Oct 27 2008
Freelance writing struggles in an economic recession
I’ve considered discussing the topic of freelance writing for some time now, although it may seem very tenuously related to book publishing. The truth is there are slews of book publishing professionals who take up freelance writing on the side. Furthermore, many of these publishing professionals hire freelance writers, so the connection between the two lines of work often intersect. I do some freelance writing on the side (in addition to this blog), but not a great deal so I am curious about how freelance work has been affected by the economic recession we’re in.
I know that a popular site for freelance writers to earn some cash is eHow.com, owned by Demand Studios. This is one site where I’ve submitted multiple how-to articles since late August. There are two ways to write for this site: to sign up via Demand Studios, which pays $15 per article, or to sign up via eHow.com, which pays based on how many hits the article receives. I chose to sign up via Demand Studios, and just the other day, I received word that Demand Studios will no longer pay $15 per article for a user-suggested title and will only pay that rate for titles they request. Instead, they will pay a variable rate (which common consensus states is now most often $5) per article for a user-suggested title. This is a deep blow to their writing pool, and I imagine it will skim off the top level of their best writers, who already make better rates on other sites. Why should they waste their time writing articles for one third of what they used to make per article? It seems like an odd tactic and may really hurt the quality of the articles they receive. I’m told they also made cuts to their pool of regular featured writers, saying they do not have work for those writers–undoubtedly, that will also be a blow to the quality of Demand Studios’ and eHow.com’s content. But what else can they do in this economic climate?
Have you had experience with employers that have made similar cuts when paying for freelance work? How have you responded? Do you simply take the cut or do you seek out better rates from other sites?
I think the trick is to get above the level of these ‘content’ sites and work directly for magazines and subscription websites etc.
I’m actually knew to the freelance world. I’ve been writing fiction and editing for a small press for some time, but I’ve been trying to make a little extra money each month by freelancing. I’m looking for any help and ideas I can find. It sounds like freelancing, along with many other fields, is taking a hit recently. My husband and I own a tree and stump removal business and we’re extremely slow right now. More so than I ever remember…hence the freelancing. Just hope it gets better, but I’m afraid it’s going to get worse first.
I’m starting to think that perhaps freelance writing is going to fare pretty well in the economic downturn. If you look at these stats, it appears that freelance writing jobs are actually on the rise. I am pretty impressed, given the number of layoffs and downsizings happening right now.
Rebecca,
That’s an excellent resource and very good news. Thanks for sharing!
Jess