Hello! I'm writing an article about bidding websites for writers, and I'd like to get some opinions from writers who have actually worked for elance or Guru or one of the other bidding sites. I'll link back to your website and include any article or book mentions you'd like in exchange for a paragraph or two on your experiences in this area.

Thanks so much!

Beth

beth@creativeinklings.org

I've used some and got a gig with one as well.

I was an eLance member for about 10 months. It seems like I was one of the lucky ones who actually found a job that paid fairly. I took on a two month writing project and earned about $9,000 for my work. But after that I kept seeing people bid lower and lower so I decided that this wasn't the place for me to find new clients.

Sharon Fullen
www.writesalot.com

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Sharon Fullen
Writes a Lot
www.writesalot.com

I tried elance for 6 months and I did get some writing gigs that paid for my membership. I had an area of business expertise, which I believed helped me. My journalism background also got me some press release writing assignments. However, I too found myself having to bid lower and lower to get assignments until I came to the point of not believing people were actually willing to work for that kind of money. Where else can a business get a press release for $25? I tried Guru, which was even worse. I only scored one assignment from them in 3 months. My advice...stay away from bidding services. They are driving the market down for all writers!

Kerri Fivecoat-Campbell
www.writeforyou.biz

I signed up with guru for 3 months and my time will be expiring in 2 or 3 weeks. I have bid on dozens of jobs, and I believe the only reason I didn't get any was because I was underbid.

I did finally snag an editing job just last night. I bid fairly low because it's something I like to do, and I can get it done quickly and easily. Besides, I was getting desperate to earn at least my payment back!

When I was a non-paying bidder, I never got a chance to bid, just to look at what was there. I got lucky, and a friend, who was then a paying member, sent me an employer's email addy because he needed writers. I've been working for him ever since, and I don't have to pay guru a percentage, because I deal with him directly.

I agree with whoever said bidding services are driving the market down for all writers. But then again, that's what free enterprise is. Maybe the employers will discover you get what you pay for. Hope so.

Kathy

I have signed on to both elance and guru sites. I find elance to be very restrictive, i.e., you have to pay more monthly to access those employers who want to limit the viewing. Plus elance charges a high 8.75% commission for any project you bid and win - on top of the monthly fee. (So does guru.) Worse, they also charge fee of $15 each to "verify" your credentials for education, former clients, etc. The costs adds up quick if you aren't scoring projects. I will keep my membership at both for awhile longer, but the competition is incredible and I've seen some projects on guru with more than 60 writers bidding.

Hi Beth - I've used Elance.com and Guru.com. Guru.com was formerly Emoonlighter.com, and I was pretty happy with them before the switch. The rates were lower and there were more jobs available for basic members. Now Guru's rules are so strict there are hardly any jobs open to basic members, even though they claim otherwise.

Elance.com was ok - I picked up one repeat client.

The major downside of these types of sites is that there's so much competition for work, and projects often do go to the lowest bidder. I also don't think writers and editors should have to pay to find work - just doesn't seem right.

Let me know if you need anything else.

erin@lucidink.us

Hello,

I have gotten three jobs off these sites (and am in the running for one more)... from emoonlighter and then guru. Here's the story with all of them:

The first job was a grant writing job for a local non-profit that couldn't afford to pay diddly. Still, I went and met the folks, and liked their program so much I did the work anyway. Made a whopping twenty-five dollars for hundreds of hours of work, but it was OK with me. I wanted to do a little local charity work anyway, and I learned a new skill in the process.

The second job was OK... About nine 1000 word articles for 150.00 a pop. Not gonna make me rich, but it was honest pay. I'm still getting offers from these folks as work comes up. For now though, I am having to sidestep them. Their communication processes (job instructions and follow-up for example) are poor. Plus, they are slow to pay... slow... but at least they do pay.

The third job was writing a memoir for a guy who flat out could not afford to pay what a writer's time is worth. I took the job anyway for 2,000 plus a royalty, and it looks like it will pay off. He has the kind of story and credentials that publishers dearly love and the interest from agents has been tremendous.

There was also an invite from a wonderful local magazine to apply for a job as a staff writer (which I did not get) and right now, I am one the finalists for a wonderful job with a huge company that pays very well indeed... both off guru. Hope I get it! By the way, I always bid the maximum pay they offer, and I don't bid on any job I feel I can’t do. I never subscribe, either. I feel that getting a chunk of my first paycheck is compensation enough. That's all that "civilian" employment agencies get for their time isn’t it?

Bottom line... There are tons of junk lobs on these sites, but there are good ones, too. You can use them to build a resume, to gain experience, and even make a bit of money. Occasionally, you will even get a shot at the brass ring. Just do not work without a contract, do not work for free (unless its charity and you want to) and for heaven's sake, don't agree to do any work that you can't or don't want to do. Too often, writers forget this glorious fact (and its probably the reason you became a writer in the first place)… You are the one in control of your own career.

