I worked with Demand so that I could pay the immediate bills while learning how freelance writing worked. I stuck with them longer than I otherwise might have only because they hooked up with LegalZoom.com. As an attorney, I hate LegalZoom with a passion, but it was cake to churn out five or six pieces a day on the theme "how to write your own will", and at $25 apiece and about 20 minutes spent on each, it padded my bottom line nicely, especially while I was bedridden with Mysterious Health Issues of Doom during that time.

(Mysterious Health Issues remain mysterious, but no longer doom-y, which is good.)

By far the worst part of Demand for me were the one-shot rewrite "requests" from anonymous "copy editors" (many of whom actually edited errors *into* my work. And not just grammar/spelling/mechanics errors, but *substantive errors*. WTH?). Many times, the "rewrite requests" were contradictory, made absolutely no sense, were based on a complete matter of opinion, and/or demanded a rewrite of the entire article – for $0 additional pay, of course.

I wasted far too much energy seething at some of them, but there's really no recourse. Even the crankiest legitimate editors I've worked with since have been infinitely preferable to Demand's setup – at least one can have a conversation with them.

I've been in that same situation a few times. I was lucky – temp agencies specializing in writing and editing talent kept me going. You're right – you do what you have to. Glad to see you able to escape it!

Shakirah, either way I think I'll just avoid cooking yak altogether! I'm sure the yak won't mind. 🙂

Jake, but would you, could you, in a house?

And for the record, no, I have never, would never, not ever, with or without green eggs and ham.

It was easy money while they were pushing out simple titles like "How to put pants on your dog." I made a decent hourly rate because I wrote about things I knew and tried not to spend more than 20 minutes per title. I did not plagiarize or write crap, I simply gave them no more effort than the bare minimum.

I was in a very bad financial situation when I started working for them. I literally came within days of being kicked out of my apartment and having my car repossessed. I still have lawyers chasing me from that time period. Writing $15 articles allowed me to pay off most of my debts and keep a roof over my head. If I had to make the choice again, I probably would do the same. The job market sucked (and still sucks,) I needed money fast. No one likes cleaning toilets or flipping burgers or writing bland articles for $15 a pop. But you do what you have to.

Doesn't mean I had to enjoy it, though. It sucked working with gatekeepers with the IQ of slime mold and never knowing how much of my work I wasn't going to get paid for. I was glad to fire them as a client. I'm still struggling with my freelance writing business, but I've made a promise to myself that I will never work for another client or company that treats me so badly again.