I can’t imagine anyone with an advanced degree of any kind would exchange the time required to write a good article for even $25.00. Good writing is created by sound research and a mastery of specific skills, all filtered through each writer’s unique voice.

As to the insulting treatment by Copy Editors reported by many and the Rejection Appeal process as revealed by others, I can only say that some people take too much delight in wielding a little power. Good copy editors are equally good at relationship skills with writers, and they seek to help the writer to produce better copy.

Life is too short to be forced to deal with people who have some unresolved emotional baggage that they bring to the position of copy editor.

There are many DS apologists. If they truly see nothing wrong with the business model under which they labor, then I guess that’s good for them.

Words are important. What label is applied to a job has connotative and denotative meaning. I think by calling writers Content Creators they diminish the contribution made by a writer, i.e., that wonderful combination of skills and talents that allow one to articulately transform what’s inside the head to words to be read. (Rhyming unintentional but rather on target.)

Best wishes for a vast improvement in your fortunes. Please let me know how you do in the future.

Sincerely,
Joan Reeves

Then, dealing with the content editors makes it all even more unpleasant. Most of them keep their mouths shut and do their jobs, but there are several, or maybe it’s the same person, that are just plain mean. And what recourse do the writers have? If you get a rejection, of which I have several, the folks in the forums will tell you to “send it up” on appeal. Right. Guess what happens when you do that? You raise a red flag as being a trouble maker, which I will get into more in a minute.

Someone in an earlier post mentioned that LiveStrong articles went up to $25 per article. He said that this may mean DS is “becoming a more lucrative place for freelancers to write.” Well, yeah, if you have a professional certificate or an advanced degree, because that is what is required of anyone that wishes to write for LiveStrong. The rest of us are stuck at the $15 rate and I don’t see that changing. Why should DS raise the rate when so many hobbyist “writers” think it’s fabulous that they can make anything for their writing? Do you have any idea how much DS is making off of our content? Lets put it down as “GOBS,” yet the very people that make it possible for them to make all this money are paid peanuts. Amazingly, or, sadly, so many DS writers actually say how “grateful” they are to DS for giving them the “opportunity” to get “paid” for their. . .I can’t even continue; that whole brown-nosing garbage that is currently going on in the forums makes me gag.

Someone, somewhere once said that we at DS are “kool-aid drinkers.” At first I was offended, but you know what? He’s right. Especially since Angela’s expose on DS was published, reading the posts in the DS forum has become downright painful. There is a moderator that actually told everyone to watch what they say in the forums. This same moderator has also mentioned, several times in various posts, that we should all be careful what we say about DS. Actually censoring the forum! It’s scared the daylights out of the writers who depend on DS to make a living. Now, people are afraid to express how they really feel. If what they are posting about can even remotely be taken as a slight against DS they will qualify their posting with “this isn’t a rant,” or “I don’t mean any offense, it’s just that,” or “I love DS but.” Those poor souls that do attempt to complain or vent are told, in no polite terms, to shut up. To be grateful. It’s all so sickeningly syrupy and sweet it makes me want to puke. If I have to read one more “I LOVE DS” post or, even worse, “I LOVE the CE’s” post I think I will vomit.

Then there are the content editors that post in the writer’s forum. One, in particular had been hanging around there a lot lately posting his snide little jabs at the writers. Making fun of those of us that use “however,” under the guise that it’s a pet peeve of his. Or posting what he considered to be the “perfect overview” from a recent How To article he reviewed. I don’t know if the higher ups sent him into our forum or if he took it upon himself to invade our space, but he’s a jerk. How insulting.

I think what troubles me most about DS is that they don’t even refer to us as writers. Do you know what they call us? Are you ready for this? They call us “Content Creators.” Ain’t THAT a kick in the pants? Or is it the teeth?

Hey, thanks for letting me rant. Oh, wait, this isn’t a rant, I mean, I love DS and the CE’s are all so special and I’m so thankful for DS and DS is a dream come true andnowyouwon’tfiremecauseIsaysuchnicethingsaboutyoublablabla. . . .

I think it’s more entry level vs. experienced. When I was looking at entry level jobs for which I was qualified, the highest pay being offered was $10/hr. $15/hr. is double minimum wage. Maybe it’s different for people who have degrees in math or economics, but for my liberal arts graduate self, consistently making $15/hr. in essentially an entry-level position while technically starting my own business, all in a few short months, is pretty good, and I wouldn’t have gotten here if I’d demanded to be paid the same high wages that people with more experience expect.

As I said earlier though, when you’re in need of cash flow – which you are with a husband out of work and with you seeking employment too – then every dollar counts. Quantity of dollars has a higher priority than quality of the employer.

You’re right about something else too. Texas, where I also live, is a bargain when it comes to cost of living. Relatively low sales tax, no state income tax, very low cost of owning your own home, higher than normal starting salaries in many career fields, etc.

Good luck to you and your husband in finding employment.

Best regards,
Joan Reeves

It doesn’t give me the kind of freedom, exposure, and ability to write to my interests as the other sites I write for, but it’s given me the opportunity to balance writing about things that I enjoy and to which I am proud to see my name attached with the possibility of earning a living wage in an economy where I can’t find entry level jobs and my husband is out of work.

(I think LS is onto something; I live in Texas and our apartment costs less than $500/month, so anything over $1,000/month is just good enough to get by and $1,500 would be untold riches.)

I think it’s entirely possible to not like what someone writes without insulting them personally.

