Lapizuli - 1:11 am on Jan 25, 2010 (gmt 0)

Today, this week, there's a good chance that you can get a good, seasoned Web writer to do a 400-600 word article for $50-$100. If significant research is required, you may pay more. You can even get a decent writer for $15-$50. Good writers who take lower pay are generally starting out on the Web, wanting to get a foot in the door.

Professional writers who do write-for-hire work for others do not generally care about exposure. They care about money. Those hired writers on the Web who care about exposure, making a "name" for themselves, and sharing their ideas are either starry-eyed amateurs with somewhat mystical ideas about writing or just saying it to preserve their dignity. Pro writers tend to have little dignity. ;)

Freelancers' rates are currently in flux as there is a huge shift going on in the market. The old rule that you get what you pay for no longer applies. Sometimes you pay peanuts and get quality. Sometimes you pay gold and get rather moldy peanuts.

This is because of vast changes to the market. Print writers are falling out of demand, while the demand for Web writers is increasing. But it's not a seamless process. New writers, bemused by the breadth of opportunity, are flooding the online market while old writers, scratching their heads at the lack of print pickings, are trickling in, then doing horrified turnabouts as they realize they need to take pay cuts if they want work. The resultant hodgepodge of personnel, some new, some old, combined with all the webfolk wanting to hire writers but having no idea how to value Web writing, means that rates vary wildly.

So you've got professional freelancers accustomed to pricing themselves for the print market taking work at lowered rates, partly because of necessity but also because they realize the work is so readily available that they needn't spend hours, weeks or months researching markets, pitching, waiting for payment, networking, etc. Part of the reason a decently written article could cost thousands of dollars was that writers put in thousands of dollars worth of work doing all these things.

New write-for-hire writers - those who weren't freelancers before coming online - vary wildly in quality. About half can't write even passably well and most of the rest are not very good. Some are, though. The problem is, many good writers eventually realize that there's more opportunity in writing for themselves, but may mix WFH work with their own projects for cash.

Your best bet for getting the best value are professional writers who have just come online and feel they need to build an online portfolio.

And just an aside, in case it comes up: You may want to avoid the odd practice that's cropped up lately of offering writers commissions for large numbers of articles paid at lower rates. Good writers won't go for it, since work is so easy to get, and writing a hundred articles for one client takes no less time than a hundred articles for a hundred clients.