Volume vs. pay

[Lizaj]

I'm just curious about how others feel about the $8 articles being requested. I've written some but find it a tad frustrating. I want to write just as well for a $5 article as a $100 article, so it's just as time-consuming yet the pay off is really small. Does this hurt the folks who are earning their entire living by writing? I don't mind helping a new website owner out by basically "giving" them a few articles but how do you know if that's actually the case or whether you're being taken advantage of?

I'm not complaining. Noone's holding a gun to my head to make me write for nothing. I'm just really curious about how others are feeling about it because I see lots of articles going for $6 and $7. (Curious about how C-C feels about it, too...that's a lot of proofing for not a lot of payoff).

Don't roast me...I'm just wondering.

[southernrose]

I tend to agree. I do invest a certain amount of effort into every article I write, no matter what it is, and for me that effort is worth more than $5. Not to mention that I don't have a lot of time to spend writing, so I feel that the time I do spend on articles is valuable amd shouldn't be wasted on pennies. I honestly feel that $20 or $30 (or even $100) jobs are just about as easy to come by as the $5, $6, and $7 ones if you do a little digging. I just can't see myself slaving over an article for an hour or two for a mere $5.

~Elizabeth~

[Dorothy Edison]

I am in complete agreement with both of you. It's sad to see really good writers selling their stuff for $7, when the same article would go for $30 to another customer.

There are plenty of customers here who do consistent, volumbe buying at prices that are fair.

DE

[LJade]

I agree 110%! It's cheap and not worth it.

Too much work for not enough return, I could care less about 'numbers' because I write for a living and dollar signs are the motivating factor for me.

Usually it's the writers just beginning that charge next to nothing, it's a shame to see an established writer sell out.

LJ

[Eliza Ferree]

I haven't tried for this one as I know we don't get the full $8. I really wish we could ask them to up the price.

[RachelN]

I certainly agree that it's not right to sell long articles for $8, but if you look at some of the ones that have sold for those prices recently, they're really short. I've sold some for silly prices in the last week and have had to think hard about whether it was a good idea or not, but I've made sure that they don't take me long to write and are under 200 words.

I write full-time and am working on other things at the same time that pay way, way more than this. But these little ones are dead easy to write, fun and don't take long and the extra money does add up (and am trying to save more / make extra money at the moment due to planning a wedding so anything extra is a bonus!).

I do still think it is rather cheeky to ask for fullrights for that price though

[candicep]

I agree too that this is not a welcoming price for full rights - usage maybe, even for very short articles.

It's not the time it takes really, it's the future results that will matter. The buyer will use your work for years to come to make money. You never get to use it again if you sell it for full rights.

If they hired you as an employee on an hourly basis it would be different - then they can pay you on the clock every hour. But, if you're trying to operate your own writing business and sell whatever they find to be good enough, it's a different story because you have to pay your own expenses and manage your own time. You're taking a risk of not selling every time you write. It's not worth the risk for just a few dollars.

Just my 2 cents worth.

Candicep

[RachelN]

The buyer will use your work for years to come to make money. You never get to use it again if you sell it for full rights.

That's very true. I forgot to add that the pieces I'm talking about are all news-based - so they're applicable at the moment, but will date exceedingly quickly. I'm not selling things I'd be able to re-sell time and time again for that price.

[J. A. Young]

It is slightly depressing to see a 400 word article go for 8 bucks. I guess I may write a few of these knock-offs when I'm in a slump, but I certainly don't invest a lot of research. I stick to topics that I know well--like parenting. I can write these quickly and check only the few facts that I want to include; but writing these with a personal slant means they're not as formal as my others. It's probably not worth doing these unless they really are one-off topics you won't be revisiting again. Personally I like the more-indepth researched articles that make serious money. In any case, at least it gives CC a well-rounded price spectrum for customers who sometimes can only afford the 8 dollar stuff.

[Dorothy Edison]

Personally, I worry about it damaging CC in the long run. Some customers originally willing to pay $30+ for an article will see that they can get the same article for a few bucks. It hurts everyone, in my opinion.

And it's true--these people will be making money off of the work, so they should pay accordingly.

DE

[malward]

I wrote a couple of short articles on Asperger Syndrome, but didn't submit any more because it's not worth it. I still have to research to make certain that my facts are correct and that takes time. I feel that 10 cents a word is good for exclusive. 5 cents for useage or above. Fullrights should be a nice price because the author can never use the article again.

I make my living writing and lately it's just not going so good. The first week of January I made super $$$. Since, barely anything.

Dorothy, I agree with you. I'm concerned that CC will suffer in the long term from the short but cheap articles. If someone needs something for their website, they should be willing to pay a fair price. When starting up, they can use useage and then move up to fullrights when they are more established. Just my 2 cents.

[J. A. Young]

Well--I'm convinced. Plus, it's true, customers can simply buy a usage if they can't afford exclusive rights.

[Lizaj]

Thanks for all the feedback. I have to say that I feel better, somehow, knowing that so many of you feel this way. I thought maybe I just had a poor attitude about it.

Dorothy said: "Some customers originally willing to pay $30+ for an article will see that they can get the same article for a few bucks."

I've worried about that, too and see it happening. I haven't been here long..a few months I guess..and already the pay has diminished. Who can blame them? Why would I pay 30 when this other guy is getting the same thing for 10?

I am so proud to be a part of C-C because of the quality of the writers. I hope we never lose that.

[mattsterrr]

I quite agree, although it would be hypocritical of me to agree completely.

I've written a few of the Games blogs for $7 each. In my support, though, the blog posts are between 150 and 250 words on a category I know a lot about anyway. It's difficult for blogs to pay much more money, especially new ones. The ones I'm writing for take 5 posts a day from me and a couple of others as well, and only have about 30 posts on at the moment.

Unfortunately, there will always be people willing to write 500 word articles for $5 and even less on the freelance sites. As long as they are willing to write for this price there will always be people willing to pay that amount.

I must admit to doing it myself on occassion. If I have little work on and it's an easy topic that I've written about before requiring little research then the articles don't take too long and they're basically guaranteed sales.

[LJade]

Ok, I have an admission to make here and y'all can either love me or hate me but this is 'tell all' time.

Those writers that supposedly write so cheap ... they don't.

I've e-mailed a few with requests to see what their response would be and most say they realized they couldn't produce for so little, nor could they fill all of the requests they received.

I taught a few a good lesson too.

I bought some of those 500 word articles for $2, I touched them up and sold them for a lot more (not on C-C either), then I wrote the writer back and told them about the success ... they were ticked.

That's the risk you run writing for cheap selling full rights!

The point is that some of those writers that advertise so cheap is that they believe they will establish a customer base, the customer will realize their talent and later pay more, it doesn't happen because the customer wasn't looking for quality ... they were looking for a cheap price.

Ok, my secret is out and I feel better. I learned alot through my testing period and now I hope y'all have too. Don't hate me because I'm curious to see how things work

LJ