Craigslist and the art of frustration

So, I hate to complain about the writing world because every author knows it is an unpleasant place at best.  This is exemplified by the complete evil that I see on craigslist for writing gigs.

I was on craigslist looking for work, because apparently when you work you get money and that is important for eating and paying rent.  Anyway, something caught my eye for the first time, the link for writing gigs.

“Helloooooo…” I said to myself and eagerly clicked the little blue phrase.  What I found beyond the now purple words was complete insanity.  Is the world crazy? Most of the posts were for “co-authors” who were expected to do all of the work for half of the profits.  When it wasn’t something like that, it was someone who wanted a signed non-disclosure agreement and a time-line for writing on a subject that they would not reveal, and those were the paid gigs…

I totally understand that it is craigslist, and that I am as yet an unknown author, but give me a break.  The rest of the world doesn’t know what we go through.  There’s the constant rejection that we all take in stride as part of our carreer, there is the sense of inadiquacy that we have to squash almost every time we sit at the keyboard or pick up a pen, and that doesn’t even cover the fact that there are so many internet preditors and vanity presses that want to make us victims or make an easy buck off of our hard work.

I am well aware that the people who posted ads for a writing workhorse will likely never see this post, but I really needed to get this little frustration out of my psyche before I begin my writing for the evening.  So take this for what it is, a rant.