Yes, it’s come to that. I’m having a rant. You know you love it.
I am utterly sick of people thinking that writing is a hobby and the thrill of being published is enough to get you hand over your hard work and dance a little jig of glee! NO! Writing is a marketable skill! If it wasn’t you wouldn’t need to outsource it, you’d just do it. Stop selling it as “experience”, or “exposure”. You wouldn’t ask a plumber to come and fix your boiler for free, telling them it’d be great experience fixing future boilers, would you? Why? Because you want an experienced professional that you know will get the job done.
Writing’s no different, you pay for what you get. If you get a good writer they pay for themselves, quality content improves visibility on your site and therefore your product. Your website is a reflection of you and your business, and is often the first impression new clients receive. Do you want to make a good first impression, or do you want to give someone “exposure” and save some money?
If we were living in the universe of Star Trek: The Next Generation, then money would be immaterial, and we would all do what we were passionate about whilst the world provided for our needs. We don’t. We live in a capitalist society, where the rich get richer by starving the poor, and making them do unpaid internships so as not to impact their profit margins. Unpaid internships are wrong, and so is expecting a skilled professional to work for free. You want to make money? Well, so do we. If we are working in another job, because writing doesn’t pay, then we aren’t available during business hours to discuss your project. Our time is valuable, expect to compensate us accordingly.
Which neatly brings me on to “free book?” NOOO! I have spent the better part of a year, writing, rewriting, editing, reediting, formatting and marketing my book. I’ve arranged a launch party, bought in paper copies and arranged reviewers. Why should I then give you a FREE BOOK? That book is a year’s worth of work. I deserve to be paid accordingly. I am an excellent writer, you know that, that’s why you asked for a free book, but why do you get it for free? What did you do to deserve a free book? Would you go into a cafe and say “free coffee?” No, so why is my book of no value? I appreciate that with the rise of self publishing it is easier for inexperienced writers to sell what is frankly, poorly written, poorly conceived and poorly edited work to the masses, and that sometimes it’s difficult to tell them apart, but that’s what the 20% sample is for. You get 20% for free, then, if you think it’s good, and you’re enjoying it, you pay for it. Here’s a tip, if you want to read on after 20%, it’s worth paying for. If it’s rubbish, you can move on to another book. Usually you know by the first chapter if it’s going to float your boat or not, be honest.
Arts funding has been cut substantially in recent years, and the constant barrage of free stuff on the internet only serves to devalue the efforts of artists. So, why not take a stand? If you like a book, a song or a painting, pay the artist, they gave you pleasure, they deserve it.
Good point. Sad that it needs to be made.