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On "Writing for Free"-- And Those Who Rail Against It

By Erika Dreifus

Few things annoy me more when I log on to an online writing forum than discovering the start of yet another thread about the evils of those horrible, misguided people who "write for free"-- with the possible exception of discovering the start of yet another thread about the evils of those horrible people who publish e-zines or newsletters or other publications that don't offer payment-- or don't pay "enough." Sometimes it's hard to tell whom the complainants despise more.

One reason I become so annoyed is this: these threads are so repetitive I can't believe the posters aren't deliberately trying to stir up trouble by reviving the "discussion" yet again. I also find that so many people enter the conversation with different motives-- and more significantly, so many seem so unwilling to truly listen to anyone else-- that regardless of any efforts to sustain an intelligent, respectful discussion, the thread is nearly always doomed from the start.

For example, it's not uncommon to find active on one of these threads someone who seems to do pretty well selling articles to magazines (with a plethora of [high]-paying markets available to her) telling aspiring literary fiction writers and poets how misguided they are for even thinking of submitting to nonpaying publications. But if she were in their shoes, she'd know that the market base for their work is much more limited, and much more competitive; it's certainly not uncommon (or bad for one's career) to submit to some nonpaying literary magazines, even if we would all prefer to have both the prestige of publication AND the payment for it.

And while you'll perhaps find some complainers willing to make exceptions for themselves (yes-- they'll admit--they'll allow their work to be published gratis if the publication "serves a good cause" or is "for a friend," etc.-- but really, it's a terrible, terrible practice!), some of them can be remarkably iron-fisted when it comes to telling others what to do. They know what's good for everyone else. They know what's good for you, too! So don't you dare voice a dissenting viewpoint. (Especially if one of those unfortunate online cliques that always reminds me of the very worst of my high school years is running the show. Then rational and well-written posts really don't do any good. In fact, they seem to enrage some people.)

As if we're all the same. As if "writers" form a monolithic bloc and what works for one works for all. Didn't we learn to discount that idea way back with the other erroneous commandments: that everyone must write outlines and everyone must work for several hours early in the morning in order to get anything accomplished and everyone must…everyone must…everyone must?

Which leads me to one of the absolutely most irritating aspects of these discussions. One of the arguments you hear most often from the "don't ever write for free" folks-- and if I had a dime for every time I'd seen it posted in an online writing forum I would be a rich writer, indeed-- goes something like this: "My lawyer/doctor/plumber/mechanic (fill in anyone with years of training and/or a license to his or her name) doesn't work for free! I have to pay them! So why shouldn't I get paid, too?"

I can almost imagine a six-year-old pouting every time I read one of these plaintive posts.

It might be a reasonable argument-- if we could safely assume the following were true:

1) All "writers" dedicated years of study and/or apprenticeship to their work, just as other professionals must do. You don't find a "surgeon" who has yet to wield a scalpel with many paying patients flocking to him, do you?

2) All "writers" understood that, just as we might seek the best doctors for ourselves and our families (and be willing to pay more for their skill, training, and reputation) some writers may in fact deserve to be paid more than others.

But maybe a trip down memory lane will help me make this point even more clearly. Remember that old John Houseman commercial for Smith Barney? About making money the "old-fashioned way"? Meaning-- earning it? We're all free to call ourselves "writers" by virtue of participating in the act of writing. But there's no law-- written or otherwise-- that proclaims that just calling yourself a writer automatically entitles you to a paycheck, let alone to a fat one.

And this brings us to yet another issue. The complainers argue, strenuously, that it "hurts" all writers when some write for free (or virtually for free). That sounds noble, but I don't see the reasoning. When I publish a short story on a topic that a more commercial magazine isn't interested in-- but an online literary magazine likes, perhaps precisely because it's a little daring and unconventional-- it's hard for me to understand quite how that "hurts" the people who are spending their time whining away on a forum (or, in the case of one group of charmers I recently had the misfortune to discover, whining away on one forum and then reliving all their whine sessions and condemning anyone they don't "like" on another forum seemingly set up to serve that purpose). And since I spend most of my writing time on more lucrative endeavors, I happen to know that there are plenty of paying markets that will compensate good writers for good work, too.

So I think the complainers doth complain too much. Other writers aren't hurting them-- they're hurting themselves. For one thing, just imagine how many remunerative markets our complainers might research or even submit to in the time they spend instead stirring up more trouble on the Internet. How many more paychecks they might earn. And if they're really concerned with the well-being of their fellow writers, they might want to consider piping down and leaving in peace those who may have other goals, who may be following their own paths-- and who need not be made to feel punished (or worse) every time they log on to a forum in the process.

Sure, I prefer to get paid for my work. In fact, I depend on it. That's why I follow this remarkable strategy-- I submit work to paying publications. And you know what? As I've acquired more experience I've submitted to ever-"bigger" markets. Somehow I think I've had more success that way. Instead of sitting around and complaining into the computer, waiting for success to magically materialize and directing rude remarks, personal attacks, and other abuse toward anyone who disagrees with me, I've found it the old-fashioned way. I've earned it.

Erika Dreifus is a Massachusetts-based writer and writing instructor whose articles on the craft and business of writing have appeared in Poets & Writers, The Writer, Writer's Digest, and many other publications. She edits the free monthly newsletter, "The Practicing Writer." Visit her website at http://www.practicing-writer.com.