Frustrated...

[tenderone]

I just need a few "ears"...

Work is drying up at TB. I rarely finding the large variety of level 4 assignments that I typically have in the past, and I have been there for over a year.

There are not many titles available at MC.

I was a dupe checker until we received an email out of the blue, requiring us to take a 50-question test in a small amount of time. Apparently, they wanted to move forward only with those have passed that test, even though we passed previous tests. (I never received an audit or warning for poor work!) Us DCers later found out that we could have completed less than 50 questions during that time limit. They wanted to check for quality (well, of course!). It would have been nice to know that, right?! I - as many did - rushed through just to complete the test since the email did not indicate otherwise. So, guess what happened?

There are not many titles to choose from, writing wise, at DS as well.

Let's see...I do have a couple of other things in the works, but I am starting to wonder about those, too, now.

I *heart* writing, but I am concerned about the lack of work, and I need the upfront income.

[Purse-onality]

I know. I'm in the same boat, if it's any consolation. I have many eggs, but have re-distributed them, focusing solely on TB. At the end of the day when all is said and done, TB continues to be stable, reliable, and a great way to earn money. I earn full-time income from TB, until recently. My hope is that since we are headed into the holidays, clients are backing off from work, which unfortunately, affects our bottom lines also.

I'm a level 4 at TB and I can't imagine how anyone makes enough money at any other level lower than a 4 on there. I missed the proofreading test by like one or two the last time I took it, which stunk, because I hear that level 5 is pretty awesome. You needed a 90 and multiple answers could be write in each multiple choice set. I thought it was easy and that I did well, but was surprised to find that I got an 80....or 70, can't remember. I'll have to take more time and do it next time. Have you tried for the proofreader test?

I know many dislike it, but CloudCrowd is my second choice after TB. People having a bad day can unnecessarily and wrongly critique or reject your work, but that is few and far between in my experience. They have writing assignments, titling, editing assignments, and product descriptions regularly, which are my personal fave. They pay daily every evening around 8pm, est, for any approved work during the day. Work is always approved throughout the day and quickly on CC. You can even be the one approving work...lol. People just like you and I can take a break from writing and proofread or edit others' submissions.

It's hard to have to scale back during this time of year, especially since we need the money now more than ever, but just hang in there and ride it out through the holidays, and do as much work as you possibly can. I contribute about 10 hours of my day to either writing or stalking the writing sites I do write for. I write about 6 of the 10 hours and average enough when I am writing to balance out the time that I'm not. Take what you can get and hang in there....it's just low tide right now.

[sherryy]

I think what everyone is seeing at TB is a combination of a slow period - and the fact that almost everyone who is having a problem with other content mills is trying to make them their primary egg.

I'm betting that the same number of orders is rolling through when you factor in the normal ebb and flow - but they're just being snatched up faster.

The forum there has lots of comments from brand new writers and a few that haven't written there in years.

[sherryy]

I'm an L5 writer there.

It is nice, but I spend a lot of time on those articles. A lot of fast L4 writers average more per hour than I do.

some people are picking up some work at interact media.
i applied out of curiosity, but haven't had the time to do anything - i can't say if they're good or bad.

[cat.thomas76]

Ya, work is definitely gone for the higher level writers at TB. Not very happy about that. Lately I've been doing a lot of personal client stuff that I get through word of mouth or CL postings. When I'm not doing that, I tend to jump onto CloudCrowd as they seem to have a lot more work these days. I only went back because I got an email about how they fixed their credential system. You can retake a test if you fail it. So now that I'm an Editor, Writer Level 1 & 2, and Marketing Writer, I have access to A LOT of work. YAY!

Now I can start to shop for the holidays...LOL

But I should probably use the money to pay off my cc bill.

[WriterGig]

I think private clients are the way to go. Can you brand yourself as a freelance writer for specific niches and charge higher rates? I think the wave of the future for successful freelance writing is writers who specialize in specific niches, can write extremely high quality content, and demand higher rates for their services.

[ErinHill226]

Originally Posted by WriterGig

I think private clients are the way to go. Can you brand yourself as a freelance writer for specific niches and charge higher rates? I think the wave of the future for successful freelance writing is writers who specialize in specific niches, can write extremely high quality content, and demand higher rates for their services.

Amen to that!

[mini]

Originally Posted by WriterGig

I think private clients are the way to go. Can you brand yourself as a freelance writer for specific niches and charge higher rates? I think the wave of the future for successful freelance writing is writers who specialize in specific niches, can write extremely high quality content, and demand higher rates for their services.

Private clients are definitely the way to go. Textbroker just keeps hiring and hiring. It is going to get worse. Textbroker actually should have stopped hiring in the middle of this year. MC has at least stopped hiring, but most of these mills simply hire too many people.

[prosperg]

Originally Posted by mini

Private clients are definitely the way to go. Textbroker just keeps hiring and hiring. It is going to get worse. Textbroker actually should have stopped hiring in the middle of this year. MC has at least stopped hiring, but most of these mills simply hire too many people.

I totally agree with you. Textbroker should put a stop on it at the moment. But in the end it is a "content mill" and they want as many writers as they can get I guess. I think because of the "excessive hiring" Textbroker will begin to lose good writers and a lot of their prestige will go down the drain.