I'm still waiting to find out why SundayBrew thinks that all writers that charge more than 1 cent a word are "greedy". From a writer to the husband of a writer please tell me that you really didn't mean to say it like that SB!
Oh come on... What is this the "sundaybrew" thread......lol I said My wife isn't greedy..... I never said that others were. Originally Posted by sundaybrew No, I am just saying that we do it for 1 cent per word, Of course there is some research involved, I guess My wife just has a natural talent and is not greedy...what else can I say......
I agree with this point of view. I know my writing is worth more than 1 cent a word because I usually write for magazines, who pay way more. I can't work for magazines now because my health does not allow me to work out of doors much. That said, I cannot reasonably expect webmasters to pay as much as established magazines. I have learned to strike a happy medium, and while I do not earn magazine rates, I make enough to get by. There is a market for 1 cent writers(who have their own place, and are to be respected for the work they do), and there is a market for more. There are a lot of webmasters on DP who care about well-researched, quality articles and are happy to pay for it. The idea is to realize what the work is worth and price it or pay for it accordingly.
SundayBrew it's not that you came right out and said all writers that charge more than 1 cent a word are greedy, it's the connotation of your statement. You said yourself that your wife must be naturally talented and not greedy...those are your own words...making it sound like anyone else that charges greater than 1 cent is somehow acting greedy. I strongly believe that is not the case. You may not be a writer but you should know that what you say and the way that it is said has power. I'm pretty sure that you didn't mean anything cruel by what you said but at the same time you should be aware of how your messages can be perceived by others in the community. I hope that clears up the reason why I was asking for a reply from you.
Dude, You reading way to far into this and taking it out of context, Let me rephrase the statement please "My wife is happy writing for one sent per word, and feels blessed by her god" I am sorry for the misunderstanding sir
I just wish I could get my 1 year of free hosting, free scripts and a lesson everyday for 45 days from Sundaybrew. Don't take my word just ask the people on these threads. http://forums.digitalpoint.com/showthread.php?t=357054 http://forums.digitalpoint.com/showthread.php?t=343016
Chartar You did get the scripts and the class, Even Mary will tell everyone that you were there and so were the lessons, BUT - As requested by a few members that had a tough time learning, I will now be starting another class for you guys for free for 30 more days, You will be allowed to request topics and such, It will be at the same url it was at in 48 hours, As to the server issue , everything was lost when it crashed, including all my hard work, But like I said I will have a new class to make sure every one has a second chance to learn and make some money, I have also sent you a pm with this info, Hope this will help you all
Sundaybrew, I do not give out positive iTrader's to every Tom, Dick and Harry. Unfortunately, you were the one whom begged for me to place feedback (via msn, I no longer have the logs, as I have formatted my hard disk drive since).
LMAO......haha "BEGGED" you for an I trader, Charles go back to your Mum, and ask her for your Star wars back, and please just leave me alone already, Oh wait, I must have begged the other 445 other people that left me positive feedbacks as well right? I have an Idea, Maybe you should start writing.....You seem to have a great imagination
Joe, are you really comparing services to cheap, mass-produced products bought in bulk?? Apples and oranges. You (or your wife) may be perfectly content writing for a penny per word. But even if you can manage it, it's very unlikely that you're making a smart long-term business decision. If you can charge 5 times that much (very easily done), work less so you have more free time and time for your own projects to develop other more passive income streams, and still manage to earn more money in the process, that's the smart business choice. Even just reading your posts I know you can earn a lot more. Why would anyone serious about their business not want to earn as much as possible? Hell, Walmart sure does... that's why they flex their buying muscles to get everything so cheaply in bulk. They don't sell low out of the goodness of their hearts. They sell low because they can still make a bigger profit than other companies selling the same products for more, while still attracting lower-income buyers. It's impossible to use a comparable model when it comes to services because you're creating unique pieces as opposed to mass-producing. The only way you could begin to have anything comparable is by running one of those writer sweatshops paying much less than you're charging. Assuming you can turn out a 500 word article in 15 minutes (and I'd have to highly question any article's background research when done that quickly, but some claim to), that would be a max of $20 per hour. It might sound good, but $20 per hour for someone who's self-employed isn't the same as $20 per hour for someone working for an employer (they have to deduct expenses, self-employment taxes that others don't pay on top of other taxes, full insurance costs, etc.), not to mention that when you're self-employed you don't get to bill out every working hour (admin, marketing, networking, etc.). In the end, most making something along those lines would be better off in an entry-level, no-degree-required simple administrative office job. However, if you're just doing it for hobby / part-time income, it might be perfectly fine (although again, it's not smart business to not earn as much as you can for your time - why write 10 articles with less portfolio weight instead of writing one to earn the same amount and carry more authority due to working for a more recognized client or being able to put more time into a really well-researched piece... it's about a lot more than the immediate payout). @damyantig You're right about there being different types of markets. Most writers who charge more aren't trolling places like DP trying to get article gigs, because we know people charging those low rates aren't our competition. At the same time, know that you can in fact find "magazine rate" gigs on the Web. Of course even that's pretty drastically varied. But you can find online work anywhere from $.20 - over $1.00 per word if you put the time into researching markets.
