Would you take this job?

Maybe I can make this a regular feature. I present you with a freelance job opportunity that I've found on the Internet. You can tell me if you'd accept this job.

Here's one I found today. An "editor" wants 20 stories -- ranging from 150- to 250-word stories to press releases -- and is willing to pay from $30 to $250. You can see the job here at GetAFreelancer.com.

When I checked, the average bid was $30.

Amazing. Someone would accept $30 for 20 stories. That's not even $2 a story. No wonder the online writing world is filled with such insulting offers.

Here's the question: How desperate would you have to be for work to take this offer. Even if you were paid $250, that's still only $12.50 a story. That's pretty insulting.

By the way, even as I've been trying to build up my online writing portfolio, I've also been concentrating on reconnecting with old print-magazine clients in the hopes of notching more lucrative assignments with them.

So far, it's been frustrating. Most of my old clients just don't have as much of a freelance budget these days. But I did have some success today. A real estate trade magazine assigned me a feature story. I'll be getting paid $750 for 1,500 words.

This makes the days of frustration worth it. Think of how much online content writing I'd have to do to get $750.

The lesson here? Keep working on the online stuff. It's important, even if it's not always particularly lucrative. But don't forget "old" media, too. That's still where most of the money for freelance writers is at.