I’m a sophomore in college, so I can’t claim to be the best writer, nor can I claim to have years of experience. I am a good writer though. You work for DS, so you must know how quickly a person has to produce material to make the system at all profitable. Often, I don’t even give my DS articles a read through before I submit them. Why? Considering my current rewrite request rates, the probability that it will be thrown back is low. Hey, you get what you pay for. DS pays for sh*t. If I got something decent–either a reasonable wage or a published clip I could use on my resume–I might put in more effort. But, since DS offers me neither, I don’t see why I should.

I think that’s Demand Studios’ greatest crime: perpetuating sh*t information on the internet. Ever since I began writing for them, with every search I perform I realize how much of their dross fills the web. Heck, now I even go out of my way not to click on any eHow, Livestrong, Associated Content etc. links.

But hey, at the end of the day, I’m 19, I have little real writing experience and I need the money. So until the day when I gather up the courage to write my first query letter, a cog in the DS machine shall I be.

Fact: Many people who write only think they can write. This includes many who say they have x-number of years experience writing and whatever degrees and previous published articles and so on.

Fact: The 95 percent who cannot really write, but who write for DS, make very good money for their skill level, which is poor to fair.

You people who have blogs and are so critical of DS are decent writers….good to excellent, I would say (most of you). I think when you stand up for all the writers, it is very noble, but not really necessary. Writers who are very good will eventually leave DS on their own without your criticisms and without your assistance. The poor to fair writers will not leave for the simple fact that they have no place else to go.

Where will they go? Textbroker? Associated Content? They won’t be able to land a “real” writing job, so where do you suggest they turn?

Do you really think there is a better market for the thousands of DS writers who all write like they just barely made it through high school english with a passing grade?

Come on.

DS has made it possible for writers who are not very good to make some very good money for mediocre content. Many of these writers are not capable of writing content above that level.

How do I know only 5 percent of DS writers are good to excellent? Because I am a DS Copy Editor, that is why. I edit about 1000 articles a month, so I see the quality of writing from DS writers every day. Forget typos and errors in grammar…we all make those.

I’m talking about writers who have bios that say they have years of experience writing, degrees, and who have previously been published in “major” periodicals or websites, and these same writers overuse words like “various” or “ensure” and who cannot write according to simple guidelines…writers who simply cannot write with clarity.

But you know what? They try. And some of these land in my lap, and so I examine them in copy editor mode (you don’t think I live in CE mode all waking hours, do you? blah), and if I can make the changes needed within a reasonable time (10 minutes), I fix what needs fixing and send it on through. If I see some glaring guideline infractions (about 50-70 percent of the time), I send it back. I reject about 10 percent of the articles that come back at me, usually with many new errors or incomplete revisions that I cannot fix.

And I am telling you people….it is such a joy when I receive an article that only needs a minor touch up and has no guideline errors, and that is only about 5 percent of the total that I edit.

So how successful do you really think these 95 out of 100 writers will be at “higher paying” gigs (what and where are those by the way?), when they cannot even follow simple guidelines, cannot write with clarity, and just generally do not write well?

My point is not to degrade the writers, but to say that without DS most of these writers will earn less or nothing. And they would earn nothing without help of the copy editors, but of course they think they can write perfectly, so many of them hate us (lol), and those of us who are copy editors would be no good ourselves without the harsh performance reviews we get from our copy chiefs. Our copy chiefs make us tough. Not many of us start out that way. My first 300 or so articles…I think I rejected only 1 (yes, 1). My last 300, I rejected about 30 to 40, and rightly so.

I didn’t want to focus so hard on the wage issue itself, just that for many of us, 12-15k/year DOES replace, and often exceed, what full time wages are available to us.

“I have read into much of the debate, but I think that it still seems to focus mostly on those who have spent time in college earning journalism degrees, and why it’s such an insult and sweatshop in their eyes. ”

I actually haven’t really found that to be true. Most of the people I’ve seen criticize Demand passionately don’t have journalism degrees. And their arguments usually go beyond a general sweatshop claim. Not only that, but most of the harshest critics (including here) admit that there might be a place for Demand for certain types of writers, as opposed to saying they’re “evil for all” or something along those lines. So it’s possible you’ve only gotten a limited perspective so far from what you happened to read. Hopefully you’ll continue exploring all sides of the issue like you did in reading this to get a better feel for both sides and figuring out how you feel about it. :)

I’m curious though — does the level of repeated dishonesty and the misleading marketing bother you at all, or is the quick money enough to overlook it? I only ask, because that’s the actual focus of this piece, and I didn’t see anything in your comment about it since you went back to the wage issue.

