Why You Should Write Cheap Articles
December 12, 2008 by James Chartrand
Filed under Other Good Stuff
They say that the best way to learn is by doing. They also say that hands-on experience is the most memorable and valuable. Lastly, they say (who is “they”, anyways?) that if you want to know how a man feels, walk a mile in his shoes.
That’s why I think every writer out there should write 500 words for $2.
Don’t get me wrong; I’ll be the first to stand up and say that those wages are absolutely ridiculous for writers. We should war against sweatshop wages and promote value for effort.
But I’ll also be the first to say that writing a run of cheap articles is a learning experience that can’t be beat. You gain a deeper understanding of the struggles some people face. You’re in a better position to provide help and change by this new vision. Your writing takes on a new level of consciousness.
Even if you currently earn $500 for 500 words, my suggestion is to go the other extreme for a time. Writing cheap articles can:
- Teach you what it’s like to work hard for almost nothing.
- Give you a better understanding of just how tough some writers have it
- Gain a deeper sympathy for writers caught in the cheap article cycle
- Understand the value of what you do for a living
- Increase your credibility because you’ve been where others are
One of the reasons I can stand up today to write about how to improve a freelance writing career is because I’ve been in the cheap article camp. I used to write those $2 articles, and they provided me with valuable knowledge about myself, my ability, my talents and my self-worth.
I can honestly say I know how hard it is to work and get a handful of change back. I understand the challenges on a personal level through hands-on experience. I know how discouraging that life of cheap work can be, and how many writers feel unable to step out of that rut.
And I’m thankful. If it wasn’t for those $2 articles, I might not be where I am today. I wouldn’t be able to tell other people, “I know, because I’ve been there. And I am proof there’s a better way of doing things.” No one can say I don’t know how they feel or that I can’t relate.
I can.
You can work to create change, too. Come down to where other writers are in their career. Live the struggles they live. Learn the challenges, experience the hardships and understand the cycle of poverty some writers face each and every day.
You’ll discover valuable lessons, better experience and a deep empathy that lets you help other writers rise above the rut of low wages.
Disclaimer: I do not want to promote low wages, nor do I want to feed the cheap article machine. I understand my suggestion does give that machine a temporary mouthful, but the point is to find ways to gain understanding and knowledge to help others. Get in, learn, and get out. Then help others get out, too.
Related posts:
Really, you haven’t lived until you wrote 50 articles on Septic Systems for a grand total of $100.
Yeast infections. Peanut butter. Dollhouses… well, okay, that was kind of cool, I’ll admit.
Hi. Thanks for an interesting post.
I agree that inexperienced writers should get some hands-on experience before chasing down $2/word articles. However, if building a portfolio, earning some credibility, and sharpening their skills is what they’re after, I think it would behoove them to volunteer for a non-profit group or a company whose mission they believe in. They’d not only get the opportunity to network, refine their skills, and lay the foundation for their writing career, but they’d also stop perpetuating the industry mentality that writing isn’t worth anything.
The reason writers still “have it tough” today is because so many of them are willing to work for below-slave-wages. Publishers know this, and take advantage: why should they agree to pay us fairly, when there are easily thousands of others who will take the assignment for peanuts?
As a result, ALL writers end up “caught in the cheap article cycle”–not getting paid nearly what their work is worth. If more writers refused to work for such poor wages, we wouldn’t have to sympathize with them.
Thanks for letting me share my opinion
Rachel
Bungee cords.
I disagree.
I think that if you want to gain deeper sympathy and work hard – and, while you’re at it, help those who really need it – you should VOLUNTEER at an animal shelter or cause of your choice. And don’t accept $2 for writing 500 words because a) you don’t deserve it, even if you stink, b) you’ll start valuing yourself and your work less, and c) you’re letting yourself be exploited while promoting other writers’ exploitation. You might as well write 500 words for free, helping out a non-profit or somebody else who deserves it; it’s far better than getting taken advantage of. Besides, $2? What are you gonna buy, Juicy Fruit?
Oh, how true. You haven’t lived until you get a gig writing 5 articles about colon cancer for the sum of $20. I’ve always looked at it this way, it may not be a lot of money, but it’s money I didn’t have before.
Great article.
@ Christine – Better than a kick in the pants, eh?
@ Natalia – In general, you shouldn’t write for $2/500 words, agreed. But unless you’ve been there, done that, you cannot tell others they shouldn’t do it either. Not sure what animal shelters have to do with it, but anyways…
@ Jodee – OH MAN! I would have LOVED that topic!
