What’s on the iPod: Jersey Girl by Bruce Springsteen
A new month, eh? I know it’s not January 1st, but even December 1st can be a turning point. Hey, in my world, turning points occur on November 6th, March 19th, July 23rd, etc. I’m going to say it – every day is a new chance to turn your career around.
But since we have the beginning of a month neatly packaged for us, let’s make the most of it. Let’s examine two very similar jobs and see which one would be more beneficial to your career. And to those content-mill cheerleaders who complain we working writers never give you any direction, consider this post and the ones just like it your direction. I’ll write it. It’s up to you to read it and apply it.
Saw this ad this week:
(Religious website) is an online publisher of multi-faith inspirational prayers for women. We’re looking for writers to assist in producing prayer poems for the website. This is a perfect opportunity for stay-at-home moms, students, or retired folks. Spend part of your day being uplifted by beautiful prayers and help start a movement of prayer power, where we honor diversity of beliefs.
You can work at home and network with our team via email. Writing prayers for us can also lead to other writing opportunities within our circle, such as bloggers and article writers.
Compensation: $10 per accepted prayer submission
Maybe this is a good time to point out some red flags. First, any posting that lumps your professional writing career in with “stay-at-home moms, students, or retired folks” is insulting your abilities. Not that those people can’t write, but that phrase has become a euphemism for “you’re not getting paid decently.”
Also, the job posting offers you such perks as networking with their team, and maybe – just maybe – get more work within their limited circle. A hint – if you have never heard of the place before, chances are slim any others have, and even slimmer yet are the chances they’re well connected and able to imply such offers.
So, how can we better that beyond working at the mall this season? Easy. Look for the same thing higher up the food chain (or should I say the prayer chain?):
The Christian Century’s website guidelines say the magazine is looking for articles, book reviews, and poetry. Their article parameters: “We seek manuscripts that articulate the public meaning of faith, bringing the resources of religious tradition to bear on such topics as poverty, human rights, economic justice, international relations, national priorities and popular culture. We are also interested in pieces that examine or critique the theology and ethos of individual religious communities. We welcome articles that find fresh meaning in old traditions and that adapt or apply religious traditions to new circumstances.”
The pay – $100-300 for assigned articles, $50 for poems of 20 lines or fewer.
So in one job, you’ve quadrupled your invoice for that poem. Mind you, the jobs aren’t identical, and you do have to examine the magazine much more thoroughly to understand what it is they’re looking for. But why wouldn’t you if the pay is four times more than what you’d originally thought to settle for? And if you decide to write an article for them, not only is the option there, but the pay is up to 30 times higher than that one prayer poem. Unless you really like writing prayer poems and can crank out 30 of them….right.
So writers, what job do you have currently that you can improve on? Or what job in the past did you replace with a similar one that paid much better?
10 responses to “Worthy Tip: This Job, Not That Job”
Okay-here we go with that emulating again! 🙂
I received a tweet inquiring about my interest in becoming an "expert" for insurance on an "expert network."
What I would do – share my expertise five times/month through answers, briefs or questions. If I demonstrated a high-level of expertise, I would have a chance of being contacted for compensated expert engagements such as webinars, surveys, and panels.
I guess it's the lottery of rewards for my 30+ years in the industry. I imagine my chances are about on the same level with winning the lottery.
How to make it better? Compensation would be a good start -or a paid lottery ticket. 🙂
I hear a buck gets you a much better chance at some cash, Cathy. 🙂 That's insane – they dangle the carrot of payment, and sadly, some people would jumpt at that offer.
Thankfully I never worked for content rates. My first few articles were for a local weekly, and even (20 years ago – yikes!) those paid 10 times what today's content mills do.
What I managed to do was leverage information gleaned while writing for a mediocre business magazine by spinning new ideas for a well-known advertising daily that paid more than twice the price. They happened to assign me to covering the TV Upfronts (I didn't get to go, I actually wrote what I called the Annual Psychic Upfront Review that ran a week or so before Upfronts began), which led to PR contacts at broadcast networks. I took a similar approach and took one tiny element from an Upfront article and pitched it as a short newsy piece for a TV trade I've written for every since, which pays nearly double what the ad mag did.
Of course, the only problem is once you work your way up the food chain you discover that after a certain point most magazines seldom, if ever, raise their pay rates. If they paid $1/word in 1996, they probably still pay $1/word. I mean what are they going to do, go to $1.05? They sure won't jump to $1.25 or $1.50 per word.
I'm feeling jaded. This morning on the radio I heard about CNN's holiday tipping guide and realized if I followed it I'd wind up giving half my income to people who probably already earn more than I do.
If a person took one of those assignments, which one do you think a future higher-paying client is going to be impressed by?
You could say you don't have a prayer with that job. Badum-bum.
@Paula, re holiday tipping. I write sales materials that help my clients make money – but do I expect a tip from them? Heck no. I figure that I'm rewarded by their repeat business. I feel the same way about people you're "supposed" to tip at the holidays. I give my repeat business to a service provider (massage therapist, hair stylist, etc) month after month. Why isn't that enough? I shouldn't have to give them a holiday tip, too. That being said, I am a bit of a softie, so I try and do a little something for some folks, like the single mom who cuts my hair.
Paula, I often get the same jaded feeling. Why is everyone there with their hand out at Christmas? The real joy kill was the former mailman, who gave us everyone else's mail quite regularly – suddenly he wanted a tip? I have one – sort your mail better! I've gotten the mail of neighbors, of people in the same town but four miles away, of people who don't LIVE in this town and never have….
Exactly, Wendy! I vote that magazine credits will nearly always look better on a resume than credits from unknown websites.
Joseph, don't quit the day job. LOL Thanks for the laugh. 🙂
Eileen, same here. Rare is the tipper in our world. But I don't mind giving my hairdresser a tip EVERY time I see her. She makes me look good, and she has four kids.
Lori, I always tip service people at the time of service, usually 20%. What I object to is having to shell out another chunk of cash on top of that at Christmas time.
Exactly, Eileen. I'm the same. I'm not prone to handing out money indiscriminately, especially around the holidays.
According to my awesome regular letter carrier, they aren't supposed to accept tips in the form of cash or gifts worth more than a nominal price. (I think she was hinting that she likes cookies.)