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Topic: demand studios?
| Author | Message |
| sophiesMOM | Posted – 6/30/2009 1:39:18 PM | show profile | flag this post anyone have any experience working for this company? |
| neugirl | Posted – 6/30/2009 3:11:40 PM | show profile | flag this post I would also like to know what their deal is. |
| kt5 | Posted – 6/30/2009 3:25:07 PM | show profile | flag this post I searched for comments from other writers about this company through google. The feedback was helpful which was essentially, to stay away. Most of the writers comments I read indicated that it's a good place to write for writing, but not to make money. |
| mel79 | Posted – 6/30/2009 5:24:45 PM | show profile | flag this post I replied to one of their ads awhile ago -- the pay is really low, so it would be for clips/exposure only. Revenue share averages around a $70 payout OVER FIVE YEARS (ugh). If you get an assignment from one of their affiliates (like Livestrong) it's a bundle of article for a nominal fee (i.e. 10 articles for $300 total). |
| ChiWrites | Posted – 6/30/2009 6:49:54 PM | show profile | flag this post looow pay I had the same experience when Demand launched the Livestrong site. They asked for cycling and/or medical experts. I was offered work: 10 articles, $300. I wrote back asking if that was a typo and nope, it was not. Not worth it, and at least to me, the low pay puts into question the quality of the site. |
| neugirl | Posted – 7/1/2009 11:56:13 AM | show profile | flag this post Not surprised. There was something about them that didn't sit well with me. They actually rejected my application awhile ago. I guess they did me a favor! |
| Stanley_Milgram | Posted – 7/1/2009 12:13:39 PM | show profile | flag this post rule of thumb... any editorial outfit that pays writers decently rarely needs to advertise (Demand Studios is a regular feature of every journo/writer help wanted board). Usually, the paying outfits have to beat writers away with a stick. |
| neugirl | Posted – 7/1/2009 3:17:10 PM | show profile | flag this post THATS A VERY GOOD POINT. |
| Remi from Demand Studios | Posted – 7/2/2009 5:06:08 PM | show profile | flag this post Working at Demand Studios Hi, I?m the Community Manager at Demand Studios. That means I spend most of my day listening to feedback from our writers, copy editors, filmmakers and other creators. Many of them started with the same reservations you have, but they took another look. We are currently paying out more than $30,000 a day to our creator community and have paid $13.9 million dollars to date. For people looking for steady work and a lot of it ? we?ve been a good freelance gig. If someone turns in work and it is approved on Wednesday, they get paid on that Friday. Magazine pay cycles generally take 2 months or more from pitch acceptance to the time the writer receives a check. The same payment schedule applies to every role (filmmakers, copy editors, etc.) in Demand Studios. We are a one-stop place to get published on Trails, GolfLink, Livestrong, eHow ? and even third-parties like the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. We know we are not for everyone, but as long as you create good content, we will have unlimited work, multiple sites on which to publish, a community environment to get better at your craft and we will pay you every week. ------ Community Manager, Demand Studios |
| Stanley_Milgram | Posted – 7/2/2009 6:23:35 PM | show profile | flag this post I guess one statistic that might help put that $30,000 a day figure into context is how many people exactly ARE in your "creative community?" |
| Stanley_Milgram | Posted – 7/2/2009 6:29:14 PM | show profile | flag this post er... "creator community," that is. one needs this data to compare it with the per-hourly earnings of, say, a McDonald's "crew member." |
| Linda F | Posted – 7/2/2009 9:38:41 PM | show profile | flag this post Erik Sherman, former ASJA contracts expert, recently posted a good piece on Demand Studios. Demand Studios responds, and Erik dissects the response. Linda Write for Magazines |
| Decorama | Posted – 7/2/2009 9:42:42 PM | show profile | flag this post DS is for Demand Studios is for Christian homeschooling mommy writers who can't turn a phrase. |
| WordyBird | Posted – 7/3/2009 12:47:41 PM | show profile | flag this post Demand is of the same ilk as Examiner: Cheap, unvetted, hobbyist crap. |
| neugirl | Posted – 7/3/2009 1:31:52 PM | show profile | flag this post lol |
