Selling garbage! Beware: Ranting!

[Sateema Lunasi]

For a while last year, I had a little hobby company selling my stories to adult webmasters. I also sold custom stories "tailored to your fantasy" as gift ideas for Valentine's Day and such. I made some pretty good money doing it and I had reasonable prices, hell I even had cheap prices.

I am thinking of doing this again in a more promoted way. So, tonight I was looking through the net at some of the competition. There are quite a few sites doing this, mostly individuals like me, but a few companies with staff and such. I noticed that the most popular company, and I will leave the name out of it, is selling custom stories and art to go with it. Normally I would think this fabulous. I love people making money from their art, but I looked through their sample stories and was horribly dissapointed. Their stories are CRAP. I mean real CRAP. Absolute garbage. And get this, they are charging $125 to write a 1500 word story! Are they fucking crazy? It is garbage! $125 for garbage wrapped up in a cardboard binder? Their art isn't much better. $250 for a drawing that looks like a high schooler made it. A few of their artists are good, but most are mediocre at best.

It just pissed me off. I am venting.

I am curious if writers here sell their work or offer custom stories for people? I have yet to read a story on this site that is terrible. Most are good at the very least.

I am just curious to know if I am nuts to think this particular company is full of shit? I mean I have been doing this a while and I cannot imagine charging anyone $125 for any 1500 word story, much less one that sucks.

I might be acting like a snob, I don't know. I am not saying my writing is all that, but it isn't that bad. I was charging about $20 for a short custom story and much less for webmasters who wanted stories in large batches. What is the going rate now?

It says on their website: "Tell us how we can make our site better" and I am thinking, okay, get some fucking talent!

Damn.

Got Lit?

My raving is over.
S

 

[Earthmuffin]

Ummm I didn't know such a service existed, to be honest. If I write anything about anything it's personal, so I dunno how real authors do it.

I doubt seriously unless I lacked imagination completely that I'd pay anyone that sum of money to write something so personal for someone. It would just be too wierd for me.

 

[Starfish]

In all, I think that is the case with most things once you start trying to profit from it...without concern for quality....mass production tends to do that!

Among many other things, I am a textile artist, and I, about 8 years ago developed an innovative art form, not yet done in any comparable scale, within a subculture of people, which I have shared with others, but, again, no one had done anything like what I do......YET!

Once they do, I hope and pray that they don't turn my Artistic innovation into a disgrace by charging outrageouse prices for less than desirable effort...

Since this isn't about my art...I'll leave out what it is, and if anyone really wants to know, just email me...or be patient and I'll put pics up on my webpage someday soon.

I guess I should get back on subject...

I have seen people charge $80-90 for a dress that I would charge $50 for and not even have the duribility factor of their product tested. I have seen other's (the good artists) do extreamly good quality work and charge less than average prices.

THAT'S THE BEAUTY OF CAPATALISM!

(I am a barter loving, kind of girl, though that is kind of hard to do when no one else cares)

[Edited by G.R. on 04-11-2001 at 03:22 AM]