As one who appreciates well-crafted and informative writing, the mind-numbing and soul-stealing nature of the work itself is bad enough, but after about a year, I have gotten used to it. This is partially due to the fact that I have moved up the ladder a bit, allowing me to make a marginally decent income instead of a pittance.

Before I go into bashing DS, though, I must admit one thing: I love their method of payment. No one pays freelancers as quickly and efficiently as they do. However, DS’s virtues end there.

The first issue with DS is, obviously, the pay scale. I recently had an editor tell me to revise my article so that it could be on the level of something one would see in a major national magazine. I thanked the editor for his/her input, which actually was very professional and intelligent, unlike input I have gotten from other DS editors. After making some token changes, though, I informed the editor that I would not be engaging in the multiple hours of research that his/her suggestions warranted, reminding him/her that a major national magazine would pay $100 – $400 for such an article. (I was making $25.) This story is relevant because the editor’s comments were in accord with DS’s expectations.

The second issue with DS – and probably the most important one – is the fact that too many freelance editors and DS staff are just plain stupid. I do admit that I have written a few sub-par articles in my time that were rejected for at least somewhat valid reasons, but please remember that I was never getting paid for quality to begin with. Despite a few understandable rejections, though, most of the article rejections I have received – and subsequent appeal denials from DS staff – came as a result of a lack of basic reasoning abilities.

One example is an article I wrote about business profitability. In the article, I mentioned that product size is something that affects business profitability. The editor rejected the article, though not because of that statement. When I appealed his rejection, the DS staff member who dealt with my appeal said that he stopped reading the article when he came to my statement about product size. He said that this statement proved that I knew nothing about business and finance and suggested that I perhaps should not be writing articles about business and finance. But, the DS system being what it is, I could not respond with a quick list of the various ways in which product size does affect profitability, such as when you have to ship it, store it or display it.

This is just one of many examples. Despite its attempts to cast itself in another light, DS is a cheap, low-quality outfit that is successfully spamming the entire Internet by crowding useful information out of search engines. If I ever do get to move beyond this gig and become successful, I will hope that no one ever says, “Hey, I read an article you wrote for eHow!” I do not claim responsibility for the poor quality of those articles with my name on them. As I have said, I am not paid for quality, and even when I do produce quality articles, their idiotic editors have proven to be well adept at inserting incorrect grammar, vague phraseology, and false information into my articles without my consent.

Thank you so much for this informative blog, and the equally wonderful comments you’ve given other readers. I’ve been rejected three times by DS, as of last night, and I’d like to ask your advice, if you have the time.

The first thing I should say, is I have no official freelance writing experience. I think I am a fairly excellent writer (humility my strong suit is not), but without the experience on my resume, it’s not really surprising I got rejected. I’m not looking for DS to be a full-time gig, as I’ve already written a book soon to be published, and I’m starting my own publishing company. I would LOVE to squeeze in there if I could though, as they seem to be one of the best cash cows for upfront freelancers thus far. Revenue sharing isn’t really a concern for me.

I applied to Break Studios today, but have heard that they have a long turnaround for editing and acceptance. Also, I’ve heard their content pool dries up frequently. If possible, may I send you my resume and writing samples, to get some advice on how to increase my chances for the next attempt say…in a month or two? I was accepted at TextBroker today with a 4-star rating, and wrote an article, but I won’t be sticking around there. I hate their selection, and the instructions from the clients are usually very vague and frustrating.

Any help you can give me would be immensely appreciated! I’m just nonplussed, because a friend of mine applied right out of high school, with no writing experience, and was accepted.

Thank you so much.

I am a professional writer, but I use a pen name for DS. I personally feel it would detract from my writing portfolio, and I want my name to come up in the search engines with the high paying clients I work with, not $15 articles.

Writers shouldn’t make DS into something it isn’t. It’s a place to make some money, work from home, and flex your writing skills from time to time. Some professional writers never get the hang of it (which is understandable as it can be maddening at times) and sink too much time in it. I can write an article in 40 minutes. If it takes you more than an hour, it’s probably not worth the time.

Use DS to your advantage. But it’s not going to make you famous or probably land you any profitable work with other clients.

A word about DMS; I was a writer and it is everything others have already said. If you want to write for them DO NOT appeal rejections and do not say anything negative about their CEs. Make sure your research is top notch and try not to be upset when your edits are contradictory and confusing. And be sure to read every notice posted by the editors. If you tend to take criticism personally I suggest avoiding DMS – the stress probably isn’t worth it. Good luck…

I live in Ireland and I am trying to find out why Demand Studios only accepts people from the UK, Canada and the US. Also is there any way that people from countries such as Ireland can apply?

Thanks

That’s a good question, and one I think every writer contemplates at one time or another.

The truth is, most guides that you find online aren’t very credible and often times even have false information. What makes a piece unique is when you capture your own story in your articles and write facts based on your own experiences working with the topic, while backing them up with credible information that you find elsewhere. Now, it doesn’t have to be obvious that you’re writing the article based off of your own hands-on knowledge (and most times when you write factual articles on Demand Studios, it won’t be), but you should at least have some sort of background with the topic you’re writing about, even if it’s just years of intense research.

But if you write about a topic that you know well (both online and off), your own personal experiences will be what you bring new to the table. Demand Studios just likes you to back up any factual knowledge with other reputable sources, so that’s why it’s recommended to do the research. And researching the topic well may help clear up any fuzzy details you’re a tad shaky on.

I hope I helped!

Christina