I suppose you can look at this as the glass being half full or half empty. Or maybe one-quarter full. In the New York Times, David Carr wrote an article about Demand Media. They crank out an endless supply of how-to articles (over one million so far) and videos on how to do things like boil an egg, knit a pair of socks, or put up a roof. The company says its videos are accessed on YouTube 2.5 million times a day.
So who writes all this stuff? Freelance writers. They get paid between $15 and $20 per article, about $30 per video. Flat rate, buy-out, that's it.
The glass half-full picture is that writers choose their own topics, work any hours they want, wherever they want, and may be able to crank out up to 6 to 8 articles a day. For some unemployed people that could mean the difference between eating and not eating, paying their mortgage or losing their home. The company's founder says, "the people who work with us are thrilled because there is such a lack of opportunity everywhere else."
The empty glass version is that unless you're fast, you're probably not even making minimum wage for content that will continue to enrich the company for years to come.It had more than $200 million in revenue last year and is valued at between and and two billion dollars. (For a more positive take on this, see the comment below, from someone who is contributing articles and making good money by virtue of the quantity of articles she is able to write.)
What it means for writers, I think, is this: generic writing is getting more and more devalued. The internet is awash with it and that will only increase. If you want to profit from what you write, it is ever more important to figure out: what is it that only you can write? What unique experience or viewpoint do you have--or can you find--that sets your writing apart. I believe that's equally true in fiction and non-fiction. Finding that is not easy, but in today's writing market it's crucial. Unless you're happy enough doing the equivalent of fast-food writing for fast-food pay.
