Writing Gigs: Textbroker and Caveat Emptor Again

Here's another online writing mill that actually involves copy writing rather than writing articles. There are some articles that are needed, but primarily the site involves copy writing, from my experience with it. Here's the problem with this site. I figured there were probably a few catches and there are. The pay? Oh, do we get paid? You can write a 400 page copy ad for sneakers or whistles or whatever other product the client is selling and make anywhere from $1.25 to maybe a whopping $7.00 for your efforts. On one occasion, when I wrote about a law-related topic, the pay was about $15, but that's the most I've ever been paid on that site.

The site "rates" your writing skills by some method, and you can bet it's subjective. The highest score you can get is a 5. That is when you start making some money on this site. However, the editors tell you that a "5" writer has to be absolutely perfect, no exceptions. Apparently there are a bunch of people who are rated 2s and 3s and probably a lot of 4s. I received a 4 and wrote my initial five articles/ads for clients. I worked hard, double-checked everything and tried to move up in ranks. I was told that it is possible to move up, so I went for it. I was also told that since there was no COMMA in the first sentence, which was really one of those debatable uses of a comma, that I had to stay as a "4." A comma? Give me a break. Their answer to me was that "it has to be perfect." I would love to hear from the few people who have been rated "5." I don't think most authors would get that rating; certainly not Grisham or other best-selling authors who write well but then again, nobody is perfect. (I wonder who decides who garners this number).

In any event, Textbroker is okay if you get a client who likes you and you can set your own price. I set my own price although of course they can get someone to do the same thing for a lot less than what I am asking. I'm not asking a fortune either, but I'm asking for a respectable amount of money, still lower than what I should be asking for.

When freelancers ask and get so little (see yesterday's entry on Examiner.com), we have to ask ourselves why we are paid so little and why we accept it. We wouldn't accept it for anything else. It's not a fair price for the work. Do freelancers value their work so little that they take scraps? I won't do it. It's not worth it. I'd rather work in some other aspect of writing, such as resumes or definitely legal writing. My time is worth more than Textbroker is willing to pay. If I hear from a client, great. Two of them said they were interested but I haven't seen any orders yet and I might not. After all, they can get lesser quality work for about $3.00.
Not interested.

Freelancers - we need to value ourselves more. Ask for more. Demand more. If not, move on to something better.

All the best in writing,
Ronna