I started writing for Independent Publishing in 2012. The sign-up process is fairly easy. You fill in your personal details and write a sample text. You can choose from any of their 3 topics such as writing about your hometown city, how to open a bank account or child- friendly activities for the weekend. The text should be from 100 to 150 words which was really easy. It did not take me long to write a short sample. If I remember well, I wrote something about Brussels. I did not really think about it for a few weeks and then one day, I received an email stating that I was accepted to write for them along with my login details. During the first month after being accepted, I could not really find anything to write. The queue was empty. And then, there were several clients that placed large orders. Sometimes, there were at least 800 articles in the pool. I could claim 10 articles in one go. Deadlines for these varied anywhere from a day to three days. At one point, Independent was paying €3,50 for an easy, 250-word article which was not bad. To date, I have written nearly 400 articles for the site.
IP has different levels of writing such as Silver, Bronze and Gold. You get rated for every piece you submit on quality of content & performance, spelling & grammar, clarity & style, and availability & timeliness. I have moved up since then to the highest tier which is Gold, but frankly I don't see any improvements in the amount of pay per article. If anything, IP lowered their rate on a bulk order to be competitive with other sites. I know this because I was also checking other sites. However, since they paid the most, I stuck with them because of the pay rate.
Does Independent Publishing pay?
IP pays twice a month, on the 15th and 30th or 31st of each month for as long as payday is a working day. Otherwise, you get your pay the following day. I have a European bank account so my money goes straight to my savings account. A credit note is generated so you can use this when it's time to submit your income tax declaration.
How are non-Europeans paid?
The good news is, if you are outside of the UK or the EU, Independent can still pay you through PayPal.
Verdict
At the moment, there is not much going on at IP. The pool is nearly empty although I get the occasional email stating there are articles ready to be written. I check from time to time, but the number of articles is not as large as it used to be in the past. I believe there are many authors working for the site as well since articles disappear really fast. For me, Independent Publishing can be a useful backup when things are slow in other sites. In addition, you can also apply to become a copy editor. I have not done this yet, but will probably try my luck in that area one of these days.
