Of course, it had struck me before, but when talking it over with a good friend just yesterday (and for over three hours or so in which we discussed, among this, many other things, the idea seemed even more important than ever. The concept is this: How does a serious writer go about making any money by writing articles for the Internet and specifically, the very many (and I note, some very good sites) that ask for free and demand excellent content. Such sites are discussed here, and while some may be worth the time and effort, others may certainly not be and it’s important to know which is which.
I’ve long-written for journals and newspapers and magazines and one expects a nominal fee of at least several hundred dollars and for a two hundred word review, about one hundred. For a piece in The Atlantic Monthly, New Republic, and the like, the sum can go all the way up to several thousand. Even Parnassus and Partisan Review (when it existed, that is, measly as it was or had become, alas) paid something. In short, all print publications paid hard cash, unless they were real start-ups by a good friend just out of college who was starting a new small lit magazine and felt generally, deeply sorry that s/he couldn’t pay you for your two bit poem.
But now, we (collectively, writers and critics here, so this means you) write great content (and I don’t mean here, because there are other reasons to write for Blogcritics beyond money and that was not the intention of the site in the first place ~ designed first as a type of blog, it was never intended as a pay source on the outward end, but perhaps a revenue on the other side if not that, then some money so that the site owner (who has to pay on the back-end) could and can afford to host the writings of others, meaning in effect, that we ought pay a certain amount, even a nominal fee of say $10 per annum, to the owner of the site each that will cover basic hosting and other costs. In exchange, we get high ranking on search engines, syndications, and our content and our reputations get excellent exposure and we are in good company for the most part, I should say. To me, $10 in the very least is worth it. Yes, much blogging should and is free, but let’s face it, a site like Blogcritics is no longer simply a “blog” but a true reference in the real world, not just the Blogosphere (does that make sense here? I hope my meaning comes through). In short, we get something that I think is highly valuable for free when we may want to rethink the fairness of that arrangement. That much is a sort of fair exchange and in this writer’s view, anyway one that has proven well worth the time and effort.
Article comments
1 - Temple Stark
I addressed this, partly and not quite so extensively several months back.
Basically there are a lot more consumers than creators.
There are even fewer .....
Well, I was going to say there are even fewer quality creators but I guess the market would ultimately judge that. Sort of. Kind of.
There's a lot of people who think they have something interesting to say, and fewer who do.
Still, in the meantime, the good is drowned by the junk. Still further in the meantime, the need for paid content is logarithmically diminished. And the freelance compensation goes down.
There are reasons - often to do with livelihood - why the idea of prestige is one best kept around. The quality of work demanded in print is also a factor.
[typos fixed - to terrible even for me to swallow]
2 - Eric Olsen
HI Sadi, very nice, persuasive post and I appreciate the special dispensation and spectacularly kind words for us!!
Yes, this is certainly an issue of concern and even alarm for real writers.
I was just talking to Natalie Davis about this yesterday, who is an excellent, experienced writer and editor who is having a very difficult time making a living in the new writers' economy, largely created by the Internet.
Temple is correct about the devaluation and it's hard to say exactly how the problem will be rectified beyond the boring, underpaying advertising-and-affiliate model. Something is missing - there is some way to make all of this work that no one has come up with yet.
3 - sadi
i think this will ultimately pay out by allowing writers several things instead of instant compensation:
1. write good stuff and think toward compiling those articles for a book project or an antholgy that is taking submissions.
2. use these writings as tear sheets when applying for new jobs or a promotion etc, as this kind of exposure and number of web hits lends you a legitimacy and authority that you may not otherwise have.
3. develop an expertise, as i sort of fell into, and b ecome THE authority on that subject on the Web and then start to try to get radio bookings or make it clear to television programs, new media and paying outlets that you are available to write about this issue for them,
&
4. if you do become an expert and a primary reference (your site, for example, gets thousands of hits per day), then you have a legitmacy right there that will help you get a real literary agent.
so there is compensation at the end, i believe. you just have to think about how you are going to apply the work that you are doing now in the future.
and too, not all of this work IS for free. Some is paid, but for the work that is free, remember that in the final account, you can make it pay off...
just my opinion and thanks to RJ for a real interesting conversation about this topic as well... it helped me to think about my own views on the topic and get going on this piece as i said i would and ~ ta dah! ~ did.
Eric, of course ~~` not special dispensation, per se, just a logical statement to me that follows from what you do and our many discussions about that as well... speaking of...... ring me sometime...
cheers all, and thanks for reading my absurdly long works.
sade