There’s a fantastic debate taking hold on Twitter right now that relates to some facets of journalism & budding writers. It began with NowGamer, one of the largest gaming publications in the UK, holding a competition to “hire” a regular columnist. I put the word in quotes because the position is actually unpaid, yet the company is asking for regular work. Essentially, it’s profiting from the hard work of people, hoping that exposure alone is a good enough payment for the writer.
SideQuesting is run for free. We make very little money off of our advertising. Project Wonderful and Google Ads have gone right back into advertising the site, and any Amazon deals that we run gain us just enough funds to go towards the site’s hosting and tech support, and buying prizes for giveaways and competitions. I have a full time job in the auto industry that pays me. Ryan is a teacher, and Eric is a lumberjack (or whatever he does). We don’t need the money, and we’re fine with it.
But, that’s not the case with people who are trying to break into writing as a profession. They need all the exposure they can get, the experience, and the built-up portfolio. They need to get out there, having their work in the faces of Editors regularly. Writing a lone blog can get someone a good built-up portfolio, but it may not get them the great benefits of interacting and learning from others in the same situation. Working in groups always leads to better things, which is what we’re trying to do with SideQuesting. We hope to help cultivate writers, get them industry contacts, and get their foot in the door on to bigger things.
No one should be getting shafted on doing the hard work that other writers on a site are doing, for zero pay. There may be times where getting paid is not feasible, or pay is even turned down by the writer, or it may not be monetary, but those are relative to the situations and shouldn’t be long term. It’s another sign of the lack of innovation in an industry that has until now relied on the traditional trappings of print media. Instead of creating new ideas that can lead to profit, publications are resorting to cutting staff and asking more from those who remain.
Innovate or die.
There’s no need for new writers to fall victim to corporate failings. There are plenty of other ways to get exposure and experience. Community blogs and forums, volunteer sites, Youtube, Twitter and Facebook all offer outlets for making a voice heard. They may not be as glamorous, but with a lot of hard work they can be just as successful, and won’t leave you feeling like you’ve sold your soul for exposure while someone else gets a Lexus.
Understand what you’re getting into, what advantages it gives you, before you jump in. Does the exposure now outweigh someone else getting paid? Or is it worth it to try to do “your own thing”? Is the site/publication supporting you as much as you are supporting them? And conversely, is it time that publications are more open-minded about looking at writers who only have volunteer work done, as opposed to having had paid gigs?
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