Comments on: A New Term: Writer Mills

By: Mark Mays

Mark Mays — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 22:22:35 +0000

Here’s the thing . . .

(Just as an aside, I made $500 for my first paid published piece, too, which was about 8 years ago. I think it’s an anomaly. However I do see the point about the slow death of print journalism)

As Gannett and other publications continue to slash and burn it’s clear that freelance opportunities are drying up (I went from 8 features a month to only 1 a month over the last 8 months, and I’m lucky I’m not one of the journalists that were laid off). With that in mind, I didn’t look to other print opportunities to shore up the missing income, I looked to the Web, because I agree the future is online . . . if the greedy bas***** can figure out a model that works.

If the market is weak for writers, especially for specialists like myself, and the Net offers nothing but mills, what are we to do? I have no desire to go from profiling A-List musicians to writing how-to pieces about interval training, but I do have a desire to save for my kids’ education.

Also, I used to write for an alt.weekly. The hourly rate was super, but in real dollars — what writing for them added to the balance sheet at the end of the month — the pay wasn’t so hot. I think talking in terms of hourly rates can mislead new writers, especially when available assignments are shrinking.

By: Pat Curry

Pat Curry — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:57:21 +0000

I give props to anyone who’s making $4,000 a month writing, but man, what a way to have to do it. According to Associated Content’s Web site, their upfront payment is $1 to $20 per story. Demand Studios pays something like $15 a story. Even at $25 a story, that’s 160 stories a month — eight stories A DAY in a five-day work week — to hit $4,000. I do most of my writing for online, I’m making at least as much as Cassandra, and I’d be surprised if I write eight stories a month.

If it were me, I’d take one day a week off from cranking out copy and use it to drum up better-paying gigs. You might not wind up making any more money, but your hourly rate will soar and you’ll have some semblance of a life.

By: LindaFormichelli

LindaFormichelli — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:56:49 +0000

Cassandra, I’d rather churn out many, many fewer articles per month and earn much, much more. Print articles typically pay me $1-$2.50 per word, and even in this poor economy with “print dying” my income has remained steady. I also have the satisfaction of knowing that my articles are well-written and well-researched because I have the time to craft them that way.

By: Ron S. Doyle

Ron S. Doyle — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:53:11 +0000

Cassandra,

According to your blog, you’ve written over 1000 articles for Associated Content in the last two years. At $1/word, and let’s estimate 500 words per article, that’s over $500,000.00 that should be sitting in your bank.

That’s right, you should have earned half a million dollars for your work, over a quarter a million each year. Instead you’re making $1200 per month with Associated Content—which I assume is your current earnings for this month and not an actual monthly rate—and you must continue to slave out more content to maintain pageviews.

With all due respect, I’ll keep living in the past.

By: Cassandra James

Cassandra James — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 08:36:45 +0000

You are all living in the past. The real money now is writing online not for print – print is dying but writers like you just don’t get it.

I make over $4,000 a month writing for sites like Associated Content, Demand Studios, Examiner etc. More than $1,200 of that comes from Associated Content alone, with about $400 a month coming from page views alone (ie: I have to do NOTHING, just put the money in my bank account).

I do also write for newspapers all over Asia, but my main income still comes from online.

You all can keep slaving away for your one article that will make you $300-$500. Meanwhile, I’m laughing all the way to the bank

By: Diane

Diane — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 13:54:37 +0000

I’d say ditto to you, Linda. I started with zero contacts, and my first piece was an FOB for a glossy at 50p a word. My next piece was for a writing magazine, and then I got repeat commissions from a national newspaper. Even then, I’ve barely paid the bills. What’s the point in these content aggregators? They don’t impress any reputable editors. You’re better off blogging or sending stuff on spec (to places that accept stuff on spec, of course).

By: Ron Doyle

Ron Doyle — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 19:24:35 +0000

Amen, Linda. The path of least resistance always results in the least amount of reward. Don’t give up so easily, new writers!

By: LindaFormichelli

LindaFormichelli — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 18:55:16 +0000

Eve, one of my students just received $400 for her first clip (and that was a 200-word short at $2 per word in a national newsstand magazine), and another got well over $500 for her first clip with a trade magazine. I think writers give up to easily, or don’t have the confidence to actually pitch magazines that pay writers what they’re worth. I encourage my students to aim high…it’s just as easy as aiming low in terms of writing and sending the query.

By: Eve

Eve — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 07:24:29 +0000

1997 is very different than 2009. I wish any writer tons of luck in trying to score $500 for their first clip today.

By: Laura

Laura — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 20:15:24 +0000

Hi Stefanie,

I’d say True/Slant is legit. Sure, it doesn’t pay a ton for now, but that has more to do with the fact that a. it’s a start-up and b. blogging doesn’t pay much compared to writing for print than anything else. Unlike some sites (Examiner.com, etc.), it places a lot of emphasis on the quality of the writing and content, which is evidenced by the high caliber of writers who contribute to the site.