Online writing ? global sweatshop or goldmine?

The rise of online freelance writing has created a very strange dichotomy. On the one hand there are huge numbers of extremely low paid jobs. On the other hand, writing rates at the top scale are rising exponentially.

Sydney - I'm a professional freelance writer. Naturally, I'm pretty interested in anything to do with writing rates. I do a combination of batch writing and hourly writing fees, depending on the client's needs. So I was naturally very interested to see that the Australian Society of Authors? quoted rates:

Freelance writing These rates are based on the 2010 National Freelance Rates approved by the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance and apply to all genres except poetry. They apply to prose (such as articles or short fiction for magazines, journals or newspapers) which is commissioned on a freelance or casual basis and previously unpublished. See the MEAA website for more information. ? Per day = $878 ? Per half day = $585 (2/3 day rate) ? Per hour = $219 ? 1000 words or less = $892 ? Per word thereafter = $0.89 See also Wilson da Silva?s Short Guide to Freelance Journalism paper.

"Per day equals $878?" That was certainly news to me, and I've been writing for over a decade professionally. Or to put it another way ? Whaaaaaaaaaaaat? Compare this with this article from Word Nerds.com, dated 2009:

Business writing is a profession. Many years of study and hands-on experience are required to become a proficient business writer. If Mr Business Writer charges around $95 per hour for his services, he?s charging much less than other professionals, such as solicitors and accountants, charge for their services.

That is a fair comment. Many employers seem to forget that they are actually paying for experience, knowledge and skills. Very high quality writing is also a very high-value product, and frankly, you don't get diamonds for beans. if you want quality, you should expect to be paying for it. So far, you've been looking at the Western version of writing rates. By the time you get to India and the Philippines and their rates, you are looking at real sweatshop conditions. The pay scale is unbelievably bad, of itself, let alone in comparison with Western writing rates. If you've ever been offered pay in rupees, you'll know what I mean.The big boom in online writing jobs has also created a working underclass of writers. I've seen some of their work, and some of them try very hard to produce good material, but overall many of the jobs they're given are real "churn" work. It's fairly easy to argue that quality dictates rates, but that is not usually the case. On Elance, there's a pretty broad spread of writing rates which indicates a pretty obvious preferences on the part of people trying to find freelance writers. "Cheap" is usually the preferred option. A browse through the employers will also show that the overall rate of acceptance and actual payouts varies considerably. This is important, because Elance is actually one of the best online writing job sites in the world. It has been for years. I occasionally work on Elance and have to say I don't really have any complaints about the site. That said, many of the jobs have rates so low I wouldn't touch them with anybody else's bargepole, let alone my own. One of the most common arguments made in favour of higher rates for writers is quality. In fairness, the quality of writing varies from excellent to positively horrifying across the Internet. I have quite literally seen deliberate plagiarism in first attempts from brand-new writers. These guys didn't even know that it was very likely that an editor would do Copyscape check or as I did, a complete manual search of specific text. My comment to the publisher at the time was "This guy wants to give us a lawsuit with every article". This was technical writing, and the writer had deliberately ripped off an Oxford Press publication. Need I say that's what happens when you pay bottom dollar. The writers don't feel themselves under any obligation to produce high-quality materials and are quite prepared to take the risk of losing a low-paying job simply because it's so easy to get other low-paying jobs. (I am not about to agree with the assertion that Indian and foreign writers are somehow worse writers. Quite the opposite ? I've seen many native English speakers who get writing jobs on the basis of being native English speakers and the grammar, spelling and content is nothing less than appalling. That other famous catchall, "tertiary qualifications required" is also a hoot, meaning the fact that writers have qualifications is more important than the fact that they couldn't write a shopping list.) Another thing that needs to be realised is that low quality copy invariably leads to total failure in terms of the purpose of that copy. People on the internet cannot be forced to read anything,quite regardless of "surefire" sales pitches and other rubbish. If they don't like what they see, they simply won't read it and the entire exercise is a complete waste of time. All of which lead to one hideous but quite unavoidable fact ? Yet again, employers and businesses put themselves in the firing line every time they skimp on payments. This is a pattern which has repeated itself in other industries, but in terms of the gigantic global online writing industry, this is a particularly stupid, counter-productive approach to doing business. There is another issue, and it's a particularly ironic problem. The very high rates quoted for top end writers may be perfectly justifiable, in some cases. In other cases, they're simply bad business. Imagine charging a start-up company those fantastic rates. Talk about killing the client. The other, quite understandable, result is that naturally people will be in no hurry to pay rates like that. This money comes out of business bottom lines, and employers are in no hurry to part with it. Freelance writers are in business for themselves. That said, they should recognize the business needs of their clients. I give discount rates to good clients and get more work as a direct result. Creating points of sales resistance is not good business for freelance writers. There is absolutely no doubt that there is a very strong sweatshop element in freelance writing. These writing farms are getting the quality they deserve for their shoddy payouts. Most people escape or go back to comparatively high paying jobs like fast food or janitor jobs, where at least they'll make enough to eat. The "goldmine" approach is also likely to come unstuck. There is a huge demand for writers, but there's not necessarily that much capital around, particularly among the large numbers of new online businesses which are generating so much of the work. The moral of the story is "charge reasonable rates and you'll get ongoing and repeat business". Beautiful post Paul! I for one will surely be related to writing rates, being a freelance online writer. But I definitely won't leave writing/editing for a higher paying job. Writing is more than a job; it's a vow with one's self, one's basic right of expression. So whatever it pays in currency, its overall reward is far larger than a bank's facade.

