Here’s a scenario that happened recently –
Patient: “Doc, I have this sprained ankle. Can you look at it?”
Doctor: “Sure. Let’s see what openings I have today.”
Patient: “By the way, since this is probably just a sprain, it’ll be a breeze for you to fix, right?”
Doctor: “We’ll have to see if it is a sprain. I can’t tell until I examine your ankle.”
Patient: “But suppose it was just a sprain. It would be easy for you to fix, I mean, if it turns out to be a textbook sprain, right?”
Doctor: “Uh, I suppose so. But again, I can’t tell until I see it.”
Patient: “Here’s the deal, doc. I know it’s a simple sprain because I diagnosed myself on WebMD. So what I’ll do is this – if you fix this little sprain today for nothing, I’ll bring all my business to you in the future. All my colds, all my migraines, viruses, stomach trouble, everything. See, my health is a labor of love for me. I don’t have a lot of money right now. So you work for me for free and in exchange I’ll tell everyone I know what a great doctor you are.”
Doctor: “Wait, I don’t think…”
Patient: “Why not? You’re one of a million or more doctors. Look, if you don’t do it for free, there are plenty other doctors lining up for this ground-floor opportunity! Fix me for free and I’ll refer you to my 14 remaining friends.”
Doctor: “I’m a trained medical specialist! My training was extensive and I put 6 figures into my education! Are you out of your mind?”
Patient: “Actually, that’s why I have 14 remaining friends. My free psychologist told me I was crazy and they all left. But I’m not! He just didn’t know what he was doing. He wanted actual money for his work. I don’t think so!”
Doctor: “You need to leave now. I’m unable to help you.”
Patient: “Oh, so you’re a quack! Don’t mess with me, buddy. I’ll ruin you in this town. Besides, I could tell by your first sentence to me you have no idea what you’re doing.”
Okay, so this is made up. And it’s absurd, isn’t it? Do you know any doctor who would treat a patient for free just because the patient promised ongoing work and a referral? No?
Then why do writers fall for this crap? If you’ve had enough, join me on May 15th to educate the writing masses. Post on your blog, Twitter, LinkedIn, or on a friend’s blog in the commments. Let every writer know that we do not have to accept less than we are worth. We don’t have to argue, as Kimberly mentioned in Friday’s comments, that raising our rates from ridiculously low to still ridiculously low is justifiable. We should be arguing that anything lower than what we’d make in an office is totally unacceptable. Look, we’re never going to convince the job posters, the pseudo-employers, and the trolls who want it all for free or insanely cheap. So we have to educate our own.
If we don’t this will be the new norm – I had a “you’re hired!” note on Friday morning from the job poster who was not offended by my disclaimer. Alas, while he was indeed legitimate in one sense, he expects articles for a whopping $20 each. Researched articles. On a specific specialty that hey, not everyone’s even heard of let alone read about let alone written about.
How many ways can that middle finger get exercise these days? I can list about five.
I’m with you all the way. Don’t settle for crap.
Me too! I’m marking the date on my calendar.
I quoted you today, Kimberly. It was a conversation with a writing friend. I’ll fill you in later. 🙂
Count me in. To do this right, methinks “the second annual Writers Worth Day” should be marketed consistently as such.
It would also be great to have a logo that we can make into a badge for our sites. Anybody know a graphic artist who might make us a logo for free?
[ducking]
LOL
Kirk, you’ve opened up a can of worms. :))
This is a great idea. I’ll definitely be spreading the word!
Thanks, doll. 🙂 Happy to see you again! I really miss your writing blog.