ELance is way too rich for my blood. I joined Guru.com but only as a basic member. They take a chunk off the top of any project I get, so why should I pay them more? They're much more restrictive since they became guru. Now there are NO jobs I can bid on as a basic member. I'm occasionally invited to bid, and I have, but I've yet to actually get a job through them. I wrote them once to the effect that they were a lot more help to writers when they were CreativeMoonlighter.com and now I can't bid on any jobs unless I pay them yet more. The reply I got back was pretty snotty and rude.

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Some days you're the dog. Some days you're the hydrant.

I have been a member of contractedwork.com for over a year. I have been successful in obtaining work from this website to a significant degree.

One of the ways I fight the denegration of bid-only websites is to simply bid a zero amount and to submit a message saying "you get what you pay for!" I include a short message that states that if they want quality work, they must pay quality prices. Period. This has gotten me the majority of my work for the past year and continuing work from clients obtained on this Web site.

My current work involves thousands of dollars of revenue, and I couldn't be happier. One can give in to the $1 bidders or submit a bid that guarantees quality work. Feel free to visit my Web site: http://www.stardesignonline.com, or email me at stardesign@mfx.net for more information.

Connie Tucker

I have spent months wasting time on these sites.
.I probably bid 200 plus times, with one job resulting that was 3 days work! May have another pending, but I found that one on my own.
I agree that Guru really went downhill on a fast , slippery track, and l also agree that there is an attitude problem there. I realize a lot of the desperate applied for things they could not do, but I certainly cannot keep up the membership with no work coming in!
Also, all the people looking for grant writers do not have a CLUE! They believe the Lesko hype that EVERYONE can get a grant..They always expect you to prove you have written winning grants, but won't pay till you find them funds. That is not true, and the work is not easy. No one realizes the grant request has to be re-written for EACH grantor!
I really got tired of trying to compete with desperate people who were doing the work for nearly nothing with the proviso they receive a high rating. I know of instances where the work was done for less than minimum wage--sometimes MUCH less! If I give my work away(, and I do every day ) I will choose a worthy organization!
What does that make all these 5 * ratings worth , anyway?
I have many years experience in proofreading, editing, writing, copywriting, marketing, business plan writing, and have been educating myself on grant writing, with one tentative approval for funding--subject to available funds.
It has been most frustrating.

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"If you want the rainbow, ya gotta put up with the rain." Dolly Parton

Hi Beth,

I'm currently enrolled at Guru.com. I've managed to find quite a bit of work there. In fact, I've got ongoing projects thanks to that place, and now referrals.

I was a member when it was creativemoonlighter.com. What is upsetting is that you do have to buy a membership in order to have anything worthwhile to bid on. However, I made back the $75 fee (three-month membership) in one job. I've found it to be a positive experience overall.

Feel free to email me for more info. loridwidmer at comcast.net.

Lori

Hi! I started out as a member of Emoonlighter.com, but haven't contacted them since they became Guru.com. They wouldn't let me change my expertise from Online marketing to writing, which is what I'm really good at. Although online marketing was one of my expertises on Emoonlighter, writing was listed as my primary one, but they chose online marketing for some reason, and now I keep getting requests to help on e-commerce sites, which is completely useless to me.

As for Elance, I've found quite a bit of work there, but unfortunately, you're competing against people who will work for next to nothing ($1 each for an 800-word article? Puleez!), and you're bidding for people who don't understand normal freelance rates, which translates into working for peanuts. But, if you simply can't find clients, it may be a good way to continue adding to your portfolio while looking for higher-paying gigs. That's pretty much what I'm using it for now - I just started freelancing a few months ago, so I'm not particularly well-established, so I'm using Elance until other business starts coming in from the sales letters I've sent out. I'll also have a web site up soon that will hopefully draw more customers.

What kind of writing do you do? And can you expand on what you send prospective clients? I've thought of trying a direct marketing campaign, but a lot of the people I talked to told me that it wouldn't work. And the books I've read emphasize advertising copywriting, which is not what I do. (I'm a technical writer and editor, so most of the stuff I've done has been IT, telecommunications, engineering, and science.)

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Some days you're the dog. Some days you're the hydrant.

I actually got to the point of talking (well, e-mailing) with one woman about a project. She wanted at least 100 articles written about Ireland and Irish history, which is an interest of mine and one I've read quite a bit about. I initially bid I think $100 per article, which I don't think was out of line. She came back saying that she was just starting out and she couldn't afford that. I was willing to work with her, but the real fee came to about $1.50 per article. Considering at least a couple hours time on each article, and probably more, that was a ridiculous amount.

Pity. I would have liked to have done the project.

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Some days you're the dog. Some days you're the hydrant.