| DeneneWrites | Posted – 7/4/2009 5:07:30 AM | show profile | flag this post Good point about Demand always having to advertise to get writers. I'd like to add that other, well paying, pubs/sites never respond on writer's forums to make a case for why you should write for them. I swear if I hear the word "write" and "exposure" in the same sentence again, I'll scream! |
| Lotus665 | Posted – 7/5/2009 11:02:40 AM | show profile | flag this post Also, writing for DS sites may get you exposure/clips but it will not get you gigs with better markets because THEY WILL NOT TAKE YOU SERIOUSLY. If that's your only clip, why would they hire you instead of all the other people pitching them who have clips from better places?! Getting paid ten bucks "right away" isn't a consolation for only getting ten bucks. |
| Grateful Deadline | Posted – 7/5/2009 11:52:26 AM | show profile | flag this post Never underestimate the number of people who *will* write just to have a byline, or who can't plan well enough to see that getting $1,500 in a month is better than getting $10 on Friday. |
| Grateful Deadline | Posted – 7/5/2009 5:15:13 PM | show profile | flag this post Excuse me -- make that "better than getting 80 cents in five years." |
| Suet | Posted – 7/6/2009 12:08:27 PM | show profile | flag this post ha! their ad atop the page - "Writing gig not paying off? Write for Demand Studios instead" This seems to indicate that working for them will pay _better_ than your "writing gig". But it sounds like you'd be better off returning deposit cans & bottles than shoveling words for Demand Studios. |
| fotogirl | Posted – 7/6/2009 10:13:38 PM | show profile | email poster | flag this post Worked for DS last year As a copy editor. I read Erik Sherman's blog post, and he broke down the pay scale accurately. I have a lot of experience in print and online mags, and I'm good at my job. When I worked there I was paid $2.50 per piece, and I was lucky if I could get through 5 pieces an hour--and I work pretty fast. While fact-checking was not part of my job, there were just blatant errors in a lot of the writing that I couldn't ignore. And yes, the writing was subpar in many of the pieces. The person I reported to assured me his top CEs were getting $30 an hour, but I just don't see how that could be. |
| Stanley_Milgram | Posted – 7/7/2009 11:03:41 AM | show profile | flag this post I guess this is a testament to the quality of MB's "featured employers." |
| sophiesMOM | Posted – 7/8/2009 2:45:21 PM | show profile | flag this post thanks, everyone, for the great feedback. i will avoid DS. |
| midwestwriter | Posted – 7/8/2009 3:30:01 PM | show profile | flag this post Content mills like DS and eHow will always exist, because there will always be people willing to become the migrant labor of the internet. And if "writers" are willing to expect less, earn less, and lower their standards to publish an error-ridden article for Golf.com, that is their choice. Personally, I have too much respect for writing to do that. That's why I became a writer, because I love reading good words. I love it too much to butcher it. Plus, in life and your career, people will only treat you with as much respect as you command. And you will only rise as high as the goals and standards you set for yourself. DS sets the bar of standards and self respect pretty low. |
| lmmlis | Posted – 7/10/2009 11:20:46 AM | show profile | flag this post Decorama wrote: "Demand Studios is for Christian homeschooling mommy writers who can't turn a phrase." Deco, I love you. OTOH, Midwestwriter said: "Plus, in life and your career, people will only treat you with as much respect as you command. And you will only rise as high as the goals and standards you set for yourself. DS sets the bar of standards and self respect pretty low." I remember a short story--or was it a film?--in which a character, a college-educated African American man, was in effect permanently unemployed. (This took place in the depression--no, the other one, in the 1930s.) There was a scene in which his wife said, "But the phone company is hiring janitors! It pays good money, why can't you go and apply?" The man snapped, "Because I have a college education, woman." So what's my point? Only this: You can set your bar as high as you want, but it might mean sitting at home broke and poor for a long, long time. I have an MS and a BA from fairly prestigious colleges. As of August I'll be unemployed for a year. I chose to apply at Walmart rather than sit at home with only my "high standards" and unpaid bills for company. You do what you have to do, and if you want (or, dare I say it, need) to get paid, you'll take what you can get. Ideals are nice but they don't pay the damn rent. |
