When writers get paid half a million bucks a word, Nevada should expect more than this

Freelance writers used to get paid by the word. A penny a word was the going rate.

The state of Nevada has raised the ante and spent $3 million for six words. And all we got is this lousy slogan: “A World Within. A State Apart.”

According to Vegas Inc., by the time they buy air time to broadcast commercials and create a mobile app with this amazing slogan — created by geniuses in Seattle and New York, who wouldn’t know a jackalope from a Fallon cantaloupe — the price tag will hit $9 million.

They also got Las Vegas rockers The Killers to perform a version of that 78 rpm classic “Don’t Fence Me In.” I bet they don’t have to pay royalties on that gray bearded tune.

Just to see if it translates well, because frankly I have no idea what it means in English. I used Babelfish to see what would happen when it was translated into Greek and back into English, and got this: “A world inside. A member other.”

Translated to Hindi and back gives us: “A separate State within the world.” That actually describes Nevada better than the original.

You can find more of this handiwork at the state’s tourism website: travelnevada.com. Warning: It loads a bit slow.

And if you want to find out about Nevada’s No. 1 tourism destination you’ll need to be very, very patient. On the “Things to do” page, you’ll read about Grimes Point, a Carson City walking trail, Great Basin National Park, Mount Rose Wilderness (twice), the Goldfield and Belmont and Eureka County Courthouses, the Lovelock Depot, the Fourth Ward School, Eureka and Amaragosa Opera Houses, Jarbidge, the Caliente Railroad Depot, the Galena Creek Bridge, the Grand Canyon Skywalk (which I thought was in Arizona for some reason) and several other must-see destinations before you find anything about Las Vegas. Then, when you open that link, there are no photos, just a map pinpointing Main Street and Charleston.

Now that’s salesmanship. Nine million bucks worth.

Frankly, I think there should be some truth in labeling required. Nevada’s slogan should be: “Bring money, loss it, go home.” And I’ll take half the going rate.