I’ve been writing for Odyssey for over six months now, and as the site has continued to gain exposure, I’ve noticed a lot of hate towards the site and its writers.

However, I understand why, and I hope that in writing this article, I can shed some light on your concerns.

We don’t get paid.

Odyssey’s writers and editors (at least at the basic levels) do not get paid to do what they do. Other than the weekly incentive for the article that gets the most shares, we’re all writing and editing for the site for free. Therefore, I guess that you could say that we do this for “fun,” so don’t read too much into that one satirical piece that we wrote at 3:00 a.m.

We’re on a strict deadline.

I’m not complaining about the fact that we need to meet a deadline every week. What I want to draw attention to is the fact that, like you, we are all full-time students, and therefore do not always have the time to write quality articles. The turn-around each week is incredibly quick. Once we write and submit an article, it’s time to do it all over again. If we fail to meet the deadline, we get a strike. If you get three strikes, you’re off of the team. Imagine having writer’s block.

We hate some of our articles as much as you do.

Yes, you read that correctly, and as a Creative Writing and Literature major, I’m incredibly upset about this. What I write for Odyssey has the potential to impact my future career. I joined the site to put myself and my writing out into the world. This is potentially what I hope to be doing for the rest of my life, so why would I want to put my name on bad content? However, sometimes there's no choice but to throw last-minute articles together because of the weekly deadline and strike system.

Brainstorming original content gets difficult after a while.

Writer’s block is real and it hits us hard sometimes. You wonder why we write pieces like “35 Ways To Spend Spring Break At Home” and “Finals Week As Told By [Insert Celebrity/TV Show here].” Well, that’s why. It’s not easy to constantly wrack our brains for fun ideas that we think will relate to our intended audience. However, shout out to our editors who offer us help if we need it! (Hi, Kathleen.)

We annoyingly share our articles on Facebook because we’re told to.

While I agree that it makes no sense to write an article and not share it at least once, I know writers who have written pieces solely to avoid getting a dreaded strike. So, while I apologize for spamming your timelines weekly, don’t be afraid to show all of the writers and their articles some love!

Sometimes our articles don’t make sense because of editing that is out of our control.

You wouldn’t believe the amount of time that I spend re-reading my articles and proofing them to make sure all of the grammar is correct and words are spelled correctly. I typically read each article a minimum of seven times before I submit it for editing. So, imagine my disappointment when things are suddenly altered and no longer read the way that I intend them to read. Not only does the article no longer make sense, but it makes me think that I’m wasting my time crafting a piece that won’t be published the way that I want it to be published. It’s not always small words and punctuation that get changed, either. Sometimes full sentences are replaced, so what you’re reading isn’t even coming from me.

Each school has its own team.

Our writing and editing teams at Michigan are extremely different than the teams at other schools across the nation. We don’t all play by the same rules. Our skill sets differ drastically and none of us are in contact with one another. Therefore, we are not responsible for that one (less than amazing) article that a student at MSU once wrote, okay?

While I enjoy writing (and now editing) for Odyssey, I also understand your complaints and concerns. However, bear with us as we begin to work out the kinks and produce content that you will genuinely want to read.