Getting paid (or not) for webwriting

I have Google Alerts out for "webwriting" and "writing for the web," and the articles they bring me are really pretty discouraging.

One common theme is "make big money writing freelance for websites." This is supposed to be especially attractive for "wahms," which I gather means "work at home moms." If the money is so big, why are people writing "make big money" articles instead of making big money writing real articles for websites?

Dianne Jacob, on her blog Will Write for Food, strikes a more realistic note: Is Lower Pay for Web Writing Defensible? And of course it isn't. Yet some websites still think they can offer "exposure" that aspiring writers will be grateful to take instead of money.

In the last five or six years I've written almost exclusively for websites, except for a book now and then, and it's been enjoyable; but it hasn't made me much money. In fact, if I had to depend on webwriting to pay for the groceries, I'd be out of the business tonight.

I don't even run ads on my blogs, except for my own books. And I would cringe to see my sites displaying those stupid "get rid of belly fat" ads that currently infest the web.

So I'm not writing for money, still less for "exposure." I'm writing for influence. On subjects like writing fiction, and mastering standard English, and covering the influenza pandemic, I know I reach sizable audiences who share my interests. If I can make life a little easier for an apprentice novelist, or tell a public-health expert something she's glad to know about, then the writing is worth it.

In the process I'm also educating myself about how to write for this medium, which is too new to have traditions. As my webwriting improves, my influence should increase also.

And if I actually make some real money from webwriting as a result, that will be very nice. But I'm not counting on it.

Comments

[Jack Brosnan]

I appreciate the concern which is been rose. The things need to be sorted out because it is about the individual but it can be with everyone.
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albert pinto
vancouver flowers

[Dianne Jacob]

Hey Crawford, thanks for mentioning my post. Very nice of you to write for influence rather than income. I'd like to think they're not mutually exclusive, but maybe I'm dreaming!