what to do and didn’t know I should expect more. I didn’t know what a blog was, didn’t know where to look, didn’t know who to believe and needed the money. Badly.
I am definitely, DEFINITELY not alone, even today. People who know that their labor is worth more are plentiful. People who know that they should expect more are rare.
Imagine that you’ve never written for pay, and you have no one to guide you. You have no clue what to expect at all. None.
It’s important that none of us here forget that this situation happens every day to hundreds of people who have just come online thinking, “I wonder if I can get paid to write…”
@Maria – Thanks. We’re thankful he still has a job. Many of his co-workers were not so lucky.
Gathering points from many of you – it’s difficult to make a rule for “all freelance writers” because that can be so many different things. A person needs to sit down and think about their goals.
If the goal is to make money writing because you love it, need to stay work at home, just need cash pretty quick – then go ahead and pick up as many of those low paying jobs as you can turn out in a week. In the end, $50 will buy groceries and if that’s your concern then go for it. You’ll be overworked and bored out of your mind but you’ll have food on the table. (I’m not saying take a 1200 word article for 1.00 – but 1.00 for a blog post – why not?)
If the goal is to become a pro writer with a resume you’re proud of – then forget writing for the SEO hawkers and the revenue sharing spots. Hone in on your specialty and write for FREE for a magazine or website that will get you noticed or at least a decent clip.
My first project was a TV book where I got paid nothing – stiffed for the job. But I had a published book with my name on it – which I took to another publisher and said, see, here’s proof I can write and be published. Buy my next book and they did.
100 keyword articles on pets won’t get you that job writing for People magazine. Get your priorities straight.
Finally, I must make my ‘for the love of’ pitch. I’m an entertainment junkie, so there are low to no pay jobs that pay me in perks such as interviews with great people, free DVDs, swag, etc. No, that doesn’t pay the rent, but at the end of the day, it makes me feel good and that’s more than a lot of people can say about their jobs.
@ Julie…
Thanks for the response. You mention that you pitch directly to magazines. I’m curious–how do you do this? Meaning, how are you finding a phone number or email address to do your pitch? And who are you specifically calling? A supervisor? An editor?
Secondly, even if you or anyone is an excellent writer, the people that you are cold calling don’t know you. So, what would make them field your call on a busy day for them? Why would they listen to you when they don’t know you? Even if they are looking for writers, I’d have to imagine that if you are calling them for an opportunity, others are too. So what would make them listen to a stranger?
Thirdly, if you’re fortunate to get someone from a magazine to respond to your email or phone call, are you literally pitching them ideas for their next issue, or are you merely stating that you can provide them with samples of your work, a resume, a pay rate, and if they’re interested, then they can get back in contact with you?
Lastly, you say that you contact the magazines directly–are these popular magazines? Start-up magazines? I ask this question because–using me as an example–I’m interested in entertainment writing. Would I in turn cold call “Entertainment Weekly,” or is that considered too “big” of a magazine to contact? If not, would I contact a smaller entertainment publication? I’m curious to know who you attempt to target when calling magazines.
Thanks!
-Mike
@Mike:
I research the publications I’d like to pitch. I read them–I find actual hard copies, by browsing them in a store, scoping out thrift stores (they sell old mags for about a quarter), and also reading the online articles.
Then I specifically check out their guidelines page–almost every publication has a website with the guidelines; sometimes they’re hard to find, but they’re often in the FAQs page, under Contact Us, or right under Guidelines. Then I follow their specific guidelines to the letter. I find the correct editor to pitch, I make sure I spell their name correctly, all that. Most places take email pitches these days, and I personally won’t bother with a snail mail pitch (um, I’m too lazy? lol).
Never call! Most mags have a very clear Do Not Call Us message. I’d never call unless invited to do so. It’s all email, all the time (well, it’s whatever their guidelines say to do).
I pitch a very specific idea. I research their needs, I think up a story that will hopefully fit those needs, and I pitch that story. I attach clips (actually, a link to my site) only if asked.
I don’t tell them my pay rate–mags tell me theirs, and I’m only pitching if I like the rate and, honestly, only if I think my idea will fly. Do I want to be published in National Geographic Adventure? Heck yeah. But am I going to start by pitching to Ye Local Small Outdoor Periodical to build my clips? Yep. After I have better clips, I’ll pitch to Adventure.
That said, my first three paid articles were actually cover stories, for an independent rag (the Salt Lake City Weekly; most big towns have such papers). I pitched a number of ideas, the editor picked the ones he liked, and he very kindly offered me great editorial advice as I stumbled my way through. Those article pitches were accepted because I had ideas he wanted. I gave him ideas he wanted because I studied his publication and knew what to pitch. Do the homework.
Entertainment Weekly is a pretty big mag. But if you have the goods or an angle on a story that NO ONE ELSE has, your pitch might work. In general, though, it’s better to start smaller and work up. The $4/word and up markets are mostly open to the big players who’ve already earned their stripes.
