A little disappointed...

[Financialbull]

While I continue to wait for an article review following a denial for improper format (why can't they just apply the Times New Roman text to the document and just fix the damn format?) , I have to admit that this thread is curiously more interesting than anything else I've read today.

"Site builds site, reviews the article (maybe twice) to catch writer's errors, advertises, finds the clients, processes the payments, pays credit card charges (3% off the sale price), pays the writers their share, pays the paypal fees, pays server expenses, pays staff, pays 5% to the writer that referred you to CC... for 35%."

This is all no where near as expensive as you probably think it is when you factor in the revenues this site brings in.

As for the argument that people are rude, I just want to say that I have not been offended in any way as a result of anything anyone here wrote. I see where Mike is coming from - the written word can be ambiguous in mood and can easily seem rude and sly.

Judith, I think your wisdom is incredibly interesting and provoking. However, I'm only 25 years old and while I suspect your generation in general doesn't believe this to be true, my generation has it's struggles too. They're just different struggles. It's probably true (and very embarrassing) that my generation, collectively, doesn't work as hard as yours did. But what about prevalent drug abuse, gangs, and school shootings? How about college tuition? I turned down acceptance to UM because it came with a $52K a year price tag. I'm now a student at UF for just shy of $10K a year.

What about unemployment? My generation is 24% unemployed according to the Labor Department. The reasons are partly macro-economic, but also because we lack the skills and motivation of previous generations. What about divorced parents? Nearly 50% of marriages in this country are ending in divorce today. That destroys childhoods, and guess what generation experienced the bulk of it? The prospect of retiring on Social Security is a joke for us, we're uninsured and overwhelmed in debt. Your generation may have worked for coffee, and while that sounds like it sucks, we definitely have our own generational issues that you wouldn't want to experience.

If anyone is still reading this, I feel like I have to apologize for going on such an irrelevant tangent that has nothing to do with the original purpose behind this thread. So, like I was saying, paying 35% commissions and waiting for work to get approved that may or may not be bought is definitely the pits!

[jadedragon]

A couple points - The editors don't change our work and I don't want them to change our work. If they did the writers here would be complaining about how the editors butchered the pieces. Think of CC as an art gallery for the written word. Writers create but the gallery approves and markets. The gallery does not fix brush strokes or finish the corner the artist missed. Art galleries take a lot more than 35% for marketing art and artists are very happy to pay for the gallery share.

I'm baffled by the comment "This is all no where near as expensive as you probably think it is when you factor in the revenues this site brings in." Do you have a site like this? If so, why would you want to write for CC when you could set up a site for so much less and keep the 35% for your pocket?

I don't know what others here know about running a business, but for me writing is an relaxing side gig. As the person signing the checks in my businesses I know what it takes to run a service business with websites, SEO staff, marketing staff, sales staff and credit processing fees. I also know that CC is not a big business, it is a small business that earns every dollar they make. If someone is going to pass negative judgement on the site with limited experience and suggest the site is not treating its writers (who are all here voluntarily) right than expect some push back.

[Financialbull]

I own a few sites and have been a Web developer long enough to know this site makes money. I helped develop Worldmarketmedia.com and today, I'm still a writer on the markets blog. You can see my writing anytime by just going to the site. We built the site for about $80k, spend around $25k a year in maintenance, and generated $500k in revenue this year plus investments, so I guess I'm just speaking from experience. But, hey, if you're happy, like I said before, that's great - but this post isn't for you.

I wrote this post because I want to know if there are writers out there who feel frustrated or feel like they're being taken advantage of. I didn't write it to debate the profitability or justification of what CC charges with people who support the site.

And maybe I'm wrong - maybe everyone on the site is really happy with the way things are (it certainly seems that way). If that's the case, then CC is doing their job and I underestimated the fan base and happy customers this company has garnered. That would be awesome!

[BarryDavidson]

I have to inject a little humor here, even if it is a serious subject. Does anyone know of a course one can take which explains government math? I've been trying to understand it for years. Here's and example:

American Joe makes 100k per year, and the government takes twenty percent. The government then spends that amount four times. How much money does the government have?

or

Government takes in 300b in cigarette taxes which is spent on programs. The next year government raises cigarette taxes to pay for new program, but also to protect people from themselves by encouraging them to quit. The result is less than 300b is collected, but all the old programs and the new one are still being funded. How much money does the government have to extort from the middle class to keep those eternal programs running?

[Celeste Stewart]

Tom,
I think most of the unhappy people and those who feel taken advantage of leave the site and don't participate in these forums. I know if I was unhappy and felt taken advantage of, I'd be gone - it's human nature and a smart thing to do. After all, why allow others to make you unhappy and take advantage of you? Do an Internet search and you'll find plenty of people grumbling about CC. I'm sure you can engage them in a conversation but I'm not sure how constructive that will be for you.

If you want to make a go of CC, feel free to ask us for suggestions and advice. Here's some unsolicitied advice right now: You'd probably do well here with financial articles. Since you have Web expertise, you'd do well there, too. Finance, business, and Web articles are excellent sellers and they tend to go for higher prices than some of the other topics. I personally have earned $50 to $100 per hour (after the cut) writing on those topics (thus I am indeed very happy with the opportunities CC gives me). Since you also have a personal use for these same types of articles, writing and submitting them here is not a waste of time. If they don't sell, fine, pull them and use them on your own sites or create an ebook out of them to sell to your many visitors.

As far as CC's profitability, I wonder the opposite. I wonder how they manage to stay in business! If you watch the Recently Sold list for any period of time, you might wonder the same thing. As of right now, today's sales total $201. CC gets $70 and some change. Sure, a few more sales will go through today and some may not even appear if a customer pays by eCheck, but if you watch that list for a few days the huge profits simply aren't there. I wish they were because that means more advertising, more customers, and stability.

[Financialbull]

@Davidson - pretty funny

@Celestial - thanks, that makes sense.

For everyone else, I officially quit talking smack about CC What they've got here is a pretty awesome little business. Happy Holidays everyone

[Celeste Stewart]

Financial Bull, I see you sold your first article! Yay! You're one for one