Bye bye Demand (as of January 1st)

[WalkAway]

It's been a long time coming, and I'm finally ready to sever the cord that has tied me to DMS for so long. After the recent ridiculous changes and a string of dumb as fuck rewrites, I decided to start looking for other clients. I didn't want anything glamorous, just something to pay my bills until the right full-time IT gig comes along.

So I went back to a couple of freelance sites and also signed up for oDesk. I know, oDesk is full of shitty jobs. Thankfully, I managed to find a few decent ones (one of them being a full-time writing gig) and threw some applications in. Within about an hour, I was hired for the full-time gig based on my personal blog and writing samples. The pay is decent, it's a pretty cool up and coming mobile phone blog (Android/Blackberry/iPhone) and the guy that hired me is very awesome. I start the day after Christmas and can either full-time it or work less and build up my hours as I go. I'm pretty excited because it's a brand new site that is being launched by an established company, and I (along with one other guy) will be responsible for building it from the ground up.

I say all this to encourage any other DSS'ers who are fed up with DMS and want out. For every 1,000 cheap bastards, there's at least a few who are willing to pay you decently. If you're a good writer, there's plenty of work out there--you just have to keep looking to find it. I've been a slave to DMS for over 3 years now, and it feels damn good to know that I'm in my last week or two of putting up with this bullshit company. I do plan on sticking around here because this place is just too awesome to leave.

May we all be happily DMS-free in 2012.

[Ducky]

Yay! So happy to hear you found other work, WalkAway. Sounds like it's right up your alley too.

I think most of us are out or mostly out at this point, and it's such an awesome feeling. I'm planning on taking a few days at the end of the month to throw some shit against the wall and see what sticks as a last hurrah, but I'm not even going to bother looking at Find Assignments anymore after the first of the year unless I hear news here that something wonderful has happened.

[WalkAway]

Yep, I love writing about Android/iPhone so it should be a lot of fun for me.

And yeah, I agree, I think most DSS'ers have already abandoned DMS. I think we're all a pretty smart bunch and we saw the writing on the wall back during the summer (maybe even before then?). My biggest hurdle in leaving was finding steady alternative work. I don't have a family to support at this point, but I still have a fair amount of expenses each month. The problem with DMS is that once you start writing for them, you become accustomed to the relative mindlessness of the work. You become accustomed to the steadiness of it. That makes it tough to really cut the cord.

I have the same plan as you. Not going to completely cut ties with DMS, but not going to count on it anymore, either. It is an awesome feeling to know that I don't have to rely on DMS anymore.

[liarmcliarface]

Congrats to finally being able to live up to your name! I'll take your example and try to emulate it.

[WalkAway]

[liarmcliarface]

[WalkAway]

No problem.

I have to admit, I'm a little nervous about leaving DMS behind. It's like poison or a bad relationship. You hate it, but you find it difficult to get out of your veins, difficult to leave behind. I've grown accustomed to writing the DMS way, which makes writing in a less robotic voice very difficult. It's a tough habit to break. Not to mention, I've gotten used to the twice per week paychecks. It'll be different only getting paid twice per month.

Still, it's better than the alternative: continuing to rely on a lost cause. I don't see DMS adding tons of new titles in 2012. I see the writers that are left continuing to struggle for whatever crumbs they can get.

[scrappy_bitch]

Nice to hear you're quitting after the 31st and have something else lined up, WalkAway. Going to do a few more over the next couple of days to fund a New Year bash, then give DMS the middle finger.

If you ever need a third writer, let me know. I worked in the cellular industry for seven years, and am a BlackBerry and Android freak.

[CE_ClueBat]

Good for you. I know like 5 years from now when DMS finally dies and I look back, I'm gonna wonder why I didn't get rid of this shit ehow writing gig sooner. I think I'm gonna keep writing tech articles but only on Constant Content and private blogs, but that's it.

[WalkAway]