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| No | 20% | 178 votes | Total: 875 votes | |
| Yes | 80% | 697 votes |
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Add to FavoritesI am not so sure if it is time for all websites to pay writers for their articles because first of all there must be some standard or guidelines established that would allow such payments to be made in the first place. To be sure, it is not so much the question of should writers be paid, but instead should writers be paid for quality articles on websites that generate revenue by advertisements?
If writers expect to be paid for what they write and post on the Internet then there should be some standards established that ensure good, quality writing especially if the website relies on advertisments to generate revenue for the website. However, this is not always easy because judging someone's writing based on content or style is not always easy in terms of how much should someone be paid for a particular essay or article. Of course, there are some guidelines like if the article has already appeared on another website or if the content is not suitable for the particular website the writer wants to post it on. Nonetheless, if the website relies on advertisements for revenue then it must have some criteria in place to ensure that the submissions will generate more traffic to increase revenue.
And that's what it all comes down to: advertising. If a website is going to stay up and running it needs to attract more traffic and if that website invites writers to contribute then it must make sure that what is posted is going to generate that much needed revenue by the amount of traffic it receives. There are some websites by their very nature which are going to generate more traffic while others might struggle given the content of their site. Therefore, if that site wants to pay writers for their submissions it must be certain that what is submitted and posted is going to be for the betterment and success of that site. As such, there should be some standards or guidelines to ensure that what is submitted will help to generate more revenue and if these standards and guidelines are followed or met then and only then should the writer be paid.
The Internet should be no different than magazines or other print media in terms of paying writers for their submissions. Although the convenience and accessibility of the Internet has given many people the chance to write who might not have written and submitted something before, there must be some guidelines in place to ensure, at least for the sake of the website, that what is submitted is of high quality or caliber. It should be no different than submitting an article or story to a magazine if payment is to be received for it.
Learn more about this author, Jeffrey Miller.
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Yes
Anytime a website asks for writers, it should pay those writers. Writing is hard, demanding work that deserves to be compensated accordingly. Would you work your job for a whole day and not expect to be paid for it? And, just like in most other professions, those writers who are able to successfully communicate their thoughts for their clients should be paid more than other writers.
Websites that ask for voluntary writing contributions and then make money off of those contributions leaving the writer with nothing are thieves. It's like commissioning U2 to play a concert for your company and then not paying them when the concert is over. U2 would have every right to be furious. Writers have been abused by non-paying website markets for far too long. It's time we fought for what we deserve.
As the old saying goes, writing is one part inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration. Good writing especially for non-fiction articles on the web is not something you can just sit down and whip off of the top of your head in a few minutes. This attitude results in bad and incomprehensible writing at worst, mediocre and dull writing at best.
Writing is not just typing a certain numbers of words on a page and mailing it in by a certain deadline. Writing is research, fact checking and drawing new conclusions from the information presented. Writing requires editing and refining and rewording. Think about one blog post that you read on a professional blog. That blog post probably took at least an hour of the writer's precious time to get together.
Think how much any skilled worker gets paid for an hour. That's as much as a good internet writer should earn for any work on a website requesting certain kinds of content. There will always be websites that will allow anyone to post whatever they want but they will pay in terms of creditability, interesting content and repeat visitors.
Unfortunate ly, there are writers who are so desperate for a byline and clips in order to build up a portfolio that they help support the thieving content websites who do not pay their writers at all. Hopefully, there will come a time when these websites will go offline or will begin paying their writers to help raise the content level on their sites.
Learn more about this author, Rena Sherwood.
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