For a long time now I've been making between $10 and $20 per post, usually around $15. That wasn't great but it was alright, and I could hardly complain given that it's better than many on here manage. A buddy who does freelance writing for a comedy website said he gets around $12 per article of similar length, so it's definitely still worth my time to write for Steemit at $15 per post.
However, the last five posts have made around $5 each on average. What gives? Did something happen in the market I'm not seeing when I check the STEEM price graph? Did I lose a whale recently? Has my content gone in a direction my followers don't like?
I almost can't say that there's a price per post so low it wouldn't be worth my time, but $5 is getting pretty close. Steemit came along at a point in my life when I badly needed supplementary income, and even since the big come down after that initial surge in value, it's still served the purpose for me.
It no longer serves that purpose at $5 per post, and I don't know what to do. I don't want to become some obnoxious person who begs for an upvote at the end of every post. I'm sort of putting all of that anxiety into this one article, an outpouring which has only occurred because I'm near the end of my rope.
In the past I have made cautious comments about the dwindling rewards of writing for this site, and each time it caused a brief, one-off surge. Like that specific article would make $30-$50 or something. But then it would go back to the usual amount immediately after that.
Even the two most recent short stories, "I See You Now" and "The Fading Embers of Earth" only made about five bucks each. Much less after curation, transfer fees and so on. That was startling since I consider short stories to be the best content I have to offer, they are the most labor intensive and I originally became known on here for posting my short stories and novellas.
I don't need the occasional windfall, I need a steady, moderate amount. Which is what I had prior to this recent inexplicable downturn. I really, really hate to say all this. I am not a greedy man. 90% of my writing is totally free to read on Inkitt, if I had my way I'd like to give away all my work for free. I need to live, though.
One of the reasons I've been so hot nuts for guaranteed basic income is that it would let me focus all of my energy on writing. That's what makes me happy. I don't know what I would do with a private jet, a yacht or a mansion. Probably just sit in the one room of that mansion set up for writing, and write books.
I just need to be able to support myself so I can write for you guys. If you're a whale reading this and have overlooked my articles during the past week, or read them but forgot to upvote, I beg of you, remember to upvote! I can't demand such a thing but that small act makes a huge difference in my life.
I am already living on peanuts, I can't shrug off a $10/day decrease in my income, as meager as that sounds. Some readers have pointed me to other ways to make money online, like taking 20 minute quizzes for $10 a pop, but if I'm going to do something that mind numbing I may as well go flip burgers.
What I want to do is write. I am good at it. People enjoy my writing. I feel fulfilled that they enjoy it. This is where I fit into society and what I am supposed to be doing. But I can only do that so long as I make enough money at it that I can pay for my basic needs.
This isn't a guilt trip, or at least I don't mean it to be. It's an expression of frustration and desperation. If the only problem is really that the whales following me haven't noticed my recent posts or did not remember to upvote them, this is easily solvable. I hope that's all it is.
If it's related to the price of STEEM or something else outside of any individual's control, I guess I don't know what to do about it. I've waited to see whether it was a fluke or a new trend before resorting to this, but it seems like it's the latter, so forgive me but I felt like I had to say something about it. If only to find out if it's happening to everybody, just me, or what.