Hope that helps!
I know this won’t be a popular point to make in a den of writers, but as someone who earns a living fixing other people’s writing, I’m going to make it. There are good writers and bad writers, just as there are good/bad lawyers, dentists, cops, cooks, waiters, etc., etc.
In this field, and in most creative fields, our earnings ideally should be reflective of the quality and creativity of the work. Maybe there are writers out there whose work is only deserving of $5/article or $0.01/word. In that case, the client’s publication (whatever it may be) will also be reflective of the low rate they charged and the low quality of writer that rate attracted. It’s kind of the natural order of things. Or: You get what you pay for.
If you know you deserve high pay, then demand it or move on to the next prospect. Don’t slum it with the writers (or bloggers or editors) on the lower end of the spectrum. You’ll just drag yourself down to their level.
That being said, I (a freelance copyeditor, primarily) have found myself in situations (usually thanks to bloody offshoring) where I’m in desperate need of work. So while I ordinarily edit for around $3/page, I’ll take some proofreading work for $1/page. But believe me, that work is not getting my complete attention. Nobody wins in these situations, I think.
Thanks for this wonderful forum, fellow freelance writers are beginning to address my concerns about this dirt-cheap pay.
Sometime ago, writers from the entertainment industry staged a crippling strike. These are the movie scriptwriters, television show writers and stagehands.
They banded together and got a better-paying deal. I’m sure there were those who personally and financially suffered during the strike.
But with grit and determination, they forgot their personal inconveniences and aimed for the common good.
The result was that they got what they believe is fairly due to them.
Now, I’m not advocating that we freelance writers stage. Nope. ( Though I admit I once entertained the idea!)
We will just have to ask ourselves this question: ” Am I part of the problem or part of the solution?”
Thanks everybody!
Joy, I got that same email recently. I snorted, then hit “delete.” No thanks.
This has been a great discussion, y’all.
I think that as long as there are other people in other countries that will write articles for $.01 or even less, people who hire freelance writers will come to expect that rate, not realizing that you get what you pay for. There is nothing you can do about that, as $2 for 500 words is good pay for those people.
The key is to branch out away from those type of jobs. If you are looking for jobs on sites such as odesk or GAF you aren’t going to find $50 articles. But, just simple things like contacting one of your favorite websites or marketing your own freelance writing on your own website can help you branch out more in the market, rather than sticking around the low paying jobs.
I think both Megan R. and James Chartrand make good, common sense points about not always-and especially not in the beginning-making the big bucks when it comes to freelance writing.
@Maria Your focus determines your reality. You put in as much effort as needed to get what you want. If you want to get higher paying work then you’re going to have to put in the hard work to find it, part of that hard work means giving up doing the low pay stuff.
As for rate calculators, sorry but you are just being obtuse now. They’re just a tool, a means to an end. You can just as easily work out your minimum rate with pen and paper and your monthly bank statements.
When we are in dire straits we have several options available to us, one of which is taking low paying jobs. I’m not saying that is an unjustifiable option but rather this article is about empowering freelancers not to settle for low pay.
Legislation is a good idea, but it’s not practical until it gets implemented which could take how long exactly? Even then it’s not a guaranteed thing.
In the meantime we need to be educated not on the simplistic things like “there are better paying jobs out there” or “your skills are worth more than $5″ of course we all know that. We need to be taught what happens when we focus on those low paying jobs, or how to increase our chances of landing the better paying ones.
Y’all, this is only sort of related, but I have to share…I read an ad today on a job board that asked for a 400-word original writing sample, and get this: they added, “And we will be using a plagiarism tool to check.” !!! Yeah, because don’t we all usually apply for writing jobs using SOMEONE ELSE’S WRITING SAMPLES as my clips!
I recently tried out Mechanical Turk through Amazon. There are a lot of “hits” that require writing. Some of them pay ridiculously low amounts of money. One that I keep seeing (obviously no one has opted to do it) is to write a minimum 1000 word story of your first sexual experience, for which you will be paid: are you ready? Twenty cents.
I wrote film reviews professionally, and get paid $60 for a short 100 word review. M-Turk seems to want to pay between 50 cents and $1 for similar length film reviews.
Most of the hits pay mere pennies; like 85 cents for three original recipes that require you to join a website to post them, etc. So you’re not only getting paid shite, you’re giving out your personal info. Some specialized skills are worth a few bucks. There is some opportunity to get noticed by the employers and get specialized assignments direct from them. But this is rare I understand.
I’ve done a few of these, have made about 6 bucks, and am done. I also write an Examiner blog that I hope might lead to other writing opportunities, so I keep at it, and did make a nice little first month bonus. But there’s not much money in it over the long haul as far as I can tell.
Thanks for reminding us all that quality work is worth real pay.
