Exploitive Writing

Online article writing is big business for some and others suffer the brunt of this industry. In an attempt to get a message across to the ones in the big business category, I have jotted down some aspects that I think need some discussion. In light of the nature of this industry, it is just my attempt at a runt.

I do know and understand that the Internet has become a huge market for writers. Many of these writers are talented writers articles and many are not. It has become a very informal way of doing business, which in effect is good, as most of us wish we were able to escape our formal workplaces.

However, the informality often leads to it becoming less of a professional business and the need is to address this issue. Most of all (as said before), there are many online writers who would feel the urge to make it big. Very often, Freelance spaces advertise these writing jobs. Many apply and few finally get the "position" to write.

Once the job is accepted, there is further negotiation. The negotiations are often centered on the payment that, by the way, was already established in the brief as well as in the bid. The negotiations often lead to the point where the "employee" pays the "employer" far less than the original agreement.

Here is an example:

1. The brief starts out as:

a. Article writing: specifically, the rewriting of articles from existing ones.

b. The initial quote is extended with the application for $5 per article.

c. The agreement then turns out to be $3 an article

2. The $3 articles were to be for 500-word articles. The requirement after the fact turns out to be 1000 word articles.

3. As stated in the first point, the agreement is to write (rewrite) articles as supplied by them. However, further, than the 500 words and the simple rewriting of articles the following gets added to the brief:

a. An increase in the length of the articles which turns out to require further research – especially if the articles to be rewritten is much shorter than the required 1000 words.

b. The uploading of articles to a blog requires more time.

c. The sourcing of images for each article

With this in mind, it is important to review the brief and come to an amicable agreement of payment, which should be much more than the current $3 per article. Many "employers" would refuse the payment agreement, as there are many others waiting in line who would do the work for far less. Some of these writers are desperate to write and earn fewer dollars. The tragedy is that there are many badly written articles on the Internet, as these writers have to write fast to make a lot more.

Added to that, are the demands that are placed on writers to deliver within a given period. For example, this is not a problem if the agreement was for ten articles a day. The "employer" would be within his or her right to demand the quota. There is, however, the point where some would violate the agreement by demanding more than, for example, the four or five articles, which agreed upon originally.

It is important that you do make sure that you are not exploited as a writer, even if you are desperate to earn from it. If this is what you want to do, you should be aware of this potential exploitation and always be true to who you are. You will find that decent, well-paid jobs and projects will come your way at some point. It is a matter of being patient and not allowing the exploitation of your talent.