@ Rachel – When you work for such low wages, you gain understanding why these people do it and are in a better position to tell them not to, don’t you think? It’s too easy to preach these days; people want to see proof.
@James et al. – Look, I’ve written for free. Many times, that is how you start. But I was 21 or younger. If you want to write for $2 because you need to fill up your resume, fine. But don’t tell me you’re writing for pathetic wages because you want to feel more sympathy for others – that doesn’t make a lot of sense. If that is what you want, then volunteer somewhere, maybe at an animal shelter like I do. THAT is rational.
@ Natalia – Well, you work at an animal shelter because you feel sympathy for the animals. Why? Because you’ve seen how they’ve been abused and know first-hand their pain. I’m suggesting doing the same for fellow humans.
@James – It’s not an either/or issue. And writing for $2 might make you feel pity for yourself and others, might allow you to understand first-hand the misery some writers might feel when they have no choice but to write for miserable wages — but it’s not doing you or anybody else any good! You might as well contribute to society if you want to expand your sense of compassion and understanding. That is my point. Does that make sense? Volunteering is a beautiful thing that helps others, including yourself. Do THAT if you want to ¨gain deeper sympathy¨ and ¨teach [yourself] what it’s like to work hard for almost nothing,¨ except volunteering means working hard and feeling tons of satisfaction as a result. Writing 500 words for $2 only benefits exploiters, and intentionally looking to be exploited just to share in others’ misery is pathetic and absurd.
If you’re looking for clips/experience, I’m with Natalia on this one. Non-profits are hurting now, and many of them welcome volunteer efforts. I think it’s a much better way to get experience than writing for $2/500 words.
Perhaps if I were writing James’s column regularly, it would help me to know what others are going through. {:-)
@ Natalia – Here’s my thoughts:
When we earn more, we feel better, more confident and demand more. When we have more to spend, we spend more and encourage businesses to hire people and create products. We increase our economy. We have more money, more jobs and better lives to have the power to help others.
Will you see $2 writers out there volunteering at animal shelters? I’m afraid not. They’re too busy trying to get enough money to buy groceries, in many cases. If we come down to where they are, learn why they’re there and get the experience we need to HELP THEM get out of that situation so that they can earn more, then haven’t we succeeded in the goal of being able to help all over?
Volunteering is just one way of helping others (and animal shelters don’t help people). Teaching people how to have a better life is a damned respectable way of making change in the world, I think.
@ Hazel – The post wasn’t at all about gaining clips or experience. It was for experienced writers who already earn good money to know what impoverished writers have to deal with.
I’m going to have to side with Rachel and Natalia on this.
Not only can you volunteer for a non-profit to get writing experience if you need some AND make a valuable contribution to society, but you can participate in an internship, even an unpaid one, at a reputable publication to get experience and clips. You work very hard, you’re the low man on the proverbial totem pole, and you get some much-needed experience. And you don’t dignify the $2-for-500-words folks.
Look, I get your point. It might be nice for an established writer who pulls in six figures to remember what it’s like to be in the trenches with the plebes. But I seriously, seriously doubt anyone here falls into that camp. And perhaps it’s not unreasonable to expect a new or inexperienced writer to make something like only $25 or $50 for a lengthy article that requires research and interviews. But $2? Come on. I worked for something like $17K a year during my first professional job as a writer. I essentially made less than minimum wage. But I learned a lot, gained valuable experience, and built up a clip file. Would I go back to that level? Hell, no. And I could barely afford the rent on my ramshackled shared apartment and my student loans. It was a hard time. And I was certainly, if you figured it all out, making more than $2 per article.
James: While I respect your opinion, I do not see how it benefits anyone by suggesting that they write for low–no, I’m sorry–abysmal wages. It just doesn’t make sense.
Why not tell them to hone their writing skills through, yes, volunteerism –say, at the local Chamber of Commerce–or for a cause that benefits the greater good? *Then* they can start accepting assignments from employers who are respectable enough to pay them what they deserve.
My point is that NO writer should have to know what it feels like to work for such pathetic wages. We shouldn’t HAVE to feel a need to sympathize/empathize/walk in their shoes because, frankly, wages like that shouldn’t even be legal. But the more that writers endorse them, and the less that they take a stand against them (read: refusing to accept low wages), the more ubiquitous they will become, and the more poor, sorry, starving souls there will be out there, struggling to pay for groceries.
