For the past six years I have been working diligently to make a living through my writing, although I also sometimes work as an editor, psychotherapist and coach. I had a revelation this week.
Since I first started out writing about midlife in 2006, I have been following the popular online magazine ThirdAge.com. A few years ago I thought that would be the BEST place for me to be published to gain notoriety in my area. So I set about trying to find out how to write for that site, with no success.
Fast forward to last weekend when the editor of Third Age asked to connect with me through Twitter or Linked In. I was excited! So I sent her an e-mail asking how I might write for them. She responded by asking if they could feature one of my blog posts on their site. I said sure!
But I had to ask her if they EVER paid any writers for their content. Turns out only occasionally and only $30 for a well-researched articles of 600-800 words!!! According to them, this is “the biggest and best site for boomer women” but they aren’t paying boomer women writers anything for their work!
Here is the best example yet of what we are all up against in our efforts to actually get paid for excellent writing. I won’t quit writing, but I may quit expecting to get paid!
One would think Third Age would only publish “well-researched” or quality articles. I’d love to write for them, but the benefits from the work should be split. They’d be smarter to hire top-notch niche writers via commissions. With the need for unique, expert web content, I don’t know why all magazine-type web publishers aren’t taking that route. Third Age seems to be content farm, nothing more. But unlike other content farms, they are exploiting their writers by not paying them even a share of the revenue. You get what you don’t pay for which doesn’t speak well of the site’s content.
Thanks for the info.! I had never heard of “content farms” before. And yes, writers must be the most exploited group of workers around today! I know because I work hard and cannot make a living. – Laura Lee