Writing “Industry” Rant Alert
I came very, very close to going off on a guy on Craigslist. I’m sick of what I’m seeing there, and this one blew my mind when I did the math…
The guy want 14 articles on a specific topic – 650 – 750 words each (average that to 700). To be delivered NO LATER than 8/27 (tomorrow). Compensation – $30. Total. Not hourly. TOTAL.
I did the math. Averaging 700 words per article – that’s 9800 words in 24 hours or about $0.0031/word.
I could be reading the thing wrong. He may mean $30 per article which wouldn’t be quite so bad – even with the quick turnaround. And in going back, I did see a thing that said, “If you can do *any* of these…” so maybe he does mean per article…but at first blush, that’s not what it looks like. It lookslike $2.15 PER ARTICLE.
Don’t get me wrong, I know the writing industry is notorious for paying 1900s rates, but come on. I am sick of seeing the ads for ridiculously LOW paying writing gigs because no one believes it’s work — unless you’re actually doing it, then it’s hard.
Here’s hoping they get no takers. If I’m going to get pittance money, it’s going to be for fiction. And yes, I know there’s never going to be a TON of money in writing unless there’s a Stephen King moment, but I’m not that much a “ho” either.
Living Wage, people. Think about it!