It's not so much because some magazines have cut their rates, but because the assigned lengths keep getting shorter. Editors tell me it's a reflection of the ever-shrinking attention span of the American public. Even some trade magazines are running shorter articles.

Of course, $500 or even $200 for a 500-word article is more than 100-times what DS writers are accustomed to!

Right now the bulk of my work for Favorite Editor consists of 200-600 word front-of-the-book articles . Or "articlettes" as I call them. It's harder to write short (and write well at the same time), but the turn around is faster, and articlettes require fewer interviews. At $1/word, I've grown to enjoy them.

Funny aside: I just called to schedule the annual boiler cleaning/service and the woman recognized my name from something I'd written!

On a serious note: if you live in a climate that requires you to have a furnace or boiler, please get it serviced every year before you turn it on. It can save your life. One year I turned the heat on a week before the boiler was serviced and they found a large hole in an unseen-by-me piece of the venting conduit that connects the boiler to the chimney. The guy said I was lucky it hadn't been too cold, or I would have been dead.

Wendy, that's what makes your career special – you did something about it. Complaining is expected – they feel duped. But thinking it will make a difference? That's crazy times ten.

I think you're right about the social media stuff. They're open to letting you promote the crap out of their business. They just wrap it in this "exposure" package. I hope to hell writers are smart enough to see through that.

I deliberately separated myself from the mill reputation I had back then. THAT was the move that helped me grow.

There are so many people complaining that DS lied to them about this whole situation. Why can't they use that energy toward selling themselves instead?

For the rest, like I said yesterday, culling the herd.