Odd milestone formatting

[jenourno]

Every now and again I'll apply for a content writing position that suits me down to a tee. I get chatting to the client and they require a constant drip-feed of articles every two hours, for an entire working day. This means they would set up a milestone for one article, and over the period of one day, they would set up five milestones for five articles. This would result in 10 hours of work (approximately). 

Given that many of us are from different timezones, this never suits me and I can't take the job. Does anyone have any ideas why people prefer this? Would it not be easier for the client to set up a daily milestone for five stories and approve them at the end of the day? I understand that, in the beginning, clients want to make sure your writing style suits, but surely it's not functional long-term. What is beneficial about this quick-fire setup? 

Has anyone else had a client like this? Is it odd or is it quite normal? 

[tlsanders]

I've never seen this on Upwork, but I have known people who worked for content mills that push out content constantly to their clients, and they often require writing to be submitted at several intervals throughout the day so that they can keep a fresh stream on client sites. They're usually using news-related content, so they can't stock up in advance because they don't have the subject matter ahead of time. That's the only context in which I've seen that kind of scheduling, and they typically pay garbage (maybe $7-15/article).

[jenourno]

That would make sense but in this instance it's always been content that's not time-sensitive and is pure fluff. You know, "top five ways to ..." etc. It's been quite frustrating because I can still commit to producing the same amount of stories per day, but they would just be during my working day, not in the middle of the night... 

[tlbp]

They may be distributing the work to others and don't want to pay for it until they are closer to being paid. Or, they've had freelancers who don't produce throughout the day and the new milestone after each article is an incentive to keep the person moving. 

If someone sets up a milestone for 5 articles that they need by closing of business today and the freelancer turns in all 5 late, then there would be a huge battle over whether money was fairly owed or not. If each milestone is paid individually, then the issue of lateness goes away. 

[lysis10]

That sounds awful. I need a half day of drinking and sleep. I guess if you want to work for mills and work like that and it's all you got. I guess IRL you need unskilled labor to mow your lawn and clean your house and things. I suppose working for mills is like that. I def didn't go to college for that stuff.

[jenourno]

Yeah I don't work well like that either, and sometimes a story needs a bit more time to make it perfect, not just pumping them out for the sake of getting them out on time. 

It's frustrating because it was work I was capable of. I've just never worked in a factory before. 

[lysis10]

Amen sister. Let the writer factory workers do it. I like sleep, booze, and a life....well, even though I live on my 'puter and phone.

[jenourno]

If you don't lead an unhealthy lifestyle both physically and socially, can you really call yourself a freelancer? I wouldn't trust one who wasn't slightly unhinged 

[allergywriter]

Jenna:

You solved your own problem.

You say the job doesn't suit you so you move on. Well then move on.

Don't dwell on the jobs that don't suit you, just focus on doing the ones that do suit you.

Stay around Upwork long enough and you will see so much crazy stuff it will just become background or white noise.

[jenourno]

Calm down  I was merely asking if anyone else had struck the same thing. I'm not losing sleep over it,