Sincerely,
Joan

I guess the hidden discrimination against older workers is a blog for another day though.

Re the emails you sent about the gravatar issue. . . I have a solution. I’ll try to get a blog post up about it next week. It will show you how to make sure the gravatar displayed is always one of your choosing.

I wish you well for renewed success in your writing career. Email me again and let me know if things have improved.

Best wishes,
Joan Reeves

Thank you so much for sticking up for us professional writers who’ve been laid off and just plain need money. Thanks for writing this: “I know professional writers who have been forced into survival mode. They’re not amateurs, and they’re not ignorant of professional standards. They have good clients, but even that isn’t enough. Sometimes a steady cash flow of five buck jobs helps them keep their respective heads above water.”

I used to work for a high-end lifestyle magazine that folded because of the current state of the economy. No one is hiring. My local newspapers and small magazines are either folding or laying off dozens of staff members. Why would they hire me now? Regardless of my quality of work, they just can’t afford me. I get offered internships instead. Trust me, I don’t need the experience, but I wonder if I should take them because they might hire me after a few months if I do a good job. This is what it’s come to. It’s a difficult time and as the saying goes, you gotta do what you gotta do.

Sincerely,
Joan Reeves

I may be wrong but it seems as though they are moving upwards and are becoming a more lucrative place for freelancers to write.

I know another poster felt that working from home was not that big of a deal, but it really is for some writers.

The quality of writing seems to be increasing at DS and I know that might mean that some writers get the ax and that’s too bad. But they are working towards a higher reputation and someday, it might be very hard to get hired at DS.

It sure is interesting to watch at any rate.

Here’s the link to the health plan news:

http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20091021005445&newsLang=en

If you are your sole support, then you may take any, and every job that comes your way because you can’t afford to be picky. You can’t afford to wait for the better jobs or you do the crappy jobs along with the better jobs because every nickel counts.

I know professional writers who have been forced into survival mode. They’re not amateurs, and they’re not ignorant of professional standards. They have good clients, but even that isn’t enough. Sometimes a steady cash flow of five buck jobs helps them keep their respective heads above water.

Like I’ve said before, everyone has their own reasons for accepting the jobs they write. The best thing established professional writers can do is diplomatically point out, without making personal judgment, what accepted standards are.

Best regards,
Joan

As someone who has written for Demand Studios but rarely write for them anyone, I would like to add my “two cents”. I used to be one of those writers who frowned every time I read a negative comment about Demand Studios, but after writing for them for a while, I can understand where some of these people are coming from. I am not here to thrash Demand Studios, just to give my opinion.

I have to give them some credit. They pay on time and accurately; they have a few editors who actually know their stuff; and work is always available (even though some of the titles are questionable). The problem is, their system is seriously flawed–the copyeditors are inconsistent and communication is poor. The writers rarely have a voice; only occasionally are they ever truly heard. When I first started with DS, it was quite easy to earn $400 or $500 every week with them. Now, their demands are getting ridiculous, rewrites are often being requested for stupid reasons, and they want all this research. Even with all this, it’s possible your article may still not get approved.

DS needs to streamline their system, and stop hiring so many writers and editors. They need to devise an effective strategy that focuses on keeping the good writers and editors they currently have. They can easily do this by ceasing to hire so many writers and assigning one writer to one editor. They also need to pay more for all the work they demand. For example, they raised the fact sheet rate to $7.50, but since then editors have been requiring writers to pack facts sheets with more information than is necessary. A fact sheet is supposed to be 150-200 words; I’ve had editors require me to increase mine to almost 300 words. So now that we are being paid $2.50 more, they are also asking for more work. As for the $15 articles, something tells me that should they have the heart to pay writers say $30 or $40 per article, the word count would increase from 400-500 to maybe 700-800…see where I’m going?

What DS needs to do is to pay more, period. It’s okay to expect quality articles, but to expect writers to meet all these additional requirements without proper compensation is just not right. I hardly write for them anymore, not because I hate them, but because I am just not inspired anymore. If you have a rejected article, when you log into your workdesk, it’s sitting there staring at you. Come on, who needs to be reminded of a rejection? Many writers have expressed their concerns over these issues, and they go unanswered.

I have private clients who pay me much more than DS. I only resort to writing for DS when I am desperate for cash, but again, it is an uninspiring experience. If DS wants to be perceived as the above-average content mill they claim to be, they need to project that in their actions. Shame, because they do have potential.

In essence, sites like Demand are making hay off writers’ work but not paying them a fair wage for that work. And no, in my universe, $5 to $20 an article is NOT fair. It’s ridiculous and it doesn’t even measure up to minimum wage standards, which makes me wonder why people don’t just take a minimum wage mall job?

I write resumes regularly for clients. What I see stemming from a content mill site is a credibilty issue. These are by no stretch of the imagination credible jobs. Come on, if they were, why wouldn’t they pay credible rates? I’ve often suggested writers instead opt to work for local newspapers. This is a better choice as there is editorial oversight, an established, credible audience, the chance for your story to hit the wire services, and in the past, a chance to be brought on staff. Mind you, the pay was low when I started out, but I can still use that experience on my resume. You can’t use a content mill as proof you’re “published.” You’re not. You’re used and underpaid. Content mills fail to provide consistent (if any) editorial oversight, and they certainly don’t supply clips that future employers want to see.

I’d much rather write for ten cents a word for a small magazine. At least that looks better than chumming up dozens of general articles that teach you nothing about the business of writing or improving your craft other than speed.