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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

This has been a great discussion, y’all.

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!

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.

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!

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

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.

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…”