Lately, I've been browsing through websites for freelance writing jobs. One of them had multiple advertisements for web developers, content and technical writers. Employers include a job description and writers bid on projects. The bids seemed awfully low, so I clicked on a few out of curiosity. The average bid from freelance writers for a 750-1000 word article was below $5, which is absolutely ridiculous.
I clicked on the profiles of some of the writers and then it all made sense. Most of them were from India and Nepal. Some of them even have PhDs and Postgraduate degrees. It makes business sense, but one has to feel for writers in Australia who churn out quality, but lose out on the massive difference in cost of living across continents.
It reminded me of my days as an editor for an online site in Hyderabad. The pay was around Rs. 500 for editing 2-3 articles. Strange thing is, I never got to see my employers. It was all online and once a month, I'd walk into the office and the security guard would pass me a white envelope with a cheque inside. In stark contrast, my next writing stint, with a magazine was all about meeting people.
Writing for a lifestyle magazine was way more fun. Maybe I should just focus on fun-writing and leave the more serious stuff to my Indian colleagues who can afford to outbid me by a mile.
