Last week I wrote an article for a client: 600 words, $600.
I thought I’d preface this month’s This Job, Not That Job by telling you that. It’s proof that yes, you can make more for your efforts than what you’re offered in some job listings.
This particular listing came from writer and chum Sharon Hurley Hall a while ago, but I was sick and blogging was the last thing on my mind. But this was such a bad gig that I couldn’t not talk about it. Thank you, Sharon, for sending this along. You’re right — it is unbelievable!
Looking for ongoing freelance blogpost writerPublished: April 1, 2021WE OFFER:
– Consistent weekly freelance work as blogpost writer.
– 30 $ for 1500 words articles (paid weekly via Paypal after submitting completed work).
– A friendly team that will support you as a writer.
– Digital communication.WE EXPECT:
– Commitment, responsability and punctuality.
– Basic experience as a freelance writer.
– You can follow guidelines (structure and formatting for example).
– You can meet delivery times.
– Passion for learning.
– Love for remote working.
– Open to feedback.MAIN TASK:
Write 100% original, new and quality content. You will need to follow specific templates that we will provide. This is not SEO-type content. All posts must be well-researched and useful for your reader. We expect you to learn quickly and produce posts which require very little editing.
Note: we are buying content from you, therefore, the copyright of the article belongs to us as publishers. The articles will not contain your name as a writer. ….
Normally, I don’t bother with the date, but I find it more than a coincidence that this was posted on April Fool’s Day. Yep, the joke, it would seem is on anyone who takes this gig. Here’s why:
WE OFFER:
– Consistent weekly freelance work as blogpost writer.
– 30 $ for 1500 words articles (paid weekly via Paypal after submitting completed work).
– A friendly team that will support you as a writer.
– Digital communication.
So they “offer” weekly, underpaid work. Oh, and this:
– Digital communication.
Because none of your clients does that now, right?
That’s not the worst part, though. This is:
– 30 $ for 1500 words articles
Do we really need to go any further? That’s $30. For researched articles. Wait — for “1500 words articles” because that extra “s” makes the gig that much more special.
Maybe they are a friendly team. Supportive? Not thinking so. If they were, they’d know that thirty bucks an article is BS. Or is that BSs?
If you’ve fallen down the stairs headfirst recently, you might be reading on. If so, you shouldn’t miss this:
WE EXPECT:
– Commitment, responsability and punctuality.
Because apparently, spelling is not anything they expect. Good thing at those rates.
Oh, and if you’re doing this for clips, here’s the clincher:
we are buying content from you, therefore, the copyright of the article belongs to us as publishers. The articles will not contain your name as a writer
That’s right. You don’t get any credit. Which might be a good thing; when someone complains about the lousy content, it’s not your “responsability.”
Don’t. Please, don’t think this is anything worthy of your talents. Look, I invoiced a client a week ago for articles they’d asked for. 8,500 words total. At $1 a word, do the math. And please, do better than thirty lousy bucks for a ton of work and no credit.
Try one of these:
ZORA: At ZORA, we unabashedly amplify the voices of Black women. ZORA gives Black women a place where they are seen and heard, and the intricacies of their lives are honored and reflected daily. We are motivated by the convergence of our collective lived experiences to ignite conversations and illuminate stories that show the fullness of our humanity. Joy, triumph, pain, and complexities exist here. We are inspired by news events (current and historical), trends, the zeitgeist, and the topics and stories unearthed by our vast curiosities.
Pays: $1/word
AARP: Features and departments cover the following categories:
- Money: investments, savings, retirement, and work issues
- Health and Fitness: tips, trends, studies
- Food and Nutrition: recipes, emphasis on healthy eating
- Travel: tips and trends on how and where to travel
- Consumerism: practical information and advice
- General Interest: new thinking, research, information on timely topics, trends
- Relationships: family matters, caregiving, living arrangements, grandparents
- Personal Essay: thoughtful, timely, new takes on matters of importance to people over 50
Pays: $1/word
There. That’s more like it.
Writers, have you taken on a gig before only to find out it was much more involved than the client let on?
How did you handle it?
5 responses to “Freelance Follies: This Job, Not That Job”
I love the 600 words for $600. Imagine if writers started marketing that as a common offer. It could replace the 600 words for $1.
Oh man, Gina. From your lips to the freelance gods’ ears!
But you’ve hit on something here. Writers SHOULD start marketing themselves at rates like that. Too many underprice themselves. Not that it hurts anyone who’s finding their own clients, but it creates that whirlpool of madness on job boards. People vying for the lowest rates just to get a job. No one needs to do that. EVER.
Exactly, Lori. Thanks. Seriously, this kind of marketing seems like the perfect way to play offense and redefine the market. We all know there is always someone to say ‘yes’ to an offer — and we know quality clients expect to pay for quality writers. Maybe several writers should try this strategy at the same time and see what unfolds!
A few years ago, during one of those dreaded slumps, I spotted a job ad that sounded like an okay fit. I had a chat with he editor. She seemed great. Then the red flags started popping up.
Although it sounded like quick little pieces I could fit around other work, it turned out they needed everything faster than fast. The things they called “articles” were really mashups of “news items” and tweets and gossip that they expected you to comb the internet for. Not only did writers have to file directly on their CMS (they sent me maybe a 30-page manual on how to use their system, which included confusing instructions on writing code to further customizing their supposedly already customized system). When I reminded the editor that I was a writer, not a web editor, and said I had never used a client’s CMS system before, she couldn’t believe it. She asked how I submitted articles to other clients. Um…as a Word Doc, sometimes as a Google Doc. You know, as it’s been done since the dark ages when I had to fax or mail my copy to my clients. I couldn’t believe any publication would trust a new-to-them freelancer with the password to their CMS.
The sheer amount of non-writing work they required made their already lower-end pay rates break down to next to nothing. I could dash out clean copy fast enough to earn decent pay, but not when you add in the fact that you had to edit your own copy, add links, select the art, make the layout fit their style, publish it, and then promote it and reply to comments. One “article” in, we both knew it was not a good fit.
Also, the editor was a micromanager.That alone is reason enough to ditch a client.
Oh, so many reasons to ditch that one. You’re right, Paula. The red flags were waving. That she was incredulous over your not using a CMS tells you the level of client she is. I don’t think I’ve ever had to use one. Project management tools, sure. But never a CMS.
Frankly, this woman would have lost me at the manual, and the mashup content would have been the nail in her coffin.