1. joelpatterson

    joelpatterson New Member

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    $2 per 520 words - Long Term

    Discussion in 'The Lounge' started by joelpatterson, Feb 15, 2011.

    This ^ is a headline from the freelancer.com site, that if you accidentally sign up for, will DELUGE you with dozens of e-mails a day, just packed with similar offers.

    Now, I confess a weakness for bitter irony-- comedy that really pushes at the boundaries, but even I find this too much-- one third of a cent/per word?

    Is someone pulling my leg? "Long term," you are going to live on, what, pencil shavings?
     
  2. guamyankee

    guamyankee Active Member

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    Mixed with hot water and a dash of brown sugar, pencil shavings taste a bit like chicken.
     
  3. joelpatterson

    joelpatterson New Member

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    I hate to ask if that's the voice of experience talking...
     
  4. Banzai

    Banzai One-time Mod, but on the road to recovery Contributor

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    It smells of a scam to me, but actually that sort of payscale isn't unheard of in itself. I've seen (and sold to) fiction markets that pay $0.25 per word. It's known as "token" payment, and is more often found in the small presses. But this is in respect of fiction. I'm not sure about non-fiction.
     
  5. guamyankee

    guamyankee Active Member

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    Not yet, thankfully!
     
  6. joelpatterson

    joelpatterson New Member

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    Well, I've done the thing where you steal the thousand island dressing packets at the convenience store to garnish a bowl of rice with...

    Twenty five cents/word, I thought that was great, that's what I got when I was writing for EQ magazine.

    Twenty five cents for 75 words? Ummm...

    And the other thoroughly twisted aspect they got going... "search engine optimization": pepper your text with words that will snag a search engine's attention... in other words, not only put the cart before the horse, put the dust from the cart's wake before anything.
     
  7. Banzai

    Banzai One-time Mod, but on the road to recovery Contributor

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    Sorry, I meant .25 cents. Combination brain freeze and unfamiliar currency. 25 cents per word would absolutely be great.
     
  8. Spring Gem

    Spring Gem New Member

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    I think you mean $0.025, one quarter cent per word. Please let me know which markets pay 25 cents a word. :)
     
  9. Banzai

    Banzai One-time Mod, but on the road to recovery Contributor

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    Yeah, yeah :redface: :p
     
  10. joelpatterson

    joelpatterson New Member

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    If you've got a time machine, talk to Matt at EQ in the Fall of 2008. :(
     

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