Maybe we are looking at this the wrong way. A 500-word essay stuffed with the same words over and over may not even BE writing. I know everyone will scream at me. But maybe a couple of bucks is a fine rate for that. If it’s so easy to type that much–type!–for three bucks, actualy typing pays more! Maybe you don’t need to think of it as writing. Maybe it’s dollar-bill gathering or something. If you can’t even make minimum wage, and it’s pulling down the rates and definition of an age-old profession even entertaining these “jobs,” then think of the opportunity costs. You could be using that time to find a typing job, or get to know more business people in your community, or cold call. If you need samples, assign yourself something and write some. I don’t think it’s too impressive to say “this story appeared on Blanky Website if people have never heard of it. Oh, well–that’s my opinion. I have not commented on this site in years–but my suggestion is let’s not cling to the old notions too hard.
For those of us that are simply writing for the enjoyment of writing, why can’t we take the lower paying jobs? Sure I would love a great paying gig, but if I’m given the opportunity to write about something I care about, well then money will not get in the way of that.
That being said, since I’ve just begun to gain more writing experience I am quite comfortable with something that pays less. Will I feel that way in a year or two? Most likely not. However, for the time being I am content with that.
Hmm. I made a post here yesterday, and I don’t think it got posted. It was pretty long too! Does this happen often?
Ashley,
If writing for enjoyment, one doesn’t need pay. But most on this site (from my reading of comments) are supporting their families partially or in full. Pay level is a critical issue.
Deb – have you ever tried a syndication marketplace site (e.g. The Syndicated News, etc)? Any idea of how much you can earn on a site like that?
This was a good post and I agree that it comes down to education. However, I do agree with some of the others who mentioned that it comes down to your personal decision. Some people don’t know better and some need to take what they can (due to this economy and trying to make some money). Some people don’t have the luxury of turning down lower paying jobs. I’m not a fan of lower paying gigs but I know there are some people who rely on these jobs (especially outside the U.S.)
As other people pointed out, a lot of these lower paying gigs are generated outside the U.S. (where their pay scale/minimum wage is a lot lower than the U.S.) There are a lot of third world countries (like India) who can live off these low pay writing scams.
I see these companies (especially outside the U.S.) as a big racket and don’t even get me started on blogs/sites that are ripping off people with “revenue sharing” (a big joke). The Internet has both been a blessing and a curse when it comes to writing.
Like I mentioned, it really comes down to education and sharing resources with other writers. I also highly suggest that writers read as much as they can about how to market themselves as writers. Read as much much as you can, and act like you’re the CEO of your own company and act accordingly. You need to be proactive.
@Jennifer L: That actually is standard these days with writing samples. There is a LOT of plagiarism and it’s easy to rip off other people’s writing online. I worked on a project last month and this guy got caught for plagiarizing on his first assignment and was fired. Actually, I bet if they went back and Copyscaped his writing samples, I would bet anything they were plagiarized samples. You’d be surprised. Someone ripped off one of my yoga articles and found it on some random site and threatened the web hosting site with a lawsuit if they didn’t take off my article (since someone had stolen it and was using it without my knowledge). They finally took it down, but there are some people who have no qualms (and zero ethics) and will swipe articles from other sites (even when they are copyrighted articles).
Another comment @Lisa R:
That’s so true. I’ve had some editors disappear off the face of the earth. I’ve been bugging a company for the past few weeks about writing some articles for them and they want me to write, but can’t give me a concrete answer about my fee payment. It’s very annoying. I told them I won’t sign a contract until I get a confirmed fee from them (and supposedly they are willing to pay fairly well per article).
Actually, some of my most consistent writing jobs haven’t been well-established companies. I write a lot of SEO content for a woman who owns her own SEO marketing company and I’m one of her outsourced writers. I adore her and we have a great rapport (and she pays me timely and she adds a bit extra to my fee when I can turn around projects quickly for her). I agree with Lisa R. Even though a company is well-established, that doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll pay or a lot or that they’re on the ball.
T: Ack! It’s so easy for people to use a tool to check for plagiarism these days…why would anyone who was predisposed to doing something unethical like stealing someone else’s clips and passing them off as their own even try to get away with it? I know, I know. I’m being all naive. Just because I do the right thing doesn’t mean that other people always do. Sad.
Maybe we need to ask a hard question, too – are some of the people working for no or low pay, just as good as the people who are working for regular rates? In a recession, markets will pay as little as they can. Why do the “regulars” have the right to expect to get high rates?
I’m not saying they don’t have the right – I’m just asking. My personal view is that most pros are better than most freebie merchants. Markets who want to keep their readers know they can’t let quality slide,and they’ll try to pay as good rates as they can, even in a recession.
But it’s hard. Writers are under threat in all directions. I’ve found myself returning to this threat more and more on my own blog, and I never planned that to happen.
Jenny Woolf http://www.jabberwock.co.uk/blog
I have been searching the internet all day today looking for good freelance writing jobs with only my junk mail email address anf the trusty WOT security of firefox, and I haven’t found those “good paying” freelance writing jobs yet. The best one I know of is Hibpages. Other than that, there are no freelance writing jobs that could help me that I know of.