What’s on the iPod: Not Afraid by Eminem
Good friend and fellow writer Jenn Mattern has a great post up this week about an email that’s been sent to quite a few writers. The problem: the company sending the note is putting a new face on an old tactic. You work for free and they give you exposure. Read about it here
There are plenty of reasons why the email that’s going around amounts to a raw deal, and Jenn has summed up the major points quite well. Still, not everyone is going to get how or why the offer is no more than a way for this company to get free marketing and grow traffic by pimping out to other writers. There’s no spirit of camaraderie, no relationship being built…only a “write this and we’ll link to it and won’t you be lucky!” spiel.
Don’t expect it.
So how do you know a deal is raw? If you’ve been doing this freelance writing thing for more than a few years, you’ve pretty much seen it all. There are few surprises (though I admit this one is a new one even for an oldster like me).
A deal isn’t worth your time when:
It’s nothing personal. At all. Your name isn’t on it, nor would they know your name if you shouted it at them. Welcome to form letter hell. You’re special! Just like all the other “Hi” people we’ve just bulk emailed.
It’s plural. “We’re looking for writers” often means someone is about to pay a lot less than you should be making. Plurals don’t say “personal” to me. Nor do they say “legitimate” but that could be my beef alone.
It’s an automatic discount upon meeting. Probably one of my biggest peeves is those clients who expect a steep discount before they’ve even worked with me. Not that they ever get it (or that I ever work with them), but it’s this thinking that “freelance” means I need them much more than they need me. Right. Next!
It’s payment terms you can’t understand. I’ve seen clients who will only pay for what’s published, who round down the total due, who pay in ad revenue, who pay the third Tuesday of the next week during the month after the previous month’s work was completed (only slightly exaggerated), who limit your allowable hours but expect major accomplishments, who deduct for bathroom breaks….if it sounds stupid, it is. Don’t accept anything other than normal, grown-up payment terms you can understand without a calculator or attorney (or Sherpa).
Writers, when isn’t a deal worth your time?