Good Writing is Good Writing Regardless of Price

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Yeah, there’s a lot of bad writing flooding the Internet and it’s one of my pet peeves. However, bad writing has nothing to do with the cost of each piece of writing.  It doesn’t matter if it’s free or cost $5,000 to produce, good writing is good writing.

Low pay doesn’t breed bad writing. There’s bad writing on the web because:

  • Anyone can be a writer on the web.
  • Many web-based content companies have loose hiring standards.
  • Many web-based companies don’t offer editorial or mentoring for new writers.
  • Many web-based companies don’t have fact checkers on staff.
  • Anyone can be a writer on the web.

Yes, many entry level gigs don’t check a writer’s samples or background before hiring and this is part of the problem. Also, many entry level web gigs don’t have an editor checking every piece of writing to make sure it’s grammatically and factually correct. It’s easy to see why we associate bad writing with low pay. However, there are good writers who write for free or write for millions, the skill of a writer has nothing to do with pay. You either have it or you don’t.

To say certain compaines are flooding the Internet with “crap” because they’re a “mill” or because they offer entry level pay is a display of ignorance. There are good writers with impressive backgrounds at all web based content sites. Moreover, certain content sites have strict hiring policies and even stricter article acceptance policies.  They may churn out remarkable amounts of content every day, but that doesn’t mean the content is “crap.” Good writing is good writing regardless of price and if you think pay commands good writing, I recommend you read the “Twilight” series.

Do I wish all web content sites would be more choosy about their writers and the writing they accept? Absolutely! I won’t go as far as to lump all these sites together because they’re not. There are a few content sites that reject articles that aren’t up to par, and a couple of these websites don’t even accept more than 50% of the writers who apply.

Good writing has nothing to do with price. Yes, I wish entry level writers were paid more money, however, I won’t go as far as to say they produce “crap.”

Deb’s disclaimer because people like to take my words out of context and twist them to their own benefit: I am not saying everyone should work for low pay, or only work for low pay, or take a content job and never do anything else, or write content full time. I feel all writers should make the best choices for them, do their best, and know that there are always better opportunities. This post isn’t endorsing low pay, it’s making an observation that the size of the paycheck doesn’t necessarily lower or raise the quality of the writing.


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6 responses
  1. Lucy Smith Avatar

    Very true – we all have to start somewhere, and no matter how good a writer you are, you just can’t command the big dollars until you’ve built up a reputation. Nobody ever starts at the top, regardless of potential or talent.

    1. Deb Avatar

      Hi Lucy,

      I don’t know that everyone has to start low, there are plenty of higher paying places to start. I just don’t think the amount of money paid has anything to do with whether or not one is a good writing. That’s a talent that’s born not bought.

  2. Krista Avatar
    Krista

    I agree, Deb. And the biggest goal for every entry level writer should be to figure out a way to be paid more for that *good* writing.

  3. Star Avatar
    Star

    I don’t believe writing talent–unlike musical or artistic talent–is innate–it can be taught. And those who have spent yrs acquiring these skills deserve to be compensated and not exploited through their fears or misconceptions of what they can achieve.

    1. Deb Avatar

      That’s absolutely not the point of this piece,Star. We’re not arguing low pay vs. high pay in this blog post.

      There are plenty of good writers who write for free or less and there are bad writers who earn thousands of dollars. This has nothing to do with pay. If you write well, you write well regardless of how much your were compensated.

  4. Emily Johnson Avatar

    I agree with the author. Anyone can be a writer on the web, but not all is well written. This requires practice, or seek the help of writng services. And over time, everyone will write well. I think so!

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