When Should You Write For Free?

It's just a sample invoice

It is with regret that I note that this piece was inspired by a discussion within a writing group I am a member of; regret not so much due to the source but because the only way to make sense of it is to criticise another writing group. For a full introduction see this extremely useful essay Use Maths To Find Your Minimum Price Per Story by Matthew Brown. (Indeed, this piece might be considered a footnote to his work). In brief; the group Thanet Writers was putting together an anthology of stories, offering a payment of £10 per story. This is quite low for the amount of work needed for quality writing. Skirting awkwardly over that, allow me to riff off the topic by asking the following provocative question:


When should you write for free?

Never write for free, he said, slipping an invoice into his Mum’s birthday card.

I don't really invoice birthday cards

But seriously, when should you write for free?

Here’s when you shouldn’t write for free: when a commercial, for-profit publication is using your writing. You should carefully consider how much your writing is worth, and be sure not to underestimate. And then add a bit more. Your work is worth money, and the greater the value you put on it, the greater the value the publication will put on it. Also if they try to negotiate a smaller fee, you’ve already added some bargaining room in!

The problem, such as it is, is that there are so many places trying to exist in the space between for-profit publications and personal outlets that the writer controls and uses for their own purposes. Worse still, there are for-profit publications deliberately trying to take advantage of the ambiguity. There are also many places that do not pay, or only pay a token, but that’s not unreasonable in some circumstances. Navigating these requires some thought.

For example my local parish magazine does not pay for contributions. It does have a subscription and carries adverts*. I don’t think this is exploitative, for a number of reasons:

- Those contributing are doing so to benefit the community they are part of (or are leaders of in many cases).

- The contributors are often promoting their own ideas about the community and their own events that take place there.

- In several cases they are already paid for a job which writing in the Parish Magazine can be considered part of (full time clergy etc.)

Another example might be an online literary magazine I follow that grew out of an online community. It started as someone who wanted to highlight the writing in that community, so they built a website and asked for written pieces to publish, and they got quite a lot of them. Having done that, they then promoted it far and wide, so it grew beyond the community is originated in. The question here is; at what point should they consider paying for contributions? (The harder question is - from where do they get the money, a struggle that remains outside the scope of this piece.)

Is this litmag still just a hobby, a group of friends working together to celebrate their writing and promoting it to the world? Or has it crossed over into being a publishing entity run for the benefit of the editors and publishers, which should be paying for the writers?

(To return reluctantly to the offer that sparked some of this, I think Thanet Writers went wrong when they advertised outside their group. If Thanet Writers members were coming together to make an anthology, and all they can afford is a token payment, then that's members of a group working on a project they want to support. Which is a good thing. If they’re going out saying “Hey we’ll publish you – and you get paid £10!”, they’re acting as a publisher and should act like one; pay properly)

So, when should you work for free?

I mean, you’re going to have to make up your own mind. But here are some questions you should ask before doing so:

- Are you publishing it yourself, and if so, is there somewhere else it might attract payment or more attention? What are you giving up in return for those?

- Can the publisher pay for other things? If so why are you the one not getting paid?

- Is it being published by, or for, a community you are part of? Will it benefit that community?**

- Will publishing it there help you in your writing career or in other ways? What exactly is that worth to you?

With those answers in hand, you will have a fair idea of what the situation is. And remember, never undervalue your work! If someone can pay then your writing is worth them paying for. So if someone with their name prominently displayed as editor of a good looking magazine that carries adverts (or has a subscription or donation page) offers to publish your work, but unfortunately can’t offer any money, ask yourself...

Who is getting the benefit from this?





More free writing by Neil Willcox can be found on his blog Night of the Hats. In addition he currently has a space opera serial running on his Patreon, where you can read for free or pay if you want. Finally his Edwardian comedy-crime novel The Inexplicable Affair of the Mesmerising Russian Nobleman is self-published on Amazon, where it can be purchased in paperback or for Kindle.


* The printer does get paid which raises one or two questions.
** Hence why I’m not getting paid for this piece, grr.