March 31st
Running Late This Morning…
Hi Everyone! Not only is it Monday, but it’s one of “those” days as well! I will have job leads for you a little later on. I apologize for the delay and thank you for your patience.
Jodee
Posted
on
Monday, March 31st, 2008 at 7:11 pm under
Writing Gigs .
Happy Monday to all. Jodee, hope your day improves.
I’d like to vent for a moment. Lately, I’ve been running across posted projects that within their descriptions say something like “this is an easy task for a good writer.” It ruffles my feathers a bit, tho not sure just why. Perhaps because it signals to me that the project owner is implying that the project should not receive high bids, due to the “easy” nature.
Of course, I would never refer to this in my bid proposal, but mentioning it here among my fellow writers. Have you encountered this? Does it sit poorly with you also or I am being too thin-skinned?
March 31st, 2008 at 8:11 pmYou’re not alone, L.L. Just today, I saw an ad for a blogging job that will offer the position to the “cheapest/best/most dependable” writers…um, cheapest and best don’t usually go hand-in-hand.
I think people who say things like “this is an easy task for a good writer” don’t write for a living, but assume it’s the easiest job in the world just because we can work from home.
March 31st, 2008 at 8:19 pmI don’t think it has anything to do with being thin skinned. I think it has to do with being perceptive. You understand that “this is an easy task” means “I don’t want to pay you a lot even though you’re good at what you do.”
I wonder if the clients who post like that would walk into a pediatricians office for their five year old’s well visit and say, this is an easy task for you. All you have to do is weigh and measure him, listen to his heart beat, and check his hearing and ears. And the nurse does most of that. So, I’m not going to pay you a professional rate.
Now, I don’t believe there is anything that we can do to change the fact that some clients think that way and pay that way except not to apply for their jobs.
But this is exactly the type of place where you can vent about stuff like this because it is infuriating.
March 31st, 2008 at 8:23 pmThanks for the feedback. I don’t feel so alone now.
But you make a valid point: we don’t say to any other professionals–not the mechanic, not the tax preparer, not the butcher–hey, that’s easy enough. I’m going to pay you just a little bit.” Well, we could try, lol, but I doubt we’d meet with success.
March 31st, 2008 at 8:36 pmIs this for real? Are these people for real?
Excerpts of job posted recently:
We will be accepting material continously…. We look forward to hearing from you and furthuring the Kingdom of God.
and
PAATAYYY with the STARS ..creative writers
WE are looking for the BEST partiers with the BEST writing skills and BLOGGERS covering Concerts,fashions,Love Sex Relationships,Clubbing,REsTaurants,Private Events,ghost writing,AND one ON one with the HOTTEST CELEB…fROM sANTA BARBARA TO sAN dIEGO……..
gET the ………….GIG,While having FUN…FUN….with something you RIGHTEOUSLY DIG !!!
VIP Passes,tcikets & WITH pay for your time and writting (based on experience.
all peoples are encourage ……..and send us YOUR resume WITH exampleS of your SKILllllLS in WRITING and BLOGGING stYLEs !!!
BEST ……….aND be responsible.
This one takes the cake.
LAZY free lance writers needed!!!
We need content in a hurry. We’ll pay good money for quick easy work! Must have a little internet experience.
March 31st, 2008 at 8:43 pmWow…..all I can say is Wow.
March 31st, 2008 at 8:56 pmThat one always makes me laugh as well and, yes, I believe the translation is easy work=insulting wage. Unless they themselves are writers and literally mean “hey—got some excess work and it will only take you half an hour tops” I don’t think the average client has a clear understanding of all the work that goes in to writing those “easy” articles. Because, really, if it were so damned easy they could do it themselves, couldn’t they?
March 31st, 2008 at 8:57 pmOn the subject of venting, while browsing the writing jobs on Craigslist last week I noticed that someone had been hitting back at those offering low pay or seeking people to write college essays. Several posts had been made along the lines of “You are trying to rip us off and don’t insult me with a penny per word.”
March 31st, 2008 at 8:59 pmI guess some project posters make it easier for us to weed through prospective work than others.
And that is a good thing, because I know I expend valuable time and energy writing bid proposals and cover letters.
