When it comes to freelance writing, there’s little that leaves me speechless these days. This post on a Facebook forum sure did.
The Post
I’ve been writing for a “national magazine” which no one has heard of, for a few years now strictly on freelance basis for the quarterly publication.My editor/publisher only pays per article – very low rate – but wants all the writers to take time and repost links, Podcast announcements and advertorial content on all of our socials.I don’t want to be rude to her, but we are only paid to interview and write — it really does take time to repost and share links on all the socials (LinkedIn, Insta, Facebook).Even though sales of the magazine is for our benefit, I feel like boasting sales and outreach is something that shouldn’t be done for free.I am proud to work for the magazine – proud of the teams’ interviews and stories. But to constantly go on social media and do marketing for no pay doesn’t seem fair. We’re not on staff in an office or even working for a few hours to help with publicity.Am I wrong in feeling that my time should be valued – even if it’s reposting 10 times for my connections to “like, subscribe…”.What pay scale would even cover this marketing arrangement? Thanks!
” – very low rate – “
How low? We don’t know. However, if I’m a writer and I’m typing “very low rate” in relation to my freelance writing client, I probably don’t have the right client, do I?
The social media requirement
If you’ve been working with this publication for a few years and suddenly they’re taking on unpaid work, that’s when you do one of two things:
- Immediately quote your rate for the social media work
- Drop the client and tell them why
This is scope creep. Remember scope creep? In freelance writing, scope creep is money lost. Usually, we see it with marketing clients, but this is coming from an editor, which might mask what it is a bit. It’s still scope creep. It’s still piling more work onto you without additional pay. Some may reason (and did on this particular thread) that promotion on social media helps the writer, too. But does it really? While you might get attention from a prospect (big might), you could do that on your own without being required to boost a magazine that already underpays you. Yet this magazine was expecting freelance writing pros to promote all sorts of things, not just their own articles. Um …
“Even though the sale of the magazine is for our benefit …”
How? How are sales, beyond keeping the doors open, a benefit to a writer? Are you going to get more money? No? Then why worry about whether a low-paying client who’s pushing you into more work for no extra money going to keep what feels like a badly managed pub running? Why is that on you? Your sole job as a writer is to provide compelling content on deadline and per assignment parameters. Freelance writing does not include propping up the Accounts Receivables.
“I feel like boasting sales and outreach is something that shouldn’t be done for free.”
Okay, she meant “boosting” but she’s right. This isn’t a sales gig, nor should it be an unpaid expectation.
“Am I wrong in feeling that my time should be valued …?”
No, writer. You are not wrong. You are spot on. Your sole reason for being with that client is to provide writing services.
The Defense
Yet the sheer number of writers who responded that the writer should do all this additional work was astounding. Really? Come on. Have we learned nothing as business owners?
Some comments encouraging the writer to do as asked:
As wrong as it is to ask you to do unpaid promotion, we all know that if you won’t do it for your own pieces, they’ll find another writer who will. So perhaps do it so well that they will keep asking for more articles.
This is part of freelancing, and it also benefits you. Sharing an article you wrote on social media is something you should be doing even if they don’t ask you. How much time are we actually talking about? Choose your battles wisely.
Do a quick post. No big deal. But perhaps you should ask for a bonus if you hit a certain readership!
You want to build your brand. Visibility is key.
The Verdict
This is not a client worth keeping. It may not have been a client worth taking on, I’d wager.
There are often clients we work well with for a number of years with whom we eventually have to part ways. I had great clients at the onset of my freelance writing career, but there was no way the pay was ever going to improve as my skills did. I had to part ways. There were also clients who, like this “national magazine” client, started demanding more and demonstrating that they didn’t value my skills. They had to go, as well.
Frankly, I think this writer took this job early in her career and has built up enough clips and skill to move on. This is the type of job you take at the onset of your career — when you want clips but don’t have enough business savvy to know a raw deal. It’s not one worth keeping, nor is it a client relationship worth worrying about. I’m not one for burning bridges unnecessarily. However, this client needs to be fired.
Writers, what’s your take? Do you see it differently than I do? Let me know in the comments.
2 responses to “Wednesday WTF: Freelance Writing or Serfdom?”
I’d ask the writer to review their contract. (I hope they have one!) Is unpaid social media marketing part of the agreement? If so – either do the minimal amount required, or stop accepting assignments from them.
If the contract doesn’t mention social media posting, then don’t do it. Or share a link to your work once. If they can’t afford to have someone do their own social media marketing, they probably can’t afford to have someone monitoring your social media accounts, so they might never know. If they tell you it’s required, point to the contract. The worst they can do is stop assigning…..which at this point sounds like a decent option.
That said, I have a friend whose contract states that payments (bonuses, I guess) are based on how many views each of her pieces generates. So she has a financial incentive to flood her social media accounts with links to her work. (Honestly, it gets annoying to see so many self-promotional posts, but I get why she does it.)
You guessed it — no contract. It’s an uneven relationship from the get-go.
You’ve landed on the real problem though, Paula. All that self-promotion, or promotion of a single magazine, is annoying. It rarely hits paydirt. Better to build an actual marketing strategy that’s not the “spray and pray” variety.