I guess we all just love you Joe. Actually, you just seemed to have the most to say.... but @ clookid Joe was definitely right in saying you can fire a client / customer. I do it all the time, and actively encourage other writers to as well. The second a client starts treating you like an employee, they should be gone. If they disrespect you, they should be gone. If they're not meeting their end of the contractual obligations, they're gone. If you raise your rates (perfectly fine and natural as demand increases), you don't have to keep your past clients (you'll very often move into new markets completely). Just like no one can force you to work with a writer or any other kind of contractor, nothing's forcing them to take your projects or keep working with you if they don't like you or how you operate in business.
I'm not sure if I agree with some of jhmattern's criteria for terminating relationships with clients. Everyone who works in the service industry knows that sometimes you just have to "eat a little poop" every now and again when dealing with a client. Sometimes people with large vocabularies and liberal arts degrees seem to forget that. Also, anyone who writes for a living and DOESN'T think that they are in the service industry is sadly mistaken, and is likely leaving a lot of money on the table.
I do say a lot and maybe to much, Thanks for verifying that you can in fact fire a client. Let me say this, I do realize that MANY writers are worth way more then 1 cent per word, And in fact , we also do more high end work, and we do charge more for that. This thread ( before it became a sundaybrew thread) , was about how people should not charge 1 cent per word.. I think All I am saying is , People have the right to charge what they want, Some people have the budget for 1 cent per word and some have higher budgets.. And of course there will always be supply and demand for both
In the beginning you're right. But when you get to a point where your time is in constant demand, you earn the right to be enormously more fussy about who you work with. Professionals don't just work for anyone willing to write a check... they choose their clients as much as their clients choose them. Building their level of demand should be a primary concern of any service provider; not just writers. @Joe You're right. People can charge whatever they want to. Most who charge too little will fail in business, because the quantity they need to push to earn a living will burn them out. Other doing it part-time or who don't need to keep a constant flow because they have other income streams might very well be able to maintain it much longer. Either way, they're not in competition with those charging more, because they're targeting different markets. My concern comes in the situations where writers feel that's the best or only way to start their careers, thinking it's an easy jump into better markets later - thinking that's how to build a portfolio to get into magazine work later for example. And that's just not the case, although the webmaster market (client side) tries very hard at times to convince new writers that this is the standard and simply how it's done, when in reality it's not. If you guys are happy charging what you're charging, you don't need anyone's approval or support on it here.
Is the fact that there are only 24 hours in a day limiting you? You're a smart woman, what is the next step? If you were a plumber, and your plumbing work was so good that you were quickly in such demand that you wish there were two of you, what would you do? If your answer is "that's great for plumbers, but writers can't do that", then you are missing the point! Unless you do something like brain surgery, or something where legality comes into play, you can! I see a million dollar idea here. Do you?
What Jenn says makes sense. Why earn less when we are capable of earning far higher. Higher rates leave us with plenty of time and freedom to do what we want. I started off with charging 0.02/word and surprisingly, I came across new clients that offered rates of 0.03 and 0.04/word. This has given me the confidence to go ahead and charge these rates for all new clients and am getting work. I don’t say plenty, but enough. From what I see, there are many writers here on DP, who don't attempt to charge more, inspite of being extremely good. There certainly are people that are willing to pay good rates for a well-researched article.
Many people would see the obvious connotation of employing writers and increasing one's reach (@thefatboy), for myself, I never plan to employ other writers, I have a vision for my life which doesn't involve being an employer with the consequential responsibilities that brings. Some writers simply want to make a good living independent of location, this is why I have started writing, and why I have started with DP. My goal in life is to work as often or as little as I choose, when I choose, preferably sitting on my porch overlooking the countryside in France. And so, I return to a point I made earlier in this thread, writers in these forums should not consider this to be a low rate gig. Many buyers here are looking for long term relationships with good writers and are prepared to pay a fair rate for quality work. Writers who charge too little only do themselves a disservice if they think this is the best they can hope for.