Over at On-Demand, journalist and arts critic Kaite Welsh writes about how she uses Fiverr to supplement her income by editing amateur erotica, and shares her most common editorial notes, starting with "That's not where the clitoris is."
From On-Demand:
I have a literary precedent — Anais Nin wrote erotica for $2 a page, a fact I cling to when I haven’t had a pitch accepted all week and need to take extra Fiverr gigs. While the stuff I’m editing isn’t exactly her level (think Molly Bloom’s monologue on a bad day), I am at least performing a vital service. There’s nothing more depressing than imagining someone jerking off to poorly punctuated pornography.
I think the reason I’m ashamed of this little sideline isn’t the subject matter — it’s the pay. Ironically, it pays more reliably than a lot of my freelance work. When major publications are three months late paying a $500 invoice, taking a job for $50 that you know is going to pay within three weeks becomes an attractive option. It helps that I’m fast — as a rule, my hourly rate skews above minimum wage. And it’s rarely a challenging job. Nothing I’ve edited is going to make a Best Erotica of 2015 anthology, let alone make it to Kindle. If I was being brutally honest I’d advise most of my clients to give up and just have a wank, but if I don’t take their money, someone else will. Free market economics, baby.
"I’ll Edit Your Erotica — On Demand" (Medium)