@Ernest Dempsey Beautiful post Paul! I for one will surely be related to writing rates, being a freelance online writer. But I definitely won't leave writing/editing for a higher paying job. Writing is more than a job; it's a vow with one's self, one's basic right of expression. So whatever it pays in currency, its overall reward is far larger than a bank's facade.

Very true, and well said, Ernest. I'm finally getting back into creative writing, and it's a real reawakening. I'm leaning on the sweatshop side of things! Drat.

@Marcus Hondro I'm leaning on the sweatshop side of things! Drat.

Well worth looking around. There are better jobs, but you have to keep looking pretty much continuously. The good news is that with a bit of management, you can create multiple income streams, so you're not totally dependent on on gig. Very good summary of what is going on in the freelance writer's world. Competing for jobs which pay $1.00 for a 500 word article is ridiculous on the one hand; on the other, there are some excellent paying jobs available for the discerning writer. It's definitely a case of pick and choose. Good article! I need to point out that magazines today pay the same as they did in the 1990s. You won't get more than, say, $500 for a specialist magazine article of 1000 words. Meanwhile prices go up and up. The reader looks for contributors who advance the quality of a site, who are writers first and accountants second. Much site activity is produced with trivial chat and eye candy - all pleasing to the site owners - but where are the writers who will challenge the taboos, who will delve into the unsafe? Must those areas be left to unpaid bloggers? "Yet again, employers and businesses put themselves in the firing line every time they skimp on payments. This is a pattern which has repeated itself in other industries, but in terms of the gigantic global online writing industry, this is a particularly stupid, counter-productive approach to doing business." well said, paul. since the initiation of points and badges here on dj, anyone noticing the dramatic drop in pay structure? or is that a taboo subject?????? Great article thanks.

@Lynn Herrmann well said, paul. since the initiation of points and badges here on dj, anyone noticing the dramatic drop in pay structure? or is that a taboo subject??????

