I charge a rate of $0.016 per word and i usually end up doing articles for less than this, solely because I am new here and not known. I'm a gap year student who has a genuine interest in writing and researching so I hope that once I get a few itraders then I can put my price up to make it worth my while. I agree that people who charge $1 for 500 words or so consistently is ridiculous. I would be very surprised if the quality was high.
now a days due to the availability of the large number of article writers who afford a cheap rate,the article writing works are getting slower
These days I have seen some very good Native English Speaking writers too lowering their rates to less than 1 penny per word which seems strange to me. I can understand the problem with the Non-native writers but then off late there has been a rush of the writing work in the CC section. Article submission being the most authentic way of building links is being given more importance. More and more SEO companies are coming to outsource their writing job to the writers here in DP but then still the companies with deep pockets are also behaving like they are running on pennies. They want quality writers at $0.60/100 words. These things happening around are very strange and as I stated earlier MODS are doing nothing, not moving the threads into Freebies section which according to rules should happen quite frequently..
Interesting thread. I think quality is almost always reflected in cost. People seeking individuals to write articles will not only look at cost but also length of experience and previous work. If you are good and people can afford you, they will pay your fees or negotiate close to what you are proposing.
I think the main problem here is that writers don't see beyond the "Content Creation Thread" I had a wake up call yesterday when I realized that free lance writing is not about shouting out "I'm cheaper than he is! So hire me already!" It's all about tapping in to your talent to earn a decent lively hood not pawn it for easy money. A simple google search can reveal the awesomeness of this business we are in. Most of the writers who work for $0.01 per word, do it out of desperation. There is only one solution to this - raise conciousness to get paid for what we're worth! Amen!
I don't think it's slowing down per se but becoming more saturated with the down economy. People are looking for additional means to reap in revenue and writing is one of those avenues.
Selling your writing online is not about giving yourself away for the lowest price possible. Market yourself in a way that highlights your quality and professionalism, and you'll be rewarded with higher rates. People will pay for quality content - at least, I still believe they will.
yeah it is a bit slow as of now. but compared to the rest of the markets, its still managed to survive.
I see it a new form of slavery. Those prices are so ridiculous. I spend time, beat my brains and the result is 1 bucks!
True, things are slowing down. It takes forever and a day to get an article approved and then they want a rewrite. Having to rewrite the same article over and over again is not fun.
For some people I'm sure it comes out of necessity xanum. If no other jobs are available, some people are willing to work for peanuts. It's a shame.