Category: Freelancing

A couple of years ago I wrote about what content mills had taught me, and I ended by saying I was gradually moving my work towards direct clients. Plenty of people have asked how that's gone, so here's an update - and some thoughts for anyone trying to decide which route makes sense.

I've written thousands of product descriptions. Handbags, teapots, garden furniture, specialist bicycle parts, scented candles, a surprising number of things for dogs. If there's one thing that writing that many teaches you, it's how quickly they all start to sound the same - and how much difference it makes when they don't.

Here's how I try to keep them fresh, even on the 200th description of the week.

About once a week someone gets in touch asking for "a quick proofread" of something. About half the time, what they actually need is an edit. This isn't anyone's fault - the words get used interchangeably all the time - but it does mean people end up either paying for more than they need or, more often, expecting more than they've paid for.

So here's a plain-English guide to what the different services actually mean, at least the way I and most editors I know use them.

When I tell other writers that a good chunk of my income still comes through content platforms, I tend to get one of two reactions. Either a sympathetic wince, or a slightly too casual "oh, which ones?" from someone who's clearly doing the same thing and doesn't talk about it at parties.

I've been writing through Textbroker, Writer's Domain, Elance and People Per Hour for about three years now. Content mills have a bad reputation, and some of it is deserved - the pay at the bottom end is genuinely grim - but they've also taught me more about the practical side of writing than any course I could have paid for. Here's what I've picked up.