Tuesday 9 February 2010

Fair Pricing and Patience for Writers

Last month when I was checking my Helium account, it seemed to take a strange leap up. On checking the reason I found that one of my articles had been purchased for stock content (their jargon) for the princely sum of $5.

Now the same article at Constant Content (CC) had already sold for usage rights just over a year ago. That was when I posted it at Helium as well since I could no longer offer exclusive rights for it at CC at a much higher price. But when I sold it the first time for non-exclusive rights, the price I'd set was $20, which mean that after paying the CC commission, I got $13 for it - not much but still over 2.5 times what Helium paid me.

I can't help wondering how much the purchaser paid Helium for it. At CC we authors know that we sign away 35% of sales to the site, and for that we have the benefit of them showcasing our work, protecting our copyright and finding our buyers. At Helium I have no idea what sort of cut they are taking from such a sale.

Of course, I don't get any revenue share at CC, because they don't have any advertising on the site. Their only income is from the commission on sales. In just over a year at Helium, my article has earned me almost another dollar from page clicks. (And you can find it here at Helium and here at CC).

So far, I've just mentioned internet writing here. When I used to concentrate on writing for the print media, I often waited several months to hear whether my work had been accepted, and then many more months for the publication. And nine times out of 10, payment followed some time after that.

Did you know that writers just have to number patience as one of their most important characteristics?

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's infuriating the amount of time you have to wait sometimes to see your work in print. On the internet publication can be instant. But I still prefer to see my work on paper. It's personal preference I suppose.

One of The Guys said...

Yes, patience can be tough sometimes after repeated bouts of waiting around for rejection. And the occasional YES!

Wait a second, this is just like being a GUY pursuing some new person that's just not that interested.

Yes, Patience!

Joanne Olivieri said...

It is tough waiting to see your work in print though I much prefer seeing it in book form. Somehow for me seeing it online just doesn't have that same creative feel, I don't know why.

Unknown said...

Hi John

I know, you've said this before. I agree there's nothing quite like being able to actually handle a published page with your own words on it.

Unknown said...

HI there, One of the Guys. Of course, not being a guy I wouldn't know what you are talking about!

Unknown said...

Yes Jo. I think we are all in agreement here.

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