OF COURSE Lynn! Points and badges are freebies and, unlike dollars and cents, they are gone, erased by the end of the month. However, it seems to be a taboo subject. I've been mass-producing content anonymously (well, really "pseudonymously") at low-to-lower rates between better paying gigs because it is more controllable than performance pay and I can make the experience just as entertaining and educational. But I know no human is supposed to linger and read this stuff (though mine is readable), because it is published mainly for link-backs to increase the pagerank of (and hits on) the "real" stuff that cost the website owner more (or not so much more, if the content is pure scam). As someone who spent almost 20 years as a print journalist with a brief two year stint in the very early days of online media, the rise of sites which require no professional qualification filled me with dread. In an era where the world and its mother seem to have a degree in "media studies" with the sole intention of finding fame and fortune, it's heartening to see that there are places which try, within limits, to ensure the content which appears on their sites is accurate, fair and balanced. It doesn't always happen and there are some strange rules in place on some sites which seem to make it okay to lift copy directly from another news site providing you link to the article, but overall the rise of citizen journalism hasn't had quite the effect I expected on print media. I've been lucky, I've always had a full time contract job and never had to try and make a living as a freelance journalist but I'm now looking to return to work after four years as a stay at home mum and the newspaper world is swarming with people who don't actually have the qualifications or experience that was once required and the thought of having to compete with people willing to work for peanuts is quite a disturbing one. Well said!

@Marlene de Wilde Very good summary of what is going on in the freelance writer's world. Competing for jobs which pay $1.00 for a 500 word article is ridiculous on the one hand; on the other, there are some excellent paying jobs available for the discerning writer. It's definitely a case of pick and choose.

Copywriting rates definitely are better overall, and the work is a lot easier to schedule than article writing. At one point I was writing 180 x 500 word articles a month, and the money vs. hours equation was pretty staggering. Time is the other factor- the dollars/hours relationship has to be taken into account, if you also want a life.

@Christopher Szabo Good article! I need to point out that magazines today pay the same as they did in the 1990s. You won't get more than, say, $500 for a specialist magazine article of 1000 words. Meanwhile prices go up and up.

Magazine rates can be very good. I got a quote a few days ago for 40c a word. I can see my version of War and Peace simply flooding out...

@skeptikool The reader looks for contributors who advance the quality of a site, who are writers first and accountants second. Much site activity is produced with trivial chat and eye candy - all pleasing to the site owners - but where are the writers who will challenge the taboos, who will delve into the unsafe? Must those areas be left to unpaid bloggers?

A student asked me for some tips on freelance writing. My basic response was "If you're not motivated, don't write". The quality comes from motivation. The more strongly you're motivated, the more you'll challenge, and the better you'll do it. You're quite right, too- The last thing some people seem to think about are the readers.

@Elizabeth Cunningham Perkins I've been mass-producing content anonymously (well, really "pseudonymously") at low-to-lower rates between better paying gigs because it is more controllable than performance pay and I can make the experience just as entertaining and educational. But I know no human is supposed to linger and read this stuff (though mine is readable), because it is published mainly for link-backs to increase the pagerank of (and hits on) the "real" stuff that cost the website owner more (or not so much more, if the content is pure scam).

I've done a lot of that stuff myself, and the pay wasn't bad, particularly for huge amounts of work. The classic mistake is turning it into a purely bureaucratic exercise, ignoring content values and forgetting that if the pages don't get hits because of their banal, predictable content, the best SEO in the world can't help. The cost to the site owner is measured in what doesn't happen. Lack of conversions, lack of worthwhile content, it's a suicidal approach to publishing online.

@Lynn Herrmann "Yet again, employers and businesses put themselves in the firing line every time they skimp on payments. This is a pattern which has repeated itself in other industries, but in terms of the gigantic global online writing industry, this is a particularly stupid, counter-productive approach to doing business." well said, paul. since the initiation of points and badges here on dj, anyone noticing the dramatic drop in pay structure? or is that a taboo subject??????

@Igor I. Solar OF COURSE Lynn! Points and badges are freebies and, unlike dollars and cents, they are gone, erased by the end of the month. However, it seems to be a taboo subject.

