The Online-Offline Chestnut
lifestyle.yahoo.co.nz
I’m not sure how much debate really exists about this. I have seen one or two blogs arguing on this topic, and the issue surrounding the pros and cons of online versus offline freelance writing nowadays would surely have to favour the online argument in terms of your chances of earning regular money, if not big money.
But what is debateable is whether online writing can ever be as prestigious as that which appears offline. Logically, it shouldn’t be. Is the person who lets off a $10 firework in their back yard achieving the same as the person who gets their rocket designs accepted by NASA? Is the person who bolts a spoiler to their car and buys some cheap alloys the same as the person behind the wheel of a Formula 1 racing car?
It is not about financial remuneration for the individual per se. As a writer, you could be paid $500 for a series of online magazine articles, and the same $500 as an advance from a publisher for a novel (which you may not earn out on thus that’s all you’ll receive). Your bank account looks no different either way. The difference is in the total financial commitment the companies are prepared to make to push your talent forward.
An online magazine may be one person running a simple website, and once they have paid for your articles their outlay is at an end (apart from paying their own wages and the minimal ongoing costs of running the site). For the publisher, on the other hand, their outlay has only just begun. Printing a novel is not a cheap affair. Publishers have big overheads that include upkeep of premises, paying their in-house staff, employing freelance copyeditors, proof readers, plus typesetting and printing costs, and subsequent publicity. If a publisher takes you on, they are taking a big financial risk, thus your achievement would appear far greater.
There’s also the question of whether freelance writers can ever claim to have been published online. I suspect not. Publishers publish; websites post. Even publishers with an online presence that accept your work for an online-only readership do not publish your writing; they post your work to their sites.
Having said all that, I think online writing wins the day. I believe the prestige of being published offline is, for most people, not worth the hassle – certainly not financially, and probably not emotionally. I think your chances of achieving a regular income are massively higher with online freelance writing, precisely because whoever pays for your work is not risking that much. Plus, writing online is a great platform from which to launch on offline assault thanks to its global reach.
I further don’t believe it’s fair to say offline writing equates to quality, and online writing means substandard. There is a good mix of both in both. That being the case, the whole notion of the prestige of the published writer has to be questioned. If mistakes are made, and bad writing gets published when good writing doesn’t, then we need to really scrutinise the quality of the published work to decide if it genuinely deserves its prestige status.
Yes, the NASA rocket designer would seem to have more kudos, but that’s a hell of a lot of pressure they’ve taken on, and in the end their creation may be fatally flawed and may literally crash and burn.
As for the $10 rocket, who hasn’t smiled watching one of those things explode colourfully against the night sky?
About the Author: I have two novels published hardback and paperback by Hodder & Stoughton - The Short Cut and Man On A Murder Cycle. I live on the Murcian coast of Spain with my beautiful wife and daughter. For the past five years I have been working in corporate intelligence for some of the largest companies in the world.
Online Writing | Aug 23, 2010 | Reply
Good article – although I’d like to make the point that there’s no reason a writer can’t do both, as you obviously do. For me, online writing means a sustainable and steady income that allows me to follow up other writing pursuits without having to worry about grinding 40 hours a week away at a day job.
George Angus | Aug 24, 2010 | Reply
Hey Mark,
It is an interesting discussion. In my experience, the offline gigs pay much better. $800 for a single magazine article that took less time to write than some of the long-tail keyword articles I’ve been contracted to write.
In terms of the quality, you are spot on. Some folks write crap – it doesn’t matter if they’re killing trees in the process or not.
Cheers buddy.
George
Steve | Aug 24, 2010 | Reply
Mark:
Interesting post.
I’ve been “posted” lately only from $75.00 — $125.oo per post, and sometimes that equals my less than often offline publication credits.
A decent mix — and of course, writing itself — may keep you afloat and help avoid boredom?
Steve
Kirby Rooks | Aug 26, 2010 | Reply
I think your argument has substantial evidence when talking about articles, novels and fiction. But I would tend to differ when we talk about business writing for the sake of selling something. When the type or genre changes the online/offline balance changes as well.
I do agree that both online and offline writing have their share of quality issues. This is right on.
Insightful post and definitely something every writer has to give some individual thought.
Mark | Aug 27, 2010 | Reply
Thanks everyone, sorry your comments appeared late – sometimes they need my approval, sometimes not. These did. I just thought I’d written a boring post and no one had responded
Mark | Aug 27, 2010 | Reply
Mr/Mrs Online Writing, yep, getting that balance where one can subsidise the other is what you want. Glad you’ve achieved it. Write on!
Mark | Aug 27, 2010 | Reply
Georgie baby! You wrote a good piece on magazine writing a little while ago, and looks like you’re speaking from experience. Nice earning there. To be honest, I have never written offline apart from my novels. Too busy with other stuff. I wonder how I’d fare?!
Mark | Aug 27, 2010 | Reply
Steve, that sounds like some decent pay for your posts, although I don’t know their length. Yes, you certainly need to mix it up, keep those irons hot and plentiful.
Mark | Aug 27, 2010 | Reply
Hey Kirby Books, that has to be a company right? How cool for a writer to have that name. Spot on about the genre thing – I have heard tell of some truly mind-blowing figures paid for sales writing, although I take those with a pinch of salt, and it does seem the mega-earners are an extremely select few.
My overall point with this post was to deal with the prestige issue, and “go against type” in a way, as I expect most people would think an offline author would take a dim view of online writing. Not so. Unless you really do hit the big time with your offline scribbles, the time and effort involved may have been better spent earning that “sustainable and steady income” from online endeavours mentioned by the first commenter.
Thanks all for chipping in!