October 21, 2009
A recent posting on a job board for writers laid out its requirements in no uncertain terms:
"I don’t care where from you are as long as you can do EVERYTHING I ask for!
Job: 1) Proper English without ANY grammar, punctuation and formatting errors.
2) 10 rewritten articles a day/5 days a week (50 articles a week)
3) All rewrites must follow guidelines which you will get from me on PM if you apply for the job.
4) No excuses of any kind (electrical failures, health problems etc.)
5) I demand 2 rewrites to evaluate your abilities.
First payment after 2 weeks - after 100 articles done!"
There was more, but I needn’t repeat it; it was as insulting and abusive as the first part. I had fewer requirements on my list when I was looking for a husband.
People commenting on the writers’ e-list noted how sad it was, and that when they worked out the payment schedule, it was less lucrative than being a greeter at Wal-Mart.
Another pointed out that the ad may have been targeted at people overseas, notably India, where there are many graduates well versed in English, and expecting to earn as little as $300 a year.
Over the last few years, I’ve seen ads for writers that hardly pay for the electricity to warm up the computer. Sometimes these represent opportunities for people breaking in to the field. We used to call it acquiring clips; I suppose now it’s acquiring links.
Of course, in a free marketplace it is perfectly acceptable to seek whatever qualifications one desires, as long as the terms break no laws. I’d like to think the person who placed this ad got no—or only sarcastic—responses, but I’m betting that’s not the case.