To advise anyone–beginner or not–to write for sweatshop pay is on the brink of irresponsible, and does a real disservice to the writing community as a whole.
@ Hazel and Rachel – I absolutely agree.
@ James – Writing for abysmal wages, as Rachel says, does NOT HELP ANYONE. How could it? And if you’re starving, then $2 is NOT going to help you. Because, obviously, you would be better off working somewhere for minimum wage than trying to make a living writing 500 words for $2–trying to get by that way would be ridiculous. And whether you’re rich or struggling to pay your rent, it will not necessarily affect whether you volunteer somewhere or not (and I speak from experience).
FYI, helping animals benefits everybody regardless of species, if not directly, then indirectly, through those volunteers’ compassion and good will, which reverberates throughout society. If you’re speciesist, that is YOUR problem, but don’t you tell me it doesn’t help people, because, as an animal activist, I can assure you that you don’t know what you’re talking about. Do some research before you spout off about a delicate issue like that.
I appreciate everyone’s views, and I’m glad you came and commented. I also respect your opinions, definitely.
I will say that I believe volunteering for shelters has no place in this discussion. Yes, I understand it’s a topic of the heart, but the post is about learning the hardships of lower-paid writers to understand their lives.
We’d be fools to say that going to Africa to work and live alongside these people does not increase our understanding or ability to help. Many people find their lives changed after visiting impoverished locations and living as the natives do. Would you say that this generosity and willingness to learn shouldn’t be applied right in your own country?
The post isn’t for people who already write $2 articles. I think it’s very clear, and if it didn’t come through on the first skim and scan, I suggest you read the post again.
The post is for those who receive more money for their work – and with 3,000 daily viewers to this blog network, I’m positive there are many who do earn a great deal of money. Walking a mile in another man’s shoes can only provide new perspective in the lives of luxury they lead.
Volunteering is a great goal, and I respect those who do it. I think it is far off the angle and point of this post, though. We can make a difference, and because this network is about helping writers, my angle is to suggest that those who have achieved success – even from the very start – come live the lives of those who haven’t for a very temporary time. I feel that the resistance to do so is enlightening.
@ James – Yes, we know that. You don’t seem to understand what we’re saying.
@ Natalia – That’s quite possible. A less defensive stance and a carefully thought out explanation might certainly affect my views.
I’m always open to calm discussion, and I’m also smart enough to know that only fools never change their mind. There are many sides to every story; show me yours.
Help me understand, because right now, I don’t feel you understand my perspective either.
I am from the camp that says you don’t need to write at low wages to sympathize with those who do. Even beginning writers can make a minimum of 10-20 cents per word by writing for local and regional magazines. As a beginner, I don’t think I ever wrote for less than 5-10 cents per word, and it was because I chose to work in that market out of personal interest in the subject matter, not because I had to.
Ultimately, I think it is more helpful for experienced writers to educate beginners on how to avoid the super low-paying markets altogether and simply start writing for medium to higher-paying markets. They can do this by joining writing groups and mentoring those who ask questions and need assistance.
I agree with what folks are saying about volunteering. Those who can get away with paying folks $2.00 per article will keep doing it, because they can.
I’d rather give away my writing services for free, by volunteering for a worthy organization of my choice, rather than be paid $2.00 by a client who doesn’t value the skills, time, and effort that it takes to write.
I don’t really need to fill up my resume. I’ve got hundreds of print clips, and I’m the former editor of Writer’s Digest magazine (as of 3 months ago). But writing online is a whole different ballgame. The rules and players are entirely different. I’ve been writing guests posts (free of charge) on other writers’ blogs to build up my blog cred. Sometimes it’s just what you have to do to break into a new field.
I’m siding with the majority here, and I won’t repeat the points already ably made.
I’d like to point out, though, that most of the people writing articles at $2 a pop are working and living in places where that’s a reasonably useful amount of money. Thus, the U.S. writer slumming at $2 an article for compassion’s sake is taking a job that might actually be useful to someone living in a less affluent country.
Americans ought not to pay $2 for an article, and they also ought not to compete with offshore writers for those articles. I work over at oDesk sometimes, where there have been numerous conversations on this topic, and it’s clear that there are two separate economies for information workers. The American buyers who hire offshore writers for essentially nothing in U.S. terms should be ashamed of themselves, but those whose budgets are meager by our standards should be able to hire folks who can live on what they have to offer.
@ James – I’ve said enough. Other commenters are expressing very similar views to mine. There’s no other way to clarify our stance.
