Pay the damned writer!

[Paul Whybrow]

There's been a kerfuffle recently over writers not getting paid for attending literary festivals. It caused Philip Pullman to resign as a patron of the Oxford Literary Festival.

This article by Nick Cohen ponders the problem of why we're treated like doormats. It's worth a read, as it encapsulates the something-for-nothing attitude that many book world executives have to their authors, not to mention readers who expect books for free.

http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2016/01/why-english-writers-accept-being-treated-like-dirt/

Do click on the link to the video of Harlan Ellison's foul-mouthed rant about being expected to work for free by a major film studio—he tells it like it is, and he made me smile.

 

[Steven McC]

Interesting link, thanks for posting.

Loved the rant by Harlan Ellison!

I think it's an increasingly common model for culture/sports websites to ask writers to contribute unpaid articles. I've done some of it myself, to build a "portfolio" in the hope of earning some paid work, but, of course, if there's thousands more happy to contribute unpaid articles then it's less likely companies will feel the need to pay writers to produce content. It's a conundrum; where do writers draw the line and say I won't do it for free? Of course, there's all sorts of companies happy to take advantage of this. Hopefully, after being named and shamed, the Oxford Literary Festival will rethink their policy.

 

[Jason Byrne]

Interesting link, thanks for posting.

Loved the rant by Harlan Ellison!

I think it's an increasingly common model for culture/sports websites to ask writers to contribute unpaid articles. I've done some of it myself, to build a "portfolio" in the hope of earning some paid work, but, of course, if there's thousands more happy to contribute unpaid articles then it's less likely companies will feel the need to pay writers to produce content. It's a conundrum; where do writers draw the line and say I won't do it for free? Of course, there's all sorts of companies happy to take advantage of this. Hopefully, after being named and shamed, the Oxford Literary Festival will rethink their policy.

So we can ask sports writers to contribute unpaid articles because they'll take any chance to do what they love, but the sports players need to demand multi-million-dollar bonuses because the multi-million-dollar bonuses they already get aren't big enough?

Let the first annual Hunger Games begin! Who's in charge now? Game-writers.

Sorry kids.

 

[KG Christopher]

It's the corporate model now, upaid interns in high end fashion businesses only apeal to people who can afford not to get paid (IE, supported by Mum and Dad). My nephew is a journalist for a premier league football club, and he says now, new signings in the press room are expected to work at least 6 months for nothing to get the 'experience' and consequently, its not a job everyone can afford to do.

 

[Paul Whybrow]

Harlan Ellison is the living avatar of arrogance and conceit, but in this case I have to agree with him (and others here). Though put with his characteristic acerbic delivery, he does make a very good point. If he had been a performer or a sound mixer or a flipping grip, no one would have suggested he work for free.

Any idea where this social stigma came from? How did people get the notion in their heads that writers should/will work for free? Come to think of it, how might that be related to (despite also being sort of antithetical to) the idea many people have that writers are all wealthy and successful?

Discuss!

I've wondered this too, as today people expect authors to give their services away for free by attending festivals to read from their work and answer questions. It's almost as if they think we're all monied dilettantes who dabble in creating stories for our own amusement.

As we all know, not everyone makes millions from their writing, even though we all work hard at it. I estimated recently that since the summer of 2013, when I returned to creative writing, I've devoted 10,000 hours to researching, writing and editing my stories. In that time, I've earned about £40 from my efforts. I'm not going to attempt to work out what that makes my hourly rate of pay!

Storytelling has been around for as long as humans could take to one another. In the Middle Ages troubadours or minstrels told stories to the public for payment, reciting traditional tales as well as those of their own making. Booksellers once took their wares on the road, flogging them from carts and panniers on pack animals. It's as if modern day authors are expected to continue an age-old tradition, by being peddlers of their own literature, scraping a living from pennies.

(that's me in the middle, that is....)

 

[Alistair Roberts]

The world lives for the story, but the real story is the authors are largely penniless in a society built on imagination, but lacking a certain understanding. Authors should be respected for being one of the foundations of society.