I’m inclined to trust our eclectic friend Terry Freedman when he talks about the world of work and money because he is the definition of a pro. All of his work slides across my desk on time (if not early) and it is always high quality prose, perfectly put together ideas and excellently formatted and turned out. An Editor in Chiefs dream, to be honest.
Excellent, Terry! I had a 20-year career as an educational consultant and workshop presenter, and found your article here to be absolutely spot on. You have my total agreement. I especially loved the hilarious graphic arts email exchange. The only proviso I might add is that every year ( for 20 years) I presented papers, workshops and keynotes at two annual ( huge) conventions for free -- and was glad to be selected. These biannual, free presentations brought me huge amounts of paid work in individual school districts around the nation. So, in my particular case, the free presentations were a valuable way to make my work known.
I have a friend in town who reads my novels. Before he was my friend, he was my brother-in-law's friend, an acquaintance of my wife. We got to talking one day a few summers back and the conversation turned to books. He enjoyed reading. So when I published, I gifted him a copy of my first novel, expecting nothing.
He left a review and bugged me when the second in series dropped to get a copy. I gifted it to him, and he read and reviewed it. This happened again with the third in series, but around that time he began to bug me about paying for the books. He said, "I'm a PT, and if you came in with a back strain, I wouldn't rehab you for free, so you shouldn't give me your hard work for free."
In general, I'm an advocate of demanding pay for my work, and there's this part of me that resists having friends, family, and those in my social sphere pay for my books. I never want to blur the lines or make a person feel duped, and it's a sick person's perspective.
I like your analogy about knowing where to place the nail costing 99% of the fee, and I should hope it's true of my books. You're paying $0.01 for the paper and ink, and $19.98 for knowing how to craft a story.
We are only going to be viable as long as our books (e- and print) sell well below the pricing of mainstream published books. The idea of asking full-price is almost impossible and yet our books (in most cases) are as researched, we have spent months or years writing them (just like mainstream writers), we have had to pay for cover design, editing, fomatting and line-editing. We have purchased ISBN's and have tried with whatever is left in our budget to market through marketing companies. All that, and yet the market is so well-tuned to 'cheap' books that there is no way up for the indie writer.
The idea that we offer books for 'free' is part of an advised marketing strategy to get Amazon's algorithms to push the titles upward. It galls me and its a long time since I offered a free book. But then we're advised to have the first in a series to be either perma-free or offered at 99 cents. Ninety nine cents for a book that has required months of research and writing!
Great post, Terry. Being asked to create something for nothing reflects poorly on the asker, as you've noted, and indicates zero respect from said asker, for the time and effort the person has put *into* their area of expertise, to *get* to that level of expertise. No small feat to reach an "expert" level. One of my favorites, "Hey, could you just draw something for me real quick? It will just take a minute." Hmmm. Will it, really?
P.S. Joe Cocker's sax player is a phenom - great video.
And if we talk about musicians and bands... The usual deal in Barcelona is that you pay in concept of 'rent' a squalid stage in a pub, discoteque or whatever, bringing almost all your own gear (they supply electricity and maybe some speakers) and, who knows, the perks are a few beers, to stay motivated.
"To expect someone to work for nothing is insulting." Yes and no. Writers start as amateurs. Non-paying venues allow them to work with editors, be seen by readers, and establish credentials.
Excellent, Terry! I had a 20-year career as an educational consultant and workshop presenter, and found your article here to be absolutely spot on. You have my total agreement. I especially loved the hilarious graphic arts email exchange. The only proviso I might add is that every year ( for 20 years) I presented papers, workshops and keynotes at two annual ( huge) conventions for free -- and was glad to be selected. These biannual, free presentations brought me huge amounts of paid work in individual school districts around the nation. So, in my particular case, the free presentations were a valuable way to make my work known.
As my husband always told our daughter whenever she went on a date, "Remember, your time has value." Well observed Terry.
I have a friend in town who reads my novels. Before he was my friend, he was my brother-in-law's friend, an acquaintance of my wife. We got to talking one day a few summers back and the conversation turned to books. He enjoyed reading. So when I published, I gifted him a copy of my first novel, expecting nothing.
He left a review and bugged me when the second in series dropped to get a copy. I gifted it to him, and he read and reviewed it. This happened again with the third in series, but around that time he began to bug me about paying for the books. He said, "I'm a PT, and if you came in with a back strain, I wouldn't rehab you for free, so you shouldn't give me your hard work for free."
In general, I'm an advocate of demanding pay for my work, and there's this part of me that resists having friends, family, and those in my social sphere pay for my books. I never want to blur the lines or make a person feel duped, and it's a sick person's perspective.
I like your analogy about knowing where to place the nail costing 99% of the fee, and I should hope it's true of my books. You're paying $0.01 for the paper and ink, and $19.98 for knowing how to craft a story.
The same applies to indie writers, Terry.
We are only going to be viable as long as our books (e- and print) sell well below the pricing of mainstream published books. The idea of asking full-price is almost impossible and yet our books (in most cases) are as researched, we have spent months or years writing them (just like mainstream writers), we have had to pay for cover design, editing, fomatting and line-editing. We have purchased ISBN's and have tried with whatever is left in our budget to market through marketing companies. All that, and yet the market is so well-tuned to 'cheap' books that there is no way up for the indie writer.
The idea that we offer books for 'free' is part of an advised marketing strategy to get Amazon's algorithms to push the titles upward. It galls me and its a long time since I offered a free book. But then we're advised to have the first in a series to be either perma-free or offered at 99 cents. Ninety nine cents for a book that has required months of research and writing!
Ye Gods!!!!
Great post, Terry. Being asked to create something for nothing reflects poorly on the asker, as you've noted, and indicates zero respect from said asker, for the time and effort the person has put *into* their area of expertise, to *get* to that level of expertise. No small feat to reach an "expert" level. One of my favorites, "Hey, could you just draw something for me real quick? It will just take a minute." Hmmm. Will it, really?
P.S. Joe Cocker's sax player is a phenom - great video.
And if we talk about musicians and bands... The usual deal in Barcelona is that you pay in concept of 'rent' a squalid stage in a pub, discoteque or whatever, bringing almost all your own gear (they supply electricity and maybe some speakers) and, who knows, the perks are a few beers, to stay motivated.
Terrific post! Thanks Terry - wise words all the way!
💲💲💲
"To expect someone to work for nothing is insulting." Yes and no. Writers start as amateurs. Non-paying venues allow them to work with editors, be seen by readers, and establish credentials.
Thanks for kind words, Tom 😀