AI Didn’t Kill My Writing Jobs. People Did. – YourTango

Today, I broke up with my last writing client. If I have anything to say about it, it will also be the last time I ever write freelance for a company on a regular basis. While I may partner with some companies, the actual contract-me-out work, “dance monkey dance,” is done.

I can’t do it anymore. Most people who know me know that I’m passionate about my craft.

I spent 20 years of my life learning everything about writing: the SEO aspect, different CRMs, how to make copy that converts, as well as how to write a good story. That’s a lot of dedication to pour into an industry.

I’ve been a writing manager for major, major platforms. Like, I’ve managed writers as a salaried staffer. I’ve worked to promote major brands like LELO and have even written copy for pharmaceuticals. You name it, I did it.

So, most people would assume that it’s a skill issue. Maybe I’m not skilled enough. Maybe I “don’t work well with others.” That would make sense if I didn’t get rave reviews at my day job from both my boss and my customers there. Perhaps it’s time to be honest about the way people treat writers.

I’m not walking away from my writing work because of AI; it’s because of other people

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How many times can a person go into an industry, try to work with others, and get treated like absolute gum at the bottom of your shoe before they say enough is enough? In my tenure as a writer, I’ve had:

• Almost every single client treats me like an idiot. No, I don’t have a degree. Yes, I have 60,000 organically grown fans on a high-competition site. Yes, I have shown that I can get results on Google fast, even as a one-man band. Yes, I have shown I can convert a VERY difficult niche into a bestseller without paying a single cent in ad money. Yet I’m dumb? Okay.
• Multiple people scammed me out of jobs and money. One site deleted my old off-work account without warning. They also laid me off after awarding me tenure. They’re not the only ones to do this to me either.
• Gotten physical abuse and emotional abuse. People who have worked with me have seen me deal with working conditions that would break most other people. I have genuine PTSD from some of the workplace abuse I endured, and yes, I’ve even been backhanded at work by a boss.
• I was patently ignored by people whom I was asked to manage, only to get no backup from higher-ups. Every single suggestion I made was shot down. Later on, a different person suggested it, and it was greenlit. Or I got pushed out after being THE ONLY PERSON keeping magazines afloat.
• Dealt with uneven rules. I’d ask simple questions, no answer. I’d get dismissed for going non-communicative after writing entire essays about how I felt, only to be told that rules only applied to me and the other way around. Okay. Fine. Cool.
• When presented with contracts that were fair, people refused to sign them. I want to be able to use my work for my portfolio. I want a heads-up when I’m removed from a contract and the right to have a meeting if I see things going south. I want at least the equivalent of minimum wage. Those were the basic stipulations. I had my contracts repeatedly altered to lose at least one of those simple requests. That’s not okay.

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Of course, I’ve also had the smug know-it-alls at HR smirk at me and go, “So why should I hire you instead of just letting AI do the work? Come on. You don’t even have a degree. You sure you can do this?”

I used to give tons of reasons, such as the importance of keeping art human and understanding the struggle that AI can’t quite pin down. Yet, I don’t think the vast majority of companies care.

I think a lot of these people are looking for a whipping boy. I actually noticed that I kept getting fired when I stopped crying at work from the sheer stress and abuse people put me through. It happened more than once. It happened twice, hence why I think I was hired by sadistic people.

The only company I can honestly say treated me well 100 percent of the time as a freelance writer was YourTango. And frankly, they deserve all the praise in the world for their ethics.

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Writers were never given much respect, even before AI

It was always considered to be a low-paid job. I believed, foolishly, that you could work your way to the top of the industry and get others to listen to you with enough experience and accomplishments. You can’t.

It’s a boys’ club at best, and a Mean Girls rerun at worst. Even at my hardest, I never cracked $50,000 a year from a salaried position. I had to write at a crazy volume to get a living wage. That is not okay.

So you know what? Go for the AI, folks. At least with AI, you won’t be treating another person terribly. I’m not a slave, and I’m tired of being treated like one. I’m done working 90 hours a week for ungrateful writing clients.

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But it’s not even just that: partnerships with other writers often went south

I had a lot of people I took under my wing. I tried to start up a publication to help others learn how to write like me. I tried to encourage other budding writers to submit stuff to publications, pointing out that I could genuinely get their stuff into print with enough work.

Every single time. Without fail.

It turned into me chasing people down and doing others’ work, with me giving them the credit, until I no longer was willing to do it anymore. I have one partnership with my significant other, and that’s currently the only one I am likely to pursue with a fellow creator.

The reason why is simple: she actually acts like a partner. She is there and ready to shoot and comment when I need her to be. She’s been upfront that she’s more video than writing, which means that I understand what to expect.

No other partner of mine has ever done that.

After a certain point, I realized I either have to pay money to get people to do what I want or I have to basically put a gun to their heads. I’m fine with paying, but I am not fine with being treated like a nuisance.

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Here’s the crazy thing about my situation

PeopleImages | Shutterstock

I have a low-paid, part-time job. I’ve been looking for a full-time job so that I can turn my writing company into a part-time business for marketing. I have a team that works with me. I just don’t want to write anymore.

And you know what I realized at my dinky part-timer? I started to realize I have more fun in a customer service environment or a healthcare environment than I ever did as a writer.

I love it when I help customers with a specific problem, and they get happy. It brings me joy! I love offering customers advice on how to handle a bill, how to work with the staff, or even when to come to get their work done in a quick manner.

Generally speaking, I look forward to my job days because I never know what will happen next. I do know, though, that my customers will treat me better than the vast majority of the clients I dealt with in the writing sphere.

I have a team of people I work with for my marketing services. I manage them well. We can do contracts for a wide range of different needs, including UX, developer work, software engineering requirements, Google AdSense, and more.

But you know what is totally off the menu with my team? Writing, full stop.

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My blogs and content aren’t going anywhere, but they’re the only place you’ll likely read my stuff

And for the most part, they will be solo projects or one-off pitches for other blogs. Why? Because when I write alone, I don’t have to worry about people throwing wrenches in the simplest of plans. So yeah.

AI didn’t put a gun to people’s heads and say “treat trained artists terribly.” People did. It’s no different than the way that the comics industry short-paid famous artists until people literally died from a lack of healthcare.

Comic book artists aren’t treated well. They aren’t given a living wage. And neither are writers. The only way to get a decent living is to either team up with others who are willing to invest in you (like I used to) or go on your own way, learn marketing, and hope for the best.

AI didn’t kill these industries, nor did it kick off the exodus. People did. And maybe it’s time we start to be real honest about it.

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Ossiana Tepfenhart is a writer whose work has been featured in Yahoo, BRIDES, Your Daily Dish, Newtheory Magazine, and others.