Writing for NewsBreak: How Much Are Our Souls Really Worth?

I am fairly new to the Vocal community but have been a writer on Medium for almost a year. On the advice of many fellow Medium writers, I decided to try my luck at contributing articles to NewsBreak. As writers, we are passionate about our work and would still do it without so much as even a penny in profit. But for a lot of us, when The Big Q (quarantine) hit, we had to turn to our writing to provide the supplemental income we desperately needed. 

And it has been a lifesaver!

So when I heard others suggesting we publish on additional platforms, such as NewsBreak, I thought, "It can't hurt." But it can, and it does. 

Like selling your soul to the devil.

Now some of you may have had differing experiences from mine with the platform, and I think that's wonderful! I'm glad you made it work. However, it was nothing but a nightmare for me from the start.

I was forewarned about the negative atmosphere I would find in the comments section and the almost middle-schooler/bot-like criticism you can and will receive on your NewsBreak articles, so once I got over the initial shock, that part didn't phase me anymore. 

However, I'll admit, I almost quit on the second day just for how immoral it made me feel writing for such a hateful audience. Not only were they nasty towards the content in my articles, but they were also tearing each other apart with racial slurs and politically-motivated insults. I felt deep down in the purest part of my soul that no amount of money was worth giving these monsters fuel for their fire!

But then I saw my first earnings. Okay, maybe working for the devil isn't so bad after all. So I gave it another go.

Aside from the scummy community of readers they cater to (which is such a contrast to how supportive the Medium community is!), the next issue I had was how sensitive their article policies are. 

I often write about real-life events happening in the world and without a second thought I posted a few stories complete with supporting facts. Immediately I was hit with two policy violations and my account was put in suspension for "a week." That "week" ended up lasting 8–9 days, but the NewsBreak Creator Support representative insisted they had their timing correct. 

Alright, so I waited (im)patiently for the suspension to expire and the minute it did I hopped on to my account and posted two articles I had been anxiously awaiting to monetize. To my delight, they were both reviewed and accepted with no issues. Satisfied that my future with this platform was looking bright again, I closed my laptop and moved on with my day.

That evening, excited to see how my new articles were faring, I decided to check the statistics before I went to bed. 

And there it was…

No explanation. No new policy violations. Fired. On the spot. Not even a severance package.

I still can't explain it. I was really looking forward to the extra income and the platform had been so highly recommended by numerous great writers on Medium that I thought this could be an answer to my prayers. Instead, I learned that no matter how tempting making the next dime can be, it isn't worth selling your dignity, sanity, and moral compass for.

Can you put a price on your soul? Have you had a similar experience? Or a contrasting one? I would love to hear it! Thanks for reading.