tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3377586.post7632575589931902556..comments2024-03-27T02:13:13.079-04:00Comments on Original Content: How Do We Feel About Writers Writing For Free? Is There Something To Be Gained For The Individual, Maybe Not So Much The Group?Gail Gauthierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01673131515563387968noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3377586.post-29049376421510793762014-11-18T11:45:39.772-05:002014-11-18T11:45:39.772-05:00It's difficult for me to see how maintaining o...It's difficult for me to see how maintaining our own blogs is an issue. I can't believe that anyone is reading my blog instead of <b>New Yorker</b> type publications, thus cutting into their circulation and undermining their ability to pay writers. <br /><br />The gray area is going to be the money-making publications, on-line and not, where writers publish hoping for exposure that will lead to the next big thing, a thing that will generate income. And it probably works for some people.<br /><br />What is different recently, I think, is that now I'm hearing about stories like Tanita's, in which publications actually approach published writers, whose work is how they support themselves, and ask them to write for free.<br /><br />Writers are not the only people who deal with this kind of thing, by the way. How often do academics get paid for the writing they are expected to do? And I've known of consultants in a couple of very nonwriting fields who would give breaks on work with a new client, hoping to get a foot in the door for bigger jobs with them in the future.Gail Gauthierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01673131515563387968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3377586.post-63573948703111142892014-11-18T10:55:05.128-05:002014-11-18T10:55:05.128-05:00I agree with Alysa... I blog. I review tons of boo...I agree with Alysa... I blog. I review tons of books, for the help and convenience of parents and librarians, and no one pays me.<br /><br />I also edit (and write) the quarterly newsletter for our church. For free. Most things related to church you can kind of say are a ...gift? A mitzvah? <br /><br />...but I cannot imagine saying yes to writing an essay or a review for a publication <i>other than my own blog(s) for free.</i> It's not to say that I'm not asked - I am, and just about weekly, there's some new scheme from this place who wants me to write for them and get more readers for my blog, yadda yadda. I wasn't even into Jacket Flap for the reason that I couldn't see what my content in aggregate was doing for them - and I didn't want them to benefit from me without me getting something, to say it bluntly. I mean, if you write for a small journal, you know you get paid in copies sometimes, and that's generally clear up front, but my favorite word in these scenarios, otherwise, is "No."tanita✿davishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01671822274852087499noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3377586.post-7610119713826268232014-11-18T05:33:53.576-05:002014-11-18T05:33:53.576-05:00Writers, like anybody else, should be paid fairly ...Writers, like anybody else, should be paid fairly for their work. The problem is that there has not been a mechanism by which writers can be paid for smaller pieces of work.<br /><br />Moozvine (<a href="www.moozvine.com" rel="nofollow">moozvine.com</a>) is a platform that aims to address that. With Moozvine, a writer uploads a piece of work (anything: an essay, short story, or even a full novel) and specifies how much they want to be paid for that work: its release threshold. The public can read samples of the work and can pledge money. If the money pledged exceeds the release threshold, the work is released under a creative commons licence. Anyone can then freely read, download and share that work and the author can grow an audience. As their audience grows, they can ask more for subsequent work.<br /><br />Yes, free writing is damaging writers' income levels. But the answer is not the old pay-per-copy model that is fundamentally incompatible with the internet. The answer is Moozvine's pay-to-release model.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3377586.post-50804691516179239582014-11-17T22:35:51.890-05:002014-11-17T22:35:51.890-05:00I don't know if I know whether or not writing ...I don't know if I know whether or not writing for free hurts the writer's market. But I do know this: writing is an art. (That's not debated.) And if you can't make art for free, why bother? <br /><br />I mean, I blog. If I was just starting out and felt like I *had* to blog for money or else I would be hurting other writers and my future self, but then I couldn't find anybody to pay, or I couldn't be bothered to find anybody because I just wanted to create for the creation's sake and share it freely . . . well. I just couldn't do it. <br /><br />So, I don't know. But I'm going to go with "do what you think is right." Whether that's working for free or charging for your art. Alysa Stewarthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03705870547401762370noreply@blogger.com