James,
I generally agree with the dissidents here, though I figure I did my work for low/no wages in college many years ago. We figured it worked out to about $1 an hour for editors at the college paper. I also spent 13 years as a daily newspaper reporter.
But once you reach a certain point in life, you can’t go back. Heck, my health inssurance alone went up more than 12 percent — and there’s a lot of stuff it doesn’t cover. Though gasoline is back down, Internet fees (I use cable), electricity, property taxes and other business overhead and personal expenses continue to increase.
I have taken on one low paying account to help with cash crunch, but it’s golden compared to what’s mentioned above. One also has to determine if spending several hours at slave pay is better than spending that time marketing for better paying work.
When did the view that you have to have been there to understand get started? Seriously – there is NO WAY for me to every be in someone else’s shoes – I will always be going off my own experience, feelings and emotions.
$2 an article is low for anyone living in the United States (and many other countries). Even if you could kick out 7 articles an hour that would still only be $14 an hour. The average American worker makes $18 an hour. I don’t have to work for $14 an hour to know that it can be tough making ends meet – particularly if there is a family involved. I can do the math.
The key to helping someone is not to have walked in their shoes but to have the directions for success. If you can help me get to a place where I’m making $500 an article I’m not all that concerned about where you started. Does that make sense?
I’ve read and reread James’ article. I also read and reread other views expressed here.
I don’t know about you, folks but for me, I get the impression that James is sharing us a profound learning experience.
He is neither advocating that writers go for a $2 500-word article out of a desperate financial need nor of helping beginning writers.
Instead, he is suggesting that established writers should try writing a $2 writing gig from time to time to gain a deep personal appreciation and experience.
Sort of a reality check, if you ask me.
In my 2-cents worth of opinion, that’s a good thing.
Funny but the so-called ” dissidents views” are actually what James is saying all along: that we writers should NEVER accept $2 500-word article writing fee.
@ Precision –
I agree. How do you propose to do that when you began at a much higher rate than most writers and have no idea how to avoid the low-paying markets?
@ Phil – So I think what you may be saying is that you think writing for the experience of understanding the feeling of low wages isn’t the way to go – but you’ve done it yourself, yes? Do you feel that because you know what it’s like to work for so little, you’re in a better position to help others today?
@ Kathryn – Of course it’s low. I was making a point, and I’m glad I got through.
The key to being able to provide direction is knowing exactly how to get from point A to point B.
@ JLG – THANK YOU! YES!
When I started web content writing, I accepted $2 for 500 words. I accepted it because I did not know what the rate was and I was pretty desperate. I really felt used and abused but it was very hard to look for other writing gigs on the Net at that time (or I just didn’t know how to look). But after a few months (yes I persisted for about 6 months and worked even during holidays), I started to find websites offering much higher rates. Besides, I was already beginning to feel confident of my ability to write. Thanks to this website, I am also able to find some high-paying jobs. I would never accept that paltry wage anymore, but I am also thankful that I tried those $2 gigs because if I didn’t, I wouldn’t discover the joy of writing. It is just unfortunate that I was not able to find higher paying jobs when I was starting out like some of you.
I understand the point of Natalia and others because they do not want $2-writing gigs to proliferate. Hell, I also think they should be banned from the face of the earth!!! But I am also grateful to James and the others who dared to feel what I have experienced. I know now that James et al would be more ardent in their campaign for higher rates for writers.
So I am thankful to those big-time writers who tried to experience what it feels like to be desperate.
James, your article has certainly opened up a can of worms here but what you are saying is so true. I remember starting off mind you the lowest I ever wrote for was $5 for 500 words but I do remember getting large batches of articles 100 on vacuum cleaners and whilst the pay might have been low the experience gained was invaluable. I learned how to research faster, how to type faster, how to make better use of my time, and much more. I never thought I could write 10 articles on vacuums let alone 100 but when someone is paying you for this work and you are only starting out you’d be surprised at what you can accomplish. Accepting low rates when you start out is very common and I agree with you that unless beginners are educated and told what rates they should expect things will never change and there will always be those who are being ripped off and under paid.
Could this be more true? I don’t think so. I began at Textbroker, and it provided at first low paying work but I have always wrote EXCELLENT pieces for the highest of ratings, and it taught me the important freelancing principle: quality work=repeat clients. As my rate raised, those clients came along! Thanks for sharing this.
Jessie Ann Heekin
James,
Oh, you viral, viral man.
In DB style:
“Hey, I’m kinda hungry. What we got to eat?” James opened the cupboard and just stared.
