Friday, July 12, 2013

Writers in the U.S. Hates "Cheap" Content Writers in India?


According to reliable sources like PayScale and Bureau of Labour Statistics of the US, the average monthly salary of an American content writer is roughly around $3200, which is also nearly the average monthly salary in America.Upon calculation, the average daily wages of an American content writer would be $106. Any pay below this bar is considered demeaning to a writer, because a writer's efforts result in pure creation, original ideas which are actually worth thousands of dollars in the Internet business. Let us agree that an average content writer can write a maximum of 5 x 500 word article in an 8-hour shift. So, each article would be worth at least $21.

So, it is perfectly reasonable for American writers to protest the $4-$10 bids by writers from other parts of the globe, but I have one thing to tell the writers in America- The very reason behind the $4-$10 bids that you loathe, is the greedy corporates within your own nation, who have no shame in undervaluing the talents of a writer.

Why do the Asian countries bid so low in the first place? The cost of living in these countries are low? Not at all! The prices of gasoline and vegetables are many times costlier than in the US, and are rising every hour. The reason is, in countries like India and China, the lifestyle is very different from that of the Americans. With the teeming population in these countries the primary goal of a person is staying alive than earning a living. The basic needs of an Indian or a Chinese is only a fraction of what the Americans list as their basic needs. In America, people talk of laundry bills, which must be very surprising for an average Indian or Chinese, who still wash their clothes on rocks. It looks perfectly reasonable for writers in India and other Asian countries to bid such low amounts,but what they do not realize is that the prices of their basic needs would soon reach for their necks. Nowadays, $4 is demeaning even for an Indian writer. So, it is indeed time for Indian and other Asian writers to raise their bars.

7 comments:

  1. I don't think there's any reason for people in Western countries to hate writers from emerging economies who bid lower. Ok, some might do, I don't know. But they should be grateful for what they have.

    I'm a writer in Europe and I get hit badly by the US/Euro rate when writing for US clients. But I can't sit here and moan about it. Instead, I need to find new clients locally, plus improve my skills and services to become more competitive and be able to charge more for my work. Is it hard? Yes. That's life. Smile and get on with it.

    What I think is terrible is that half the world is obese, while the other half starves. Maybe, finally, through e-commuting we can start appreciating that and bring some balance to the world.

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    1. Hi Johanna, Thank you for stopping by. I agree with you 100%. Writers should improve their skills and be more competitive so that they can command a pay that is better than the ridiculous rates going in the content market currently. It is true that there is great imbalance in the world. Rather than dividing the world with borders and barbed wires, people should start evolving as the citizens of the Global village. Thanks again, for stopping by. You just gave me a new topic to write on. :)

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  2. I think you have a point thee


    Being a vendor myself I see a lot of this going on around me... market is just too darn competitive... and usually you have to take jobs from sub vendors... task managers are the ones who take the lion's share.. writers usually get around 50 percent of what is offered... I personally know writers who write 500 word articles for 1.5 dollars.. simply because they do not have direct access to marketplaces where they can get jobs directly from clients.

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  3. It's the corporate greed, for sure, but the global labor pool is flush with serfs who will work for pennies and the corporatocracy knows it. Regardless of cost of living, which is a red herring, why continue to enable a cheap pay structure for writers? Have a little self-respect and integrity. Demand what you're worth instead of accepting low wages. If the global labor pool united instead of under-bidding each other, the corporatocracy would have to play ball and pay fair wages.

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  4. Allwin, I just want to go on record as being angry that American & European companies pay so little to writers and charge so much reselling their work. I have nothing but admiration for the writers who persevere desire this corporate greed

    Alex

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  5. I quoted $50 for a 450 word article to a trader online based out of US. And he offered me $50 for a total of 50 posts of 450 words each. Isn't that ridiculous. Do people in US think our writing ability is so cheap that we can spend 3 hours to produce something original for as low as $1.? Who is to blame than?

    Sumble

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  6. Correction of error " who persevere despite this greed"

    Alex

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Please let me know what you think...