Freelance writers will do well to remember two important points

The ups and downs of freelance writing

As I write this I am aware of four platforms where freelance writers are giving their talent at this time. They are Vocal Media, NewsBreak Contributor Platform, Medium, and Hubpages. As artists who share our craft with the world, we all desire exposure and to be duly compensated for our time and effort but this does not always happen.

I recall years ago my daughter and myself as well as others were making a pretty good living writing for Yahoo Contributor Network and they abruptly shut down when the new CEO did not deem the writing platform as valuable. I next began writing for Blasting News and met a lot of writers there who I still have contact with today. I recall making $900 in September of 2017 and I felt as if I was on my way to success but the next month I only made $20.00.

From that point no matter what I wrote it was not being read and I was not the only one. For whatever reason, the work of many American writers was no longer being promoted and countless emails to support from a number of us went unanswered so we had no choice but to walk away from the platform. To have things change and not be given a heads-up or an explanation led me to feel I was not valued.

Different strokes for different folks

Blasting News also had a policy where they only paid you for the first 30 days after an article was approved. After that, they retained all the profits even if the article was getting views years later which did not seem fair. I next began writing for BubbleNews which also shut down without warning. I also worked for a media group last fall that produces 5 or 6 soap opera spoilers but I cannot recall the name.

I had to pitch ideas and wait on the site owner to say yeah or nay which was different and stressful. I was fired when some of the other writers told the owner I was writing my own soap opera spoilers on my Facebook page Soap Suds and sharing them in groups. I was fired because I was not supposed to freelance while writing for them but I was never told this upfront. Now as I maneuver the other writing sites I am learning a valuable lesson.

There may be writers who dislike the fact that NewsBreak does not allow profanity or sexually explicit material while others may have disdain for Vocal because they do have a platform for what some consider to be porn and allow profanity. Issues with RPMs, rate of pay, the time it takes articles to be approved, algorithms, AI (Artificial intelligence), unfair suspensions, being removed from a writing site, not getting paid in a timely manner, and even plagiarism are all legitimate problems that can be a writer's nightmares. Going from a guaranteed dollar amount to getting paid per view only is distressing and can decrease productivity.

Playing the writing game

The bottom line to all of this is that the site owners are in charge and the platforms are their vision whether we, who provide their income from our articles like what is going on or not. If a site allows questions and suggestions then by all means take advantage of that and be thankful if your voice is heard and changes are made. The Internet is so vast that it may become difficult to prove plagiarism or stop your work from being stolen so what can you do accept breathe.

If you believe practices are unfair or that you are not obtaining the amount of money you believe you should have if there is a way to appeal any decision then do so. If not there are two old sayings that apply."It is what it is" and from the Serenity prayer "Accept the things I cannot change." We complain in forums and community groups and comment when others share grievances that mirror our own but a decision must be made. Either we choose to accept the rules and regulations on each platform or we walk away. We can continue writing for Vocal Media, Hubpages, NewsBreak, and or Medium and make the best of it or quit. There really is nothing else to be done but if you know another alternative please share with the writing world.