Understand why it is important to care about what you get paid as a writer.
Last year an email arrived asking if I would ever consider writing articles for a dating website and what would the cost be per article. My reply was as follows:
"Yes I do, but it depends on the content. As long as it’s not sexual in nature, I can write the articles. For all rights, a 500 word article is $150. This means you own the article. I cannot resell it. You can use it anywhere and as many times as you like without ever paying a reprint fee. Your byline would accompany the article. For one-time rights, a 500 word article is $50. This means that I own the article. You are buying the rights to publish the article one time on your site and can archive it indefinitely. But if you wanted to use the same article in print, in a newsletter, or in any other manner, you’d have to pay a reprint fee. It also means my byline accompanies the article."
The reply I received back was, "How about $50 for all rights per article. If you don't want to accept this offer, don't even bother emailing me back."
ERRR!
First of all, those are FAIR rates—heck, by glossy magazine standards that's pretty darn cheap! After all, glossies pay $1 per word, for one time rights. And good copywriters make even more than that per 500 words—I’ve heard of copywriters earning as much as $10,000 per one page advertisement.
Second, I am SO TIRED of people not valuing the talents and time a writer puts in to his/her work! I've seen scumbags offering a mere $1 per 500-word article and requesting all rights—and they get it, too! (Mostly from writers in other countries where $1 is like $10 or more in US funds.)
Third, if we don’t stick up for ourselves who will?
I write three regular columns: one pays $10 per essay, the second pays $20 per column, and the third pays $35 per article—all one time rights. I also ghostwrite 500 word articles for small businesses at $150 and $175 per article so I understand that pay truly depends on the budget of the publication or the budget of the business owner. And I accept that. I even work around that! But what really irritates me is how little respect writers receive these days.
Good writers are talented professionals who deserve better compensation and more respect. They study their markets, they hone their skills, they write stuff worthy of being read, and they work hard to make sure their content is factual, well researched, and includes the proper number of quotes (when needed).
The only way writers are going to earn more respect and more pay is to stand up for it. Say no to $1 per article. Say no to $10 for all rights to a 500 word article. And start saying yes to being fairly compensated!
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