Q: I went on Elance.com and there were great jobs paying two cents a word—well, okay, four for some of them. The writers bidding for them offered LESS! And they had amazing credentials and years of experience.
How can I find out what the market is like right now? Maybe it’s changed since you wrote your books. Maybe writers are accepting a pittance because of the “economy slump,” and they’re starving. I want to not agree, not agree, not agree, but I need some guidance.
A: First, check out Back For Seconds. In Chapter 4, where I address a bunch of questions raised since writing the first book, I tackle the issue of the online job sites. Look it up. NOW.
Bottom line, those sites, overwhelmingly, are a complete waste of time. Too many writers bidding on too few jobs which drives rates down to nothing. The market is just fine. There are plenty of people willing to pay GOOD market rates (not that the jobs are falling from the sky or anything; you still have to go out and find them). Also, skim the archived issues of the ezine at wellfedwriter.com (Free Ezine Signup link); I did an “Appetizer” on this very subject. So, rest assured, the market is still fine. Nothing wrong with the economy (Read “It’s Not the Economy, Stupid” in Back for Seconds in case you have any doubts).