Add word count to Writing Ideas-->Catalog Sales

[LauraD]

It would be really helpful to know the word count of the articles sold under the "Catalog Sales" tab of the Writing Ideas section--just to be sure of our own pricing strategies.

[Isabelnewth]

Seconded. Some people have objected to that idea in the past, but I think the more information we have the better. The information about price doesn't really tell you anything without knowing the length of the piece.

[Judith]

My pricing strategies are never based on the pricing of others. I see many articles that are under-priced in my opinion, and I now see more and more article requests coming in at low prices. I price my articles based on my time and expertise. I don't check the make offer box either. People will try to get you to give your work away. If you want to make a living as a writer, you have to receive a fair wage for your work. Obviously the customer making the request does not have your talent or they would be writing their own content. They want a professional writer because they want quality content on their website or brochure or for some other format. Some people on here are willing to sell their work for peanuts and get paid less than minimum wage.

My suggestion is to price your work based on the time you put in, the quality of the piece, and your expertise. If that comes to less than minimum wage, you will not make a living being a writer. Don't be afraid to ask a fair price for quality work.

[LauraD]

I totally agree, Judith! Price our work according to its quality and the time it took us to develop it. Otherwise we're just slaves to a broken culture of under-bidding for our work.

However, since we can't measure so easily the quality or time an individual put into the work, adding the word count would be one easy improvement to make that might give us a clue.

I see too many articles that sound long or like "hot" topics selling "full rights" for $20 or under. Really? Do you value yourself so little that to earn a buck the hard way you'd work for 1/4 minimum wage (or whatever)? I can't think of any length of content that should sell "full rights" for $20 or under: who can research/dream up and generate and proofread even 400 words, submit it to CC, let it sit waiting for editing (potentially lost wages time), and then manage the files on one's own organizational system to indicate whether a work has sold all rights or just usage rights [unique rights I lump in with full rights because, in any case, it means you can't make any money off of it any more]: consider all the administration costs/time/and overhead (computer, internet connection) as well as just the typing and proofreading and researching/brainstorming time. :

Maybe we all need to look closer at those pricing guidelines and make sure that they're realistic in terms of the quality of work that Constant Content is selling and the work it takes us to generate and administrate it. For example, I saw someone selling usage rights for $1 the other day! I don't want to compete with that, regardless of their topic or length. That price undercuts everyone else, limiting our ability to get good prices for good work and making Constant Content look CHEAP!

[Lysis]

I did my own little personal research for a month and watched a few things here. I followed 2 writers closely. Wrote down how much they wrote and how many sales they made every day for a month. One I thought charged too little and one that charged about where I would charge for content. They both sold about the same amount of articles and they both wrote about the same number of articles. The guy who charged higher charged pretty much the same amount across the board, so it was easier to estimate his earnings. The other guy charged less or more, depending on the number of words he wrote. Just from my small little research, it doesn't seem like price matters much. They both sold the same amount, and it's possible the guy who charged more made more money that month.

So, I really don't think charging less or more makes a difference. At least from what I watched it didn't. I think the key is to write consistently. They both wrote about 80 articles for the month, so they did write a lot. I'm also pretty sure they are in some good writer pools with some of the numbers I saw.

[LauraD]

Very helpful and innovative insight, Lysis! Thanks again! This makes me feel better about pricing in general, though I still think CC shouldn't allow articles to sell for $1 usage rights or silliness such as that. We, as a community, need to keep up a public perception of quality, and that includes in our pricing/value of our work.

Very helpful research you did, however! Good thinking to follow a couple of writers and see how they make out over time. I've been following the pricing guidelines, but although I've received (as a total newbie) about 20 hits on one article, it hasn't sold. As you say, keep writing: build up a portfolio of work and stuff will sell over time.

Thanks for sharing your wisdom! It is much appreciated! --LDS

[Lysis]

Yes, you have to write consistently. When I write more, I sell more, but I guess that makes sense. I'm trying to average one a day, but failing miserably.

[LauraD]

Keep trying, Lysis! You'll make your goal some days, and some days you may be able to write two articles per day. In either case, you can't meet your goal if you don't try. (We have the same goal--1 article per day! )

[Lysis]

I work full time, so sometimes I just don't have the willpower, but I can say from my lurking and watching consistent writers, it's worth it here.

[LauraD]

Very inspiring! Thanks again, Lysis, for your insight and for setting a good example!