Ironically, I woke up to find my payout this month had gone up 30% overnight from the same time yesterday. I don't know if it's a taboo subject, I think it's more about what's doable. I've got quite a few gigs on the basis of my DJ work. I use it as a portfolio. That "million hits" badge certainly isn't doing me any harm. That said, this has been a topic for quite some time. I don't know if you can have a site with a large floating population of writers, a very variable response to articles, and just naturally find a formula which equates to commercial professional writing rates. This dovetails into my comment about "what's good for the client" in commercial writing- Open ended payout obligations can't work from the client's point of view. What's the actual hard dollar commitment, per month/week/whatever? The most basic business principle is avoiding hits to the bottom line, and the only working proposition is that ends have to meet somewhere. If we suddenly got another 500 writers, all being paid commercial rates per article, what would happen? I've got $200 per article from some sites as a standard fee. I do about 30 articles a month on DJ. That's $6000, just for me, per month. My basic rate is $60 per hour, which would be $1800 per month if I was obsessively punctual writing my 30 articles. 500 people, charging that per hour, would be $30,000 per hour. With our output, it couldn't possibly be commercially viable. At $5 per article, it'd be $2500 for those 500 writers, and you could assume that the output would go up, too. This would be regardless of whether the site got 1 hit or 1000 hits per article. Does either scenario make commercial sense? Realistically, I think that what's viable is to do basically what's been done- To encourage original content, pay more for Specials, and generally try to balance payouts with results. Obviously, I wouldn't mind making more per article. But not at the expense of damaging the site, and definitely not in terms of creating a pay structure which meant the site wasn't actually making money. Any pay scheme has to be based on viability. Another point- I've made thousands of dollars on this site, and have a lot of fun writing here. I can write in my own style, and have some pretty fascinating experiences as well. Which would I prefer, a possible few bucks more and a probably very bureaucratic site, or this model? No contest.

@Louise Auty As someone who spent almost 20 years as a print journalist with a brief two year stint in the very early days of online media, the rise of sites which require no professional qualification filled me with dread. In an era where the world and its mother seem to have a degree in "media studies" with the sole intention of finding fame and fortune, it's heartening to see that there are places which try, within limits, to ensure the content which appears on their sites is accurate, fair and balanced. It doesn't always happen and there are some strange rules in place on some sites which seem to make it okay to lift copy directly from another news site providing you link to the article, but overall the rise of citizen journalism hasn't had quite the effect I expected on print media. I've been lucky, I've always had a full time contract job and never had to try and make a living as a freelance journalist but I'm now looking to return to work after four years as a stay at home mum and the newspaper world is swarming with people who don't actually have the qualifications or experience that was once required and the thought of having to compete with people willing to work for peanuts is quite a disturbing one.

Louise- A bit of advice from the net writing perspective, if I may, before addressing the journalism issues. This is a cashflow-based industry, for both writers and their employers. Net content is commercial content first and foremost. People will read what they want to read, not because it's put there in front of them as in print or broadcast media. "Fair use" is one thing, lifting content with credits is another, and outright plagiarism and bias, sickening as they are, are also commercial product, because most of the time these clowns get away with it. Crap also sells, and sells well. People willing to work for peanuts are one thing- They're hungry. People paying peanuts, idiots as they are in terms of instantly losing people able to generate valuable content, are often commercially highly successful. They have huge profiles online with their endlessly-wonderful writing gigs out of which they make commercial rates, not the writers. You're competing with this environment, more than other writers. The difference with citizen journalists, (and here you'll meet real ones, not just hacks trying to describe themselves without getting references from biologists) is the news value in terms of additional and original content values. My op-eds contain a minimum of other people's copy, largely to explain and provide references to my subjects. There are two reasons for this- 1. I really don't see any value in regurgitation. Who wants to read the same thing, simply glued together differently. 2. I write about subjects where my knowledge base can go to work on the information and news developments. I know my subjects, I know how to use logic to explore issues and give readers some sort of new, different content which at least has the justification of being new and different, and hopefully interesting. When I do hard news, I do it straight, like any normal journalist. I write mainly op-eds, because it's a forte, but I can tell you that it took me (I'm originally a book writer, not a journalist, although you've probably gathered that already from the length of this response) about 5 seconds to discover the value of basic journalistic principles. Balance, checks, notably the working logic of dealing with information and disinformation are extremely valuable to online news in terms of top content, so you don't need to worry about the El Cheapo hacks, just the pay rates wherever you happen to be writing. Find someone who recognizes value in your work, and you'll find great jobs.

Source: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/319433

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