A rant for freelance writers
My fellow writers, you are being grossly underpaid. I’ve been freelance writing intermittently for over a decade, and during that time the rate for freelance writing has dropped. Yes, you read that correctly. Dropped.
I’ve returned to freelance writing during the pandemic because I need the schedule flexibility and work from home perks (thank you, health issues). I was offered a role that paid $10 per article. Yes. $10. I have over a decade of experience and have worked with some pretty big company names, and yet I was offered the same rate I was given as a new college grad with literally no experience a decade ago - and that was considered painfully low back then. In 2013 I made $10/article, but by 2014 I was making $50-$75/article. By 2015 I was averaging $100 per assignment.
Needless to say, I declined the $10 role.
Content farming websites like Comic Book Resources, ScreenRant - basically every publication under Valnet, amongst others - are taking advantage of you. Here are the rates I was told for an entertainment writer role at CBR. Again. I’ve been doing this for over 10 years and have a Master’s degree.
“The compensation rates for this position are based on a combination of rates for pay-per-post (PPP) and pay-per-view (PPV). PPV rates are applied after every 1,000 views.
News: $10 ($10 PPP) + $0.33 per 1k views
Flash News: $5 ($5 PPP) + $0.25 per 1k views”
When pressed for the average views per article, I was told anywhere between 2,000 to 200,000. Which means you can be earning as little as $10.66 per article, while $76/per is the top end. I made $75/article in 2014 with just over a year of experience. The math ain’t mathing.
This issue isn’t exclusive to Valnet, either. Time and time again I’m seeing roles for writers listed at minimum wage. Some of the higher paying ones are still only offering $25 an hour regardless of experience level. Yet they receive hundreds, if not thousands of applicants.
We can argue that this is just another symptom of wage stagnation, inflation, the recession we’re in that may or may not be manufactured. But, I worry that the rise of AI has led to the devaluation of the writer, much as it threatens the digital artist. Why pay actual humans what an AI will do for free? Just plug in the topic and some old articles and watch as your content is repurposed into something fresh. No one will be able to tell.
In the age of AI everything, the economy has come to undervalue good writers. Our creativity. Our humanity.
I do not have a solution here, except to suggest that folks fucking stop working for Valnet because they’re exploitative. Even then, I don’t hold it against you if you do work for them. As I sit here filling out applications for roles that pay far less than my ending wage at my last position, I’m forced to swallow my pride simply because times are tough. Jobs are harder to come by, even though ‘everyone is hiring’. The longterm effects of COVID are real, and limiting.
I have no solution, but I want you all to know that you deserve better. Your time and expertise have value. Writing is hard.
You deserve fair compensation.