“I told ya, man. Same stuff as before!, Jeez.”
The cupboard was filled with nothing but canned worms.
“Oh well, I guess canned worms it is.”
“Are you sure you want to open that, James?”
James grabbed the can opener and looked at the label. “It doesn’t expire until December of 2012. Do you think they’re still good?”
“Probably. Go ahead and open ‘em. It’s your life.”
And things just went downhill from there.
Cheers!
George
@ Tumblemoose.
James picked up a wriggling creature, eyed it, and then popped it in. He chewed thoughtfully, swallowing audibly. Then he looked into the can again before offering it to George.
“Hey. These aren’t bad. Want one?”
“Well, ok. But just one. Hey have you seen my chopsticks?”
George glances over at the sink. At least, there’s probably a sink under all that mess.
“Oh, just gimme the can.” Swipes it from James and pops one of the juicy squirmers in his mouth.
“Not too bad, really. You say this can only costs $2?” Eyes the cupboard. “Are we really going to have to eat all those cans of $2 worms before we can like, order a pizza?”
“I’m afraid so.” James hands over the can opener to George.
“Well let’s get to it then.”
“You know…” James shook the can of worms, eyeing the remainder. “One can get sick of eating worms.” He shook it again and glanced at George. “When you’ve eaten worms, I think you certainly learn to appreciate pizza more.”
He eyed the phone. “We could put worms *on* the pizza…”
and with that, George dials up and orders two large, with extra cheese.
Great job, James. Nice finish to the DB, you crack me up.
Cheers!
George
My own experience says that James is correct. We don’t want to think about lowering our standards to this, and I dare say that today there is nothing that would make me accept a $2 job.
Many years ago, however, I didn’t just pop off a couple articles and sell them for $2 each, I wrote articles (several a week) and gave them away for free. I then went on to write for similar Web sites, getting a percentage of revenue from ad views. Well, I’m not sure those ones even paid $2 each either.
My first mag gig was a nice double page spread for a newly launched magazine. It was the featured cover story. I loved that article and I put my heart and soul into the story and didn’t get paid a dime. My first low-paying jobs were $15 an article. A bit more than $2 but still impossible to earn a living off of.
Ten plus years later I can say with certainty that there is no way way I could possibly be doing what I do now without having those “horrid” experiences.
I guess I’m going to be the contrarian here…but when I won my first writing contest back in about 1989, I got paid $200. And that was in a (notoriously low-paying) alternative paper.
Why should ‘breaking in’ now consist of writing an article for $2? Considering inflation over the past 20 years?
As someone who’s a student of labor movements, I say if nobody who has any experience is willing to write for a pittance, soon rates would improve. I think the writing community really needs to get together on this, or we will soon all finds ourselves moonlighting as writers while we stock shelves at supermarkets to pay our bills.
Mostly, what most wannabe writers put out isn’t publishable, or needs intensive editing. If paying those rates consistently caused massive headaches for those who want writing done because they couldn’t get anyone with any experience to do it, they would soon get a sense that writing professionals expect to get paid in a way that reflects their experience and abilities.
I have expertise in interpreting SEC and legal documents, I understand complex industries such as insurance and wealth management. I think you’re trying to tell me that expertise isn’t worth anything…but my experience is that when properly marketed, it’s worth a great deal.
Honestly, I have to say I think it’s appalling to encourage anyone who already has any kind of a track record to write for those rates. I agree with one of the posters above — write a clip or two for free if you need to establish a new niche, learn a new industry, or whatever. Anything but giving a source the idea that they can get expertise for nothing.
I recently got a response from one of your ads where they wanted me to write more than 600 one-hundred-word company profiles for $2000….my calculations were that it came to something like $1 an hour for the time it would take.
We writers should work at McDonald’s before accepting devil’s bargains of this kind.
Carol Tice
http://www.caroltice.com
Have to add that most of these cheap-article for the Web job posters are basically Internet gold-rush speculators. They want to aggregate your essentially free copy, slap on some advertising and find some sucker to buy it for $40,000 or more.
Don’t let them make this kind of money off your back! Writers of the world, unite…
Carol
Carol, you are an inspiration!
Interesting debate. I would just comment that if you are willing to write 50 articles at $2 each, you would probably be better off cutting out the middleman and publishing them yourself.
Write 50 articles on a topic of your choice, publish them on your own website, and add some AdSense and Clickbank ads alongside to monetize them. Do a little promotion, e.g. using link exchanges and social bookmarking sites. In a year you will almost certainly earn a lot more than the $100 the two-bucks-a-time client would have paid you!
