A followup to my previous post

Considering some emails I've received, perhaps I need to clarify something about my last post.

I'm not trashing LoveToKnow. I'm not trashing web content or low paying gigs. My point was merely to illustrate the kind of cost-benefit analysis any freelancer needs to make when evaluating a project. I had considered couching it in anonymous terms, but anyone with an IQ over 5 would have been able to piece it together from my previous posts so I didn't see the point.

I was shocked when I saw that I had a HUGE increase in readers after posting that entry. I was afraid I had become the center of a firestorm; personally I hate controversy and have no interest in being mired in it. It turns out that Deborah Ng had accidentally put my blog address in one of her job links, so a bunch of people stumbled over here by mistake. Maybe I picked up a couple more regular readers.

Tom Chandler was one of those accidental readers, and he used my post the basis for Writing Cheap? The Five Steps Every Struggling Writer Should Take.

He brought up the point of intangibles, which is an important one. My LTK decision didn't come out of a calculator. The money was merely one aspect. I already mentioned that I had a good editor and was learning from her, which made me hesitant to leave. Tom also mentions that this kind of assignment can help you build a portfolio of clips, which was another one of my motivations to give them a try. In addition to writing for them, I was training to be site editor. That credential might have made people think I actually know what I'm doing (the fools!).

Studies have shown (I have no reference to back this up - this is a piece of trivia from my own brain) that employees will rate salary fairly low in priority compared to intangibles such as being treated with respect, advancement opportunities, or simply having fun on the job. Everyone talks about salary because it's easy to quantify and compare. Job A pays more than job B so must be "better".

In the end, I listened to my gut. I learned a long time ago that my subconscious mind is much smarter than my conscious one. I just knew this was the right decision for me.

Tom has some other good points in his post. Many of them you probably already know, but they bear repeating so go take a look at what he has to say.