When People Expect You to Give Your Writing Away to Them for Free
This happened to me, just this week. I received an email from a woman who wanted to use some of my material she found on one of my websites for her newsletter. She offered me a byline and a link back to my site. Bylines and links back to my site are nice but they don't pay the bills. I don't think that if I tell my mortgage company that I will give them a byline and a link to their site that they would let me out of this month's house note.
So I emailed her back, gave her a quote for the reprint and usage, and she emails me back, offended and angry that I would have the audacity to actually want to be paid for my own work. After all, how dare I actually want money for something that I wrote and she wants to use. She called me unprofessional and a child. After me refusing to give her my work for free, she even told me that I am not a nice person. Imagine that, not nice because I refused to give my work away to her for free. But had I told her that she may use my material free of charge and not expected pay for it, I would have been a nice person in her book.
She told me that my attitude is unbecoming and unprofessional as a writer. According to her, because I expect to be paid for what I write, my attitude is unbecoming.
After all of this transpired, I was left wondering how many writers are approached in this manner, and how many are trashed for actually expecting to be paid to write. Why is it that someone gets offended and angry when they want your work for nothing, and when you refuse to hand it over to them, they blame you for actually having the nerve to ask for payment for your work? I think they need a mirror!
There is nothing wrong if one writes for exposure with a resource box IF that is what the writer wants to do and they are not interested in being paid for what they do. There's nothing wrong with a person going to work for 40 hours a week and turning down a paycheck at the end of the week IF they don't want to be paid for their work. (I suspect that the woman who emailed me wouldn't work for free although she expected me to do so.)
It's a pretty well known fact that print publications, in general, pay more than online publications pay. Print publications usually have much more advertising revenue thereby allowing a higher pay for the writer. Online publications generally have far less advertising which is why they pay much less than their print counterparts. Yet, most online publications still pay something. And for those that offer a resource box for the writer, it's understood ahead of time so that no one is upset or had hard feelings about not getting a check.
So why would someone ask for your work for their newsletter, and when you tell them you don't give away your work that you charge for it, they get mad? Who is the unprofessional one when they tell you they have been a writer and editor for years, yet they become angry and offended at the writer wanting to be paid?
When did exposure and a link to your site pay the bills or put food on the table? If I go to the store and get to the checkout line and my tab is $150, will the cashier take a byline and link back to her site as payment for the groceries? Should I be offended when she won't accept that? When it's time for her to draw her paycheck, should she be offended and angry when the boss hands her a paper with his name and a link to his site instead of a paycheck?
No one in their right mind would do that. Yet for some reason, some people expect a writer to work for free, to write for free, to hand over articles and reprints for free, etc.
I write because that's what I love to do. I write because it pays the bills and feeds my kids. I write because it's my job. I don't write to get called a child, unprofessional, or not nice because I expect to be paid for what I do.
Published by Cindy Thomas
I am a freelance writer and graphic designer. I've been writing for many years and have recently discovered the joys of graphic designing. Follow BlondieWrites on Twitter @Blondie_Writes View profile
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55 Comments
Post a CommentFirst and foremost, you didn't deserve the treatment you got. You have every right to respond the way you did. I am sorry you suffered an abusive reaction from this person. That was wrong.
Secondly, this is a common problem, I think. When I work with writers to grow their businesses, I make the following recommends to capitalize on these free opportunities and still get paid:
1. Create an info product that elaborates on the same topic that the article summarizes, and have the newsletter or resource box link go directly to a product page.
2. If you can build a list from the article, you will very likely make money. It's imperative that you have a squeeze page to collect the visitors that come to you from the pro bono article link. You then can sell to these prospects on the back end, which could make your pro bono article 100 times (or more) profitable than a simple one time fee for writing.
3. Barter instead of give. If the person you are supporting offers a service or
I just stumbled this article. Very nice and well done. I think the biggest problem is that most people assume that if you've learned how to spell and construct a sentence you can write, therefore anyone can do it and no one should be paid for doing it.
Great article! I don't understand why she would be upset about it. For some writers, that's what they want to do - for others it isn't. I'm assuming that's why she asked in the first place. LOL Not everyone wants to give away their hard work for free and people should respect that.
Maybe it would be good to have a short list of article directories where people can get material for free to hand to these types of people. Many may not know of such sources. I have both given away my writing and been paid for it. Each situation is different, but her response was clearly out of line!
Writing for free is only worth it if the article is on a topic you love.
"Writing is an occupation in which you have to keep proving your talent to those who have none." --Jules Renard I'm seeing more and more of this behavior toward writers. It makes me wonder why so many out there believe that writers are not worthy of being paid well. Perhaps the problem begins with writers themselves. If you're willing to take $3 for a 600 word article it's only half a step away from offering your services for free. Value your work... refuse low-ball offers and giving away your talents.
You're right. She was out of line to expect you to give her your work for free.
I agree with you. Unfair as it is, some people think it's "ok" to Barter your skill and talent and sorry, that is NOT the way it works. You should post this woman's website and feedback e-mail just so we can give her a piece of our minds, from Writer's who work an dget paid for a living and don't Barter their work for no one!
I beg to differ. Yes we as writers that hope that our work will help and touch others sure! But.....That isn't going to pay the bills! When ultimatly you have a husband/wife and kids and your writing is a means of helping with the house hold bills touching peoples hearts and educating them is nice but not going to cut it. I FULLY agree with this articl and some are missing the point in that it's YOUR choice to sell or not sell your own work. If she didn't want ot give it away for free then GOOD! I wouldn't have! I mean although writing isn't physical labour it is mental and a lot of work and sometimes even research goes into a peice. You can't expect musicians to give away their music for free. When a record company wants to sign a musician up they don't say, "well your song will touch many hearts, so no payment is that ok?" NO WAY! It's not ok not when that's where the food is coming from. I know people that play in a band and when they finsish a gig they don't say "sokay don't pay me
Good article. Yes, there are times we may write for free, but it cannot be a way of life if we expect to pay the bills with our writing. Another side of this are those who ask what you make as a writer, but who would be very offended if asked what they made a year. BTW, I usually tell those who ask I make enough to support my computer.