Thanks!

Now I’m not ashamed of my lack of formal academics. I have no major regrets about my choice to pursue a career in music, and what type of jobs I would be relegated to as a result. But to come across a type of work where I can utilize my natural skills as a communicator, write about topics I chose (mostly audio and tech related work), and work *gasp* from home??? It seems like nothing short of a dream job.

Every day my roommates wake up at 8 or 9am, put on a hideous work uniform and spend 8 to 12 hours slinging food around a kitchen with no air conditioning. They come home looking physically exhausted, and have generated roughly $50 for a day of almost continuous labor. These are intelligent people, one of them graduated from a state school with a degree in finance, but the job market for “real jobs” is so flooded right now with overqualified and desperate applicants, that starting jobs at reputable companies require twice the commitment and offer barely more money than they can make bringing you your baby back ribs.

Now I realize that we are only one segment of the workforce, but we are a big one; 20 somethings who are proficient in writing, surfing the internet, and gathering otherwise useless information about a variety of subjects, but who don’t have enough academic training or experience to land a job that pays more than serving at the local sports bar (at least to start). We rent houses, have roommates, and enjoy our freedom and free time.

I made $11,000 last year, less than $300 weekly by any calculation, plus the added weekly expenses of commuting, tolls, and being forced to eat out. So at least for myself and others like me, being able to exceed that income by $150 or so per week, writing 6 articles per day, with weekends off, and the ability to work more or less as needed, FROM MY COUCH, is amazing. Not to mention that I’m saving on gas and food.

My point being that there IS a group of people who can benefit greatly from this type of work, if they are disciplined, and if they don’t focus so much on calculating pay per hour or pay per word. I consider working at home, and scheduling freedom to outweigh the fact that my actual wage per hour spent may fluctuate. At the end of the month, my bills are paid, I have more money to spend and put aside for savings than I have ever had before, and when my girlfriend wants to go to a movie on a friday night, I don’t have to tell her:

“Sorry honey, flarget wouldn’t give me the night off, so i have to go organize the cat food aisle for 8 hours, maybe next week.”

I hope this offers at least a valid perspective. Take care!

Besides, I only make the $15 an hour rate, so I’m very disappointed in the “work from home full time,” BS that they’re selling. Bait and switch.

The fact is that corporations are not out to support the writing community. Demand Studios is not a nonprofit out to help struggling journalists find their way on the web. Corporations exist to make money, which is all about the bottom line.

But when I see a company like Demand, especially Rosenblatt, blatantly exploiting the writing community for profit, it makes me want to vomit. In his face. I’m really happy to see the tax issue being brought up along with the honest evaluation of (almost non-existent) healthcare and “benefits”. Because that is how they “get” you. It’s just like a real job! At home! You can write! The Wal-Mart of journalism. Who could say no?

I’ve seen sad posts on message boards where writers laud Demand Studios for “really making their writing tighter” and justify ridiculous editing requests with “well, it’s helping me to be a better writer.” Better writer for what? Content mills? The fact is you aren’t learning the journalism profession writing for eHow. If anything, you’re being forced to dumb down your writing to fit a careful algorithm to maximize Demand’s profits. Question the message and where it’s coming from. You’re making them profitable by buying into their business plan.

I’m not trying to disparage people who need the cash. I’ve written for content mills too for some extra money. But don’t delude yourself into thinking that’s a career, or a foundation for one. It isn’t. I don’t blame people for wanting to believe Demand Studios’ hype. I can see how it’s believable, and I can see how seductive it is to think that maybe, just maybe, that $15 an article will flourish into a cushy job with healthcare benefits.

So I’m really happy to see this post. Writers have to stick up for themselves and remember this – despite what anyone says about the profession of journalism, writing is a marketable skill. The written word is still the most powerful and widely used form of communication. Don’t fall for the BS from DS. Get a business plan, dig in your heels, and value yourself and your writing.

Or, more succinctly: Up yours, Rosenblatt.