Freelance Web Writing Controversies

I thought of a new New Year's Plan, and yes, it is now the 5th. So, I'm a little late.

Writers in general are outspoken, striving to express themselves through writing and other means. So, they can get a little melodramatic at times. Over the past three months I've gotten embroiled in debates over web writing topics that, shall we say, tend to get blown a little out of proportion in writer's forums and blogs. I'm going to try my best not to get into the silliness anymore, and if I don't think something is controversial, then I'm not going to pretend it is. Cases in point:

$3 articles- There's been a giant debate raging in pretty much every writing blog and forum I visit about whether people should take on gigs where the "buyer" is paying $3 for a full-length web article. Obviously that amount of work is not worth the money, but I'm not debating it anymore. It's crap pay and no one should take it. Pretending otherwise is just silly. After spending more time than I care to admit on helping new writers find better paying markets, I was yelled at by people who think that minimum wage is great pay for writing. And, not one person ever thanked me for my time. So, no more. If you want to work for $3- do it. I don't care anymore.

PLR articles- There is constant debate about the "morality" of selling PLR content. I actually saw someone recently who compared it to selling drugs. Seriously. Yes, writers do have a flair for the melodramatic, and I'm no different, but come on. That's just a waste of time and energy. If you don't like PLR content, don't write it and don't buy it. I'm no longer interested in opinions about it.

Marketing yourself- This was another bit of silliness from writing forums and blogs. Marketing is something that any writer has to do, whether it's print writing, web writing or PR writing. It's an inevitable step in the process these days. Even publishing houses expect their writers to do a good bit of marketing for their books. There's nothing wrong with learning a bit about marketing in order to reach your target client more easily. Doesn't sound controversial, right? Wrong. Debates have been raging about how if you're a good writer, clients will be leaping out of buildings to get you to work for them, even if they've never heard of you. Right. A balance of writing and marketing is important, as long as the marketing doesn't overtake the writing. I've seen that happen before, and the writing that results isn't pretty. But for those who think marketing is stupid, I suggest a few business courses and perhaps a different career. And, I'm not letting anyone goad me into self doubt by saying that a "real" writer doesn't have to market. Please. Even J.K. Rowling markets her work.

Christmas Gifts of Angels and Devils

These were my favorite Christmas gifts- the Jane Austen and Oscar Wilde action figures. They came complete with captions written by my spouse. The two of them together remind me of nothing less than the stereotypical angel and devil figures sitting on each shoulder. Which one should I listen to?

Pragma Systems

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A New Year, New Plans

I hear so much about New Year's resolutions, I have to wonder how many people will keep theirs. I don't know that I've ever kept mine. So, instead of New Year's resolutions, I'm making New Year's plans.

Plan 1- Get less distracted during the day. I plan to work my set hours without allowing anything around me, or online, to distract me from getting my work done. Part of this plan is to spend less time at writer's forums. Those suckers can seriously suck time.

Plan 2- Get more residual income. With more residual income coming in, I'd have more time for writing fiction and sending book queries. I've been tinkering with a few sites that pay residuals, and have a good foundation built to have more coming in. I don't think anyone gets rich from it, but I'd like to buy some personal writing time.

Plan 3- Start writing for magazines. I've never queried a magazine before. Ever. I've had articles in five newspapers, a medical journal, newsletters and all over the freaking web- but no magazines. Most magazines pay better than web work, but there's not as much of it. It also takes forever to be paid. So, I don't want a career of it, but I'd like to start querying and see where it leads.

Plan 4- Read more classics. It's important to look away from web writing regularly and be reminded of what writing is really about. Web writing pays the bills, making it easy to forget for awhile how far it is from what I really want to do. Writing isn't really about the per word price, who gets signed with which company or what niches you're carving out. It's about creating the best work you can and hoping that it has lasting value.

Plan 5- Ignore more advice. Most of the advice I get leads nowhere. I'm not sure why I still listen to it.

How Important are Status Reports?

I had a comment from a client recently that I hadn't sent any status reports during the course of a project. I don't usually send them for small projects because I just don't feel they're necessary. If you are dealing with a brand new web writer or one who isn't used to meeting deadlines, etc., I can understand asking for status reports just to make sure they are actually doing the work. But, from a professional with nothing but good feedback from countless clients, what's the point?

The only time I send status reports is when it's a large project or when the deadline is long or indistinct. For very large projects, a quick report is warranted to reassure the customer. For long or vague deadlines, I like to send one to tell them exactly when it will be finished. If it's a project consisting of five or 10 articles, um, no. I have my deadline. I have my instructions. I will write the articles and turn them in when it's time. There's no need for hand holding on either of our parts. I'd like to know if anyone else feels like they have to send constant, pointless updates for small projects.

Writing and Solitude

Writing is such a solitary endeavor that it's no wonder the greats were a little freaky. Shelley, Wilde, Poe- all of my guys were a little off kilter. The intense solitude of a long writing session can sometimes make you see how easy it would be to slip into a life like that, full of weird, broken relationships and possibly a storm-tossed sailboat that was foolishly taken too far out to sea. Ah, Shelley. Where are the Shelleys today? I get so sick of SEO sometimes, wanting to stretch out and try something, anything that could possibly evoke the feeling of the Telltale Heart or a Yeats poem. Instead, I write about colon cleansing. Such is life.

Shopping Cart Software

I’ve been looking around at various online shopping carts and ecommerce software for my PLR site. There are several that require a level of programming that I simply don’t have. But, for non-programmers, there are easier ways to get a shopping cart set up. ecommerce software is a big shopping cart software company, and the services they offer look pretty helpful for small-time sellers as well as bigger companies.

They have SEO shopping carts, which I have never heard of and still don’t understand. But, I suppose I don’t have to. They take care of stuff like that. They also have a free trial right now and a few other special offers. There’s a free site design right now, which I could use for all of my hideously plain sites. I actually consulted with a web designer and hired him to do some work to de-ugly my sites. But, he never showed up to do the actual work. Instead, he got a job working on a new B-movie called “Chainsaw Cheerleaders.” Seriously. But, I’m betting that the Ashop Commerce guys will be there for anyone who needs serious shopping cart software.