What do the French say? Viva la difference!
March 31st, 2008 at 8:59 pm@ Cheryl My first thought was “Awww, poor bugger’s cap locks button is on the fritz”
That really is a piece of work.
March 31st, 2008 at 8:59 pmI had a string of them last week where they asked for things from credit cards or date of birth and SS number to one asking for a voided blank check for their “automatic deposit” system.
I had another where the man needed someone to write text for his new Web site, then after he decided I was perfect for the job, he asked if I could lower my price since I was not a qualified appraiser. If he’d wanted a qualified appraiser he should have started by saying that. In the end, he opted to repost the job ad and add that tidbit.
Then my favorite was a guy who said EXCELLENT pay. His version of excellent was $5 for 500 words and he even was so kind as to include that he was charging the clients $12 a piece for these same articles. He needed the extra money to cover his advertising, site fees, and time spent editing the articles.
Seems last week was a dud for me.
March 31st, 2008 at 9:02 pm@ Ann- Wow, with “excellent pay” like that, who needs cheapskates?
March 31st, 2008 at 9:17 pmThat is unbelievable! Maybe we should go on strike.
March 31st, 2008 at 9:56 pmMy emotions run the gamut of shock, anger and pain, when I see advertisements like these. Today, I blinked, rubbed my eyes, and groaned. It was agony reading those posts.
It’s a downright shame that freelancers are still viewed as lazy, time-wasters and deserving of little or no pay for their time and they work. It is obvious from the mountain of freelance jobs being offered, that we are in high demand.
That is why we must continue to rally together, across land, see and the Internet to build and sustain a formidable community. As we work to improve our skills and produce quality work, we must still fight against this blatant disrespect, injustice and prejudice. Let us encourage one another to maintain professionalism in the market place, to expect and demand respect and suitable compensation for the work we produce.
Naturally, all our efforts will not eradicate this scourge from our lives as freelancer writers. However, a bold and unified front backed by professionalism and excellent work will surely put a spoke in the wheel of those who regard us with scant courtesy and dangle crumbs and exposure on the other.
Enough ranting. This full-time freelance writer has commitments that require my immediate attention.
Have a great week my fellow writers.
March 31st, 2008 at 10:05 pmI generally ignore advertisers who post ludicrously low rates and expect high volume excellence in next to no time.
There seems to be a lot of these ads around at the moment but there will always be people willing to work for next to nothing. We touched on this subject just recently.
Now, I pick out the best ads. Ones that look and sound professional. At least, the ones that have a realistic approach. I also generally ignore the ones that list 100 million job functions for what seems little in way of return.
May be I am getting wise or just getting very wary!
March 31st, 2008 at 10:33 pmI think it’s the Dilbert pointy-haired boss syndrome: anything they can’t do must be easy, right?
March 31st, 2008 at 11:19 pmOK - now that job leads are up, my day is improving.
I found an ad today that made me shake my head. Someone is hiring freelance writers for a new site and is willing to pay between $0.25 and $2 per article. I was tempted to send this person an e-mail to ask if they had received many responses, but as I’m way behind today, I’ll just focus on what I need to do next.
March 31st, 2008 at 11:58 pmJodee Says:
OK - now that job leads are up, my day is improving.
I found an ad today that made me shake my head. Someone is hiring freelance writers for a new site and is willing to pay between $0.25 and $2 per article. I was tempted to send this person an e-mail to ask if they had received many responses, but as I’m way behind today, I’ll just focus on what I need to do next.
————————————–
I am wondering if some of these ridiculously low paying gigs is being outsourced. You know, may be a freelancer managed to win a gig and is then advertising for more writers, and taking a large cut in the meantime without the client knowing!
April 1st, 2008 at 12:13 amNow here’s something I found interesting. In today’s leads there’s an ad for a P/T freelancer. At the end of the ad it asks for the rates other clients have paid you in the past.
That way you could say “This is what my other clients pay me, so if you want my services this is what it costs.”
Of course I suppose a writer could lie…LOL! Hey, all my clients pay me $1 a word, you should too.
Still, I found that an interesting request from a client.
April 1st, 2008 at 1:13 am