Win a Signed Copy of “Kick-Ass Copywriting in 10 Easy Steps”
April 2, 2009 by Deb
Filed under Announcements
The other day, I reviewed a copy of “Kick-Ass Copywriting in 10 Easy Steps.” I recommend the book because I feel it will empower many writers to get out of the low paying freelance writing rut. In fact, we’re going to have a contest to help us do just that.
Author Susan Guenelius has generously offered a signed copy of her book to give to a lucky member of the FWJ community. Could that be you?
For the next week, I’d like you to discuss ways to get out of the low paying freelance writing rut. In fact, I want to know how YOU plan on doing so. Write a blog post, record a video, sing a song, start a forum topic, offer a tweet… do something creative to discuss with me, and others, how you can change your current situation and find higher paying opportunities. Then come back and post the link here in the comments so we can all see it.
The contest ends a week from today, Wednesday April 8th, at 11:59 p.m. Good luck, and I can’t wait to see how you’re going to break out of the freelance writing rut.
Great idea, Deb. Truly a wonderful way to get some meaningful discussion going about this topic. This is a really sensitive topic in freelance writing circles. I’m formulating a blog post as I type this!
I blogged about my decision here: http://margiewrites.wordpress.com/2009/04/04/saying-no-thanks-to-low-paying-gigs/
This contest is so timely for me because I have recently come to this very same conclusion! I thought I was already doing it, but really, I need to make more of a conscious effort to only accept certain pay rates.
I wrote a blog entry. Please, let me know what any of you think.
http://lushintransit.tumblr.com/post/92977652/how-to-get-out-of-a-low-paying-freelance-writing-rut
You can find my blog post by clicking on my name to head over to my blog.
I have an on-going series of blog posts called “The World is Your Oyster” and I focus specifically on the changes that are occurring in the writing world, specifically in the face of a world-wide workforce that is erasing the geographical lines on the maps. Instead of spending so much time complaining about low paying gigs, writers should instead be focused on creating opportunities for themselves. You cannot afford to be selfishly absorbed and think that you are somehow qualified enough to dictate rates to a market that is world-wide.
There is no global currency. Therefore there is no such thing as “fair” or “unfair” rates. What may be low to you is not low to someone from a flowering economy enjoying success in the 21st century. And you have zero right to dictate to another human being who is just as qualified as you are what rates are low or high, because they are completely relevant to where you happen to live in the world.
Writers cannot afford to be selfishly absorbed in “well I live in the US and it’s just not fair that these companies pay such low rates” because you are not the only qualified candidates for content generation. The candidates are from all around the world, not just a select group of 1 or 2 countries.
With all due respect for T.W. Anderson….
I will be 52 years old on April 8th, the day this contest ends. However, this comment really isn’t a contest entry per se. I simply wish to share my thought and thank you for sparking them.
I honestly do not see how people trying to earn a decent living, and who value their time and their work, should be called “selfishly absorbed” because they seek to find a better market for their writing. I don’t see where anyone here is trying to tell the low paying markets that they cannot offer small wages. I simply believe that, as you value your own work, you have the right to seek markets that also value that work.
Years ago, I wrote for pay. I come from the background of the fiction market, long before the days of the Internet and phenomena like SEO content. At the time, it was a tough job: creating quality work, mailing hard copy to publishers, waiting sometimes months to hear from them. Rejections were many, and a great deal of a writer’s time was taken up by reprinting, and resubmitting, articles or stories to new potential markets. Once a story was mailed, that piece was tied up until you heard back from that market, because the majority did not, and still do not, accept simultaneous submissions. A writer could literally put hundreds of hours into a story, only to have a perfectly good piece rejected over and over, and never see any return on their investment, because it simply was a bit too far off the beaten path of what the magazines were looking for. Even when a piece was accepted, a writer could wait months, even years, before being paid and seeing it in print. I sold one story to a top-market children’s magazine in 1996 that was not published until 2002!
I’ve been working for the past ten years as an animal communicator, still writing every day, but my articles were being freely posted in blogs, and distributed in my own free newsletter. I’ve had a number of articles published in magazines, and even a chapter in a book that is quickly climbing the charts, but without any monetary compensation.
Times what they are, and I’m sure I’m not alone in this goal, I finally decided to once again attribute more value to my time, my words, the life I breathe into my writing. I began to explore the possibility of getting paid for what I write.
It’s been an adventure. This old-time re-born writer is discovering that there are a wide variety of markets out there who will pay from a fraction of a cent to quite a few cents per word. As with most people who step onto the same path, I came across the low paying markets first, as they are often recommended even by some highly respected columnists and advisers.
Then, on one of the pittance-per-post sites, I ran into a gal whose goal in life — well, one of them, anyway — is to instill in writers a greater sense of pride, and a stronger sense of self-worth. (Hello, Bianca, if you’re reading this!)
Having pride in your words, and realizing that your time and your talent has value, is not being “selfishly absorbed” and has nothing to do with where you live. Everyone should realize his or her own value as a writer, and as a member of the human race. That will mean different things to different people, and that is perfectly okay. I greatly respect those for whom a few pennies per post holds value, and I wish them all the very best.
I, personally, have decided that my own self-image is worth improving. I have chosen to seek the upward path, therefore, and to try to do better.
Evolution is a forward movement, and an adventure as well. I wish you all the best on your adventure, and I wish for all writers a better tomorrow.
Peace.
–Gayle–
I have posted my blog entry here:
http://joannespangle.wordpress.com/2009/04/06/what-is-fair-pay/
http://wordsandlanguage-kimberly.blogspot.com/
I have done what you asked! I created a blog and my first blog entry is my entry for this contest. Thanks!
This is a great idea for a contest Deb. Kudos to you.
My long time coming point of view on the matter is now up and running on my blog:
How To Break Out Of The Freelance Writing Rut
Looking forward to getting around to reading other entries.
Good luck everyone!
Best of luck to the contestants, of which I’m NOT one, as a friend heard me mention the book last week and sent me a copy for my birthday! LOL, looks pretty good, and I look forward to reading it!