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Topic: Asking writers to work for free.......
| Author | Message |
| mfs000 | Posted – 4/5/2008 11:37:32 AM | show profile My budget has been slashed, and now I have to ask writers to work for free? I would never write for free myself so how do I ask others to do it? Can a magazine survive on on free writing, and where the heck do I find decent writers who will work for nothing? I'm guessing only newbies will respond and most will probably need heavy editing or we won't be able to use at all. Anyone else ever face this or do I just work at a really crappy place? |
| WordyBird | Posted – 4/5/2008 11:51:34 AM | show profile Unless you are a working for a non-profit where the publications are written by volunteer writers who are specialists in the field, and therefore wouldn't expect to get paid, anyway, you work at a really crappy place. It's far better to tell your writers that the well has dried up for the time being and to look elsewhere for paying gigs *until you have money again* than to insult their intelligence and professionalism and ask them to write for free. Going through this right now, and some writers can wait four months to get paid if they know up front that's how long it will take. But free? Permanently free? As in "never get paid for this piece ever" free? Forget it. Now, call me suspicious, but the first thing I would think, if I were one of your writers, is "What's to stop them from never paying me again when they DO have money?" No, no, no, it's all wrong. You'll destroy your writers' trust on top of everything else. |
| joyeuxnoelle | Posted – 4/5/2008 12:39:27 PM | show profile iawtc! |
| RockinRonD | Posted – 4/5/2008 1:05:23 PM | show profile | email poster If you want to salvage your career and self respect, resign at once and then torch the company's offices, making sure that those who are in charge are still in the building when you set it afire. I think this is sound advice; you should follow it to the letter. |
| write2rachel | Posted – 4/5/2008 2:04:23 PM | show profile I agree with what everyone else said. I once worked at a place where they wanted me to pay some people, and get some "user-generated" content. In other words, I had a very small budget, so I needed a few freebies. They were a total mess -- when they actually came in on time (or at all). You might be able to get people looking for clips or a free plug, but it's going to be a lot of work for you. Expect to do a ton of editing an rewrites -- you get what you pay for. Good luck! ------ www.rachelcericola.com |
| JeanMarie | Posted – 4/5/2008 2:27:40 PM | show profile If they can't pay their writers, guess who they're not going to be able to pay next. I'd start looking. |
| jkdscribe | Posted – 4/5/2008 4:56:44 PM | show profile You're right about getting newbies, and I think a lot of that depends on where you are. Is there a college nearby with a journalism department. If there is a school they'll certainly be an English department. Put the word out there or even possibly set something else up to speak, with the angle of it being an opportunity for students...since it is. There are a lot of posts on these forums from young writers knowing they need experience and want to get it. I'd look for them. You could also look into setting up an intership program, which is how most magazines get some free labor. Hope this helps a little. It sounds like we are in similar boats here. Mind if I shoot you an email? |
| HisGirlFriday | Posted – 4/5/2008 9:00:07 PM | show profile I agree about getting out with your bankbook and dignity intact but, if that's not an option - What about going to a local college and trying to work with the journalism department to see if you can set up a system where students can get credit for writing for you? That way they get experience, clips and they are getting something in return. My college had a program somewhat like this, called Capitol News Service. For a semester's worth of credits, we covered news from the state capitol, writing for small weekly publications. Students had to apply to take the class (to ensure a measure of quality) and stories were edited first by the professor before it went to the publications. |
| Decorama | Posted – 4/6/2008 8:07:27 AM | show profile Surely you know if you work at a crappy place! Just out of curiosity, how much were you paying contributors previous to this change in policy? I see plenty of ads on Craigslist and elsewhere stating that some magazine is a "start up" and they can't pay, but it's "great exposure". At least you have SOMETHING over these people, n'est-ce pas? What's your circulation? Are you regional, national, etc.? |
| mfs000 | Posted – 4/6/2008 10:15:57 AM | show profile I agree with most everything said here......and I guess I am wondering how many others have had to do this as well. Out typical pay before this was only $50-$200. Our circ is about 300,000 and we're in a fairly metropolitan area. I've let my old writers know and that I understand their situation, which is why I am looking for new writers. I'd never expect them to stay on and work for nothing. Thanks for al the advice about going to local schools, it's a good idea. To the poster who asked if they can shoot me an email- absolutely- I just have to figure out how to enable the email function here. And to the last poster, yes you're right. I do already know that I work at a really crappy place!! |
| PatriciaJ11 | Posted – 4/7/2008 9:08:12 AM | show profile Asking anyone to repeatedly do things for free that is what they consider their profession, or do to them consistently underpaid, will only get you a resentful staff who will start looking elsewhere. You will end up holding the candle that went out - yes, you work for a really crappy place. |
| sofisays | Posted – 4/7/2008 2:02:44 PM | show profile | email poster Newbie and free- do they go together? As a newbie myself, I sruggle to keep my self uplifted, while my work gets ingnored. Having said that, maybe, I do not know, maybe I could use the exposure and the chance to have a published clip on my list to editors. So... can I e-mail you with some articles? What sort of publicaton is it? Woman's mag, news, entertainment? Looking forward to hearing from you. |
