I was trolling through random videos on YouTube, and came across an oldie but a goodie from legend Harlan Ellison. I had posted a link to this particular video some time ago, but that post was lost along with everything else when my blog was hacked recently; so when I came across the video again I thought I should revisit it and the points it raises.
Harlan has made a name for himself in the literary world since the 1960’s; mostly for his skill as a writer, but also for his penchant for saying it like it is and being outspoken. In the clip he is ranting about Warner Brothers wanting to use an interview he gave for a Babylon 5 DVD. Along the way he makes some very valid points- most notably why it’s bad business to work for free. Here is the embedded video. My thoughts on it follow.

I’ve found myself on both sides of this issue as a professional writer. Early on I was happy to submit my work for free to websites and publications, content in the perceived hype of “but think of all the exposure you’ll get!” While in some ways this does provide some exposure, it’s rarely enough to make a career sustainable, or take it to the next level.
Don’t get me wrong. I was truly honored and excited to have my work appear in publications like the Mused Literary Review. It made sense at that early stage as I was building my name and brand; I had to start showing the world I existed. In the meantime, I was still writing and polishing the books I would later release to the world.
I applied for, and landed, a regular gig writing my paranormal column, Across the Great Divide. I do not get paid for this. No per-word compensation. No ad revenue. Now, here’s where the ‘exposure’ thing paid off. My website statistics show me who visits via which links in the vast world of the internet. Month after month I get a small but comfortable number of hits to my website from readers of the Pagan Pages ezine. But this is paying off because it is a regular monthly column and I have been doing it consistently since 2009. The other reason I am content with doing this for free is that paranormal research is a scientific exploration and my group, the Deep Forest Paranormal Society, is a not-for-profit research organization. The editors of Pagan Pages wanted me to provide a regular column that teaches ghost hunting, and I was in total agreement; so each month I gladly set aside time to research and formulate a monthly series on various parapsychological topics.
Then this year came the Banned Books Awareness project. Again, this I was doing for the educational benefit of all on my blog and Facebook page. But when it really took off and I was invited to move the series over to the World Education Network out of Queensland, Australia, I thought What the Hell, why not? They were willing to pay me a cut of advertiser revenue and bonuses for overall hits. Why not take something I was doing for free anyway and move it to a respected website with a worldwide readership, and get a little something for it on the side.
So, again, the exposure and benefits are the result of a regular weekly series that has built up a large readership around the world. The work involved in this series takes up a lot of my time, but I am able to reach a broader audience, and spread the word about a subject very important to myself and others as intellectuals and supporters of freedom.
I’ve done a few commission pieces at times as well. Some for friends, which I was happy to do on a personal level; others I’ve been compensated for in one way or another. That’s the nature of business.
I have a day job to try and make ends meet as I continue living the dream of being a writer. I have two regular columns I write. I have books and other creative projects I’m working on. All the while I must take time out to sleep, hang out with friends, and take care of the daily tedious tasks that are a necessary part of life. All of this takes big bites out of the 24 hours we’re given each day.
So when I am approached to provide items for various third parties, I am very- no, extremely- humbled and honored that they think highly enough about me to ask me in the first place. But then the business mind takes over. I have to weigh if I have the time and resources to do it.
Nearly all who make such requests of me and other writers/professionals are genuine and honest in their intentions, but some aren’t. Regardless of which side they may be on, I have to take into account what’s in it for me. Depending on the project it could take a sizable bite out of what time I have left.
I’ve seen fees and rates all through the spectrum. I placed mine comfortably in the middle of industry standards at $0.20 per word. That means a respectable 600-word article costs about $120. This is my compensation for the creative art, the time, the research, the editing, the actual writing, and everything else that is involved in any work. That’s why the entertainment world has contracts specifically suited for these situations called Work For Hire Agreements.
I’ve had some people quite vocally balk at paying so much. I get it. We each have a business aspect to consider; whether they’re running a website or free ezine, or a big house looking for filler material, they’re going to want to fill that void in the most cost-effective means possible. But they also have to realize that the art they crave doesn’t just get easily pulled out of thin air with little or no effort. It takes time and love.
So Harlan is right. The amateurs that are so willing to give their hearts away for free are ruining it for the professionals who are trying to earn a living on their talent. Like the old adage says, give them an inch and they’ll take a mile. So the entertainment and literary companies are getting used to getting what they want out of promises of something for nothing. This practice will likely only continue and build so long as there are those willing to be taken advantage of. Let’s face it, you’ll always be nothing more than a $2 Woodward Avenue whore until you start acting and thinking like the pimp.

© 2011 R. Wolf Baldassarro/Deep Forest Productions