@ Nick – The post wasn’t about earning money, nor was it about working at cheap articles for a long time. It’s the value of the experience and knowing what many, many writers out there have to live so that we can help them more.
But I agree. If people *are* looking for money, then you could make a few dollars using your suggestions.
@ Carol – Ha, that’s for sure. They slap up cheap junk and hope for millions. Ain’t gonna work…
Actually, someone at your level of experience would be a perfect candidate to take a shot at writing cheap articles for two weeks or so. It’s writers at your level that this post addressed, so that no one ever forgets how hard it *can* be for others.
@ Aurora – Thank you, and you’ve got it exactly. Even just the tone of your comment tells me that you’ve been there, done that, and that you firmly know you’ll never go back. That tone of voice is what can help other writers, too.
I think people need to be careful. I saw an ad the other week looking for someone to write something ridiculous like 50 articles a day. How on earth that one worked out, I just don’t know! Remember quality and not quantity?
If you want experience also think about the quality of the work you will be showing future clients.
@ James and George – thanks for the riff! Great fun!
Wow, definitely a heated debate. I don’t agree with a lot of James’ reasons for writing for free, but that isn’t to say that I don’t support it (on occasion).
Working for free can provide exposure and experience, but you have to know how to pick projects that work for you, not against you. If you’re working for $2 / 500 words the project needs to have some benefit other than pay (obviously) to justify the time and energy you put in to it.
This debate actually provoked a series on free writing posts for my blog. Check it out and let me know your thoughts. http://thewordboutique.blogspot.com/2008/12/for-free-or-not-for-free-freelance.html
I am appalled at this post. Writers should NEVER write for such a pittance. My current charge is $50 for 300 words. And I get it without issue. I also charge $60 to $140 per hour, depending on the work I am undertaking.
Are you going to tell me I should charge $4 an hour instead? Because that’s what you might as well say since you’re telling me to write articles for $2. (The average writer will spend 30 minutes plus researching and writing each article, so there’s your $4 an hour.)
If you want writers to learn about hard work, let them scrub the floors. This sort of nonsense is why writers are writing for free or for peanuts.
You should be tarred and feathered, then hung out to dry.
Cheryl Wright
Owner of http://www.writer2writer.com and self-appointed advocate for writers
@ Cheryl – Not pitchforked and burned at the stake? Oh well.
I think you may need to reread the post a few times to understand the point I tried to convey. It may be difficult to step into someone else’s shoes, even mentally, but I think the experience could be enlightening.
James, I haven’t always been able to command such fees, but I’ve never worked for $2 an article either.
I don’t have to put myself into someone else’s shoes mentally either, I’ve been there. None of us start at $60+ an hour, no matter their status in other occupations.
If I need to read the post a few times, then you’ve not written it well enough in my opinion. Writing is all about convey a message — the first time it’s read.
Cheryl
@ Cheryl – True, writing is about conveying messages, I agree. Sometimes that becomes difficult because we all see the world through different colored glasses. Our perception tells us what we want to hear, and we read what we want to read. Even the best writers in the world were garbage to some critiques.
What’s interesting is that the post really isn’t about what you earn now or earning higher rates – I find it intriguing that you read that angle in my words. The post is much more about gaining a richer experience of heart, values and beliefs.
Of course, no one is obligated to attempt a suggestion they feel isn’t a good fit for them, and I respect that you don’t feel it’s an experience that you would partake in, despite that I think it could be a rich learning experience.
Thanks for your thoughts!
Whoa – can of worms doesn’t seem to come close to describing this. As long as we’re siding here, I think I’m with James.
This is more of a “big picture” kind of idea. No suggestion to actually change your rates, do different type of work, give in to a slave mentality. None of that. This is about appreciation. And it doesn’t seem like he’s suggesting it be done any certain amount of times per year, or length of time, etc.
It’s one thing to remember a past experience. It’s another to experience it again in the present time. I’m not booking any cheap articles anytime soon, but just the thought that I could get some personal value from it is intriguing.
I’m not sure why so many people are offended here. It’s a suggestion, not a mandate. And he’s not attacking anyone’s principals. While it’s not always necessar to be of help when you don’t share the same types of experiences, there is no substitute for experiential knowledge. And sometimes, a little dip in the cess pool can help you remember why you were able to move into a beach house.
Sorry, it’s not always necessary to have been in the exact same situation to be of help to someone else.