| jkdscribe | Posted – 4/7/2008 2:30:43 PM | show profile If you have no published clips, expect to do some work for free. In fact, you're doing the right thing by asking for it. |
| WordyBird | Posted – 4/7/2008 3:37:56 PM | show profile JeanMarie has an EXCELLENT point. Trust me. Really. TRUST ME! First thing to go is writers. Then staff. :::rolls eyes and whistles::: |
| PatriciaJ11 | Posted – 4/7/2008 7:34:24 PM | show profile That was rather my point as well, the staff comes next. Or cuts come next. Your regular writers who depend on their income for rent and food etc probably will have to look elsewhere - why do they work anyway? - so free and new may be the only way to go. Perhaps you can start a new program to help newbies...At least giving something back like credits or something might be fair to us who have never published or are hoping to do so. Still, if it all does not work out, you will be held resonsible for a crappy situation...and that gives grounds for you to go..... |
| flight risk | Posted – 4/7/2008 8:06:49 PM | show profile Paying writers is part of the cost of doing business. If the magazine stopped paying rent or the phone bill what would happen? |
| sofisays | Posted – 4/8/2008 12:00:48 AM | show profile | email poster How long does the newbie status last? Seeing as how this topic is finding replys: What is the typical waiting period for getting something accepted and published. I have only been writing for two months, and have only sent out a handfull of queries. I am curious as to what I am really up against, time wise, along with everything else. Thanks! Sofi |
| arewrites | Posted – 4/8/2008 1:33:27 AM | show profile Sofi, There is no "typical waiting period" for getting something accepted. Come up with a good story, write a good query, target it well, happen to be lucky enough to send it to an editor who doesn't have something similar in the works, prove that you're capable of handling the assignment, and you have a sale. That can take a week or a year. Just keep at it. One bit of advice, though: many editors will trash a query with spelling errors. They won't respond to it, they won't consider it, they won't waste their time even finishing it. I noticed there were errors in your post, so want to caution you to double-check your queries before they go out. |
| arewrites | Posted – 4/8/2008 1:36:18 AM | show profile Isn't it funny how this works? I've yet to hear of a CEO suggesting that *he work for free in order to continue paying writers. Yes, you work at a crappy place. Yes, a magazine can survive without paying its writers, but the people who work there and permit this to continue won't be making it to heaven. |
| dribbledrive1 | Posted – 4/8/2008 2:20:35 AM | show profile That's silly. Plenty of magazines pay little or no money and some people contribute for their own reasons -- they want clips, they have something to publicize, they want the ego satisfaction. If letting people write for free is a big enough sin to keep you out of heaven, I know very few people who won't be in hell with me. --Yes, a magazine can survive without paying its writers, but the people who work there and permit this to continue won't be making it to heaven.-- |
| Insouciant | Posted – 4/8/2008 4:17:53 AM | show profile | email poster I'm an editor and writer who could use some clips so I'd be willing to work for free for a while. Can you let me know how to submit to your publication? Thanks. |
| Decorama | Posted – 4/8/2008 8:17:33 AM | show profile | email poster I'd be curious I'm with Insouciant. I'd like to know more about this magazine. I am NOT a newbie. I have certainly been published, although my area of expertise may not segue with the topic/ mission of this magazine. |
| recovering_jersey_girl | Posted – 4/8/2008 9:34:08 AM | show profile I'm hesitant to reply, because I don't want to give the impression that I support the writing-for-free edict the OP has been forced to go along with. I don't. It's bad business sense, and the the higher-ups *will* get what they pay for (although if they're anything like my old workplace, as long as the advertisers don't care, they won't either). At any rate, I do have a bit of advice...Depending on the focus on your pub, you might be able to get professionals in related fields to write one or more columns on a designated topic. Now, there are drawbacks to this: 1. these people are usually not pro writers and it shows - you'll need to edit them heavily and 2. they'll usually include a healthy dose of self-promotion. Ideal? No. But will it help you get copy to fill your pages while you (perhaps) look for something better? Probably. Good luck. |
| snappiness | Posted – 4/8/2008 9:38:23 AM | show profile I'm feeling bad for the editor. I'm hearing this from my editors too -- they're embarrassed that their budgets are cut and they can't offer more. They realize it's not professional and are really apologetic when I talk to them. Now I realize how much of a bind they're in. They have to deal with budget cuts on one end and crappy copy on the other, and somehow put out a decent magazine. Yikes. Glad that's not my job. Doesn't solve your problem, of course. But I appreciate the insight into the other side of the fence. |
| caitlinkelly | Posted – 4/8/2008 10:14:53 AM | show profile If a business cannot sustain paying for the basics -- light, rent, heat, printing, art and writing -- it is not a viable business. Finding a way to ensure writers get paid *something* -- even $25 a story, something --- for their work would impress me more than begging eager newbies for copy. I cannot ask my carpenter or plumber or electrician or orthopedic surgeon to give me their skills free -- because *I* can't figure out how to run my business. They'd laugh, as they should. It's obscene to have some people producing a publication, i.e. the ones sitting in an office, taking home regular pay while stiffing invisible, inaudible dispensable writers. I've been an editor at three magazines so I've seen tight budgets and cheap employers. |
