On Getting Paid as a Creative
Does anyone owe money to those who live in the creative arts world, or are we doing it just for ourselves?
When I was in my late teens or early twenties, I read a science fiction story where the protagonist, a journalist or reporter of some sort, was trapped in a capsule in space. Doom seemed to be the only possible outcome. The character, though, being a reporter/journalist/writer, had to tell somehow the story of what he was going through. His only outlet was to dictate the story using his tongue to form the letters on the roof of his mouth, and he told the story, one letter at a time, forming the characters in the privacy of his mouth and telling the story in his mind.
I suppose many of us are compelled to do things: make art, make music, take pictures, garden, write, whatever. We can’t stop, no matter what. We’d do it no matter the circumstances.
This scenario has afflicted my thoughts and reflections on the world of writing—why is it so arduous to persuade the masses that writers should be remunerated for their craft? It brings to mind the tale of a rock band enticed to play a gig for free "for the exposure." The irony is as thick as the bass lines at their free gig. If exposure is currency, why isn't the restaurateur serving free meals or the bricklayer building walls on the house of goodwill? I mean, come on…!
Here’s part of what Harlan Ellison said in a famous rant about writers getting paid:
I got a call yesterday from a little film company down here in the valley, and they’re doing the packaging for Warner Brothers on Babylon Five, which I worked on. I did a very long, very interesting on-camera interview about the making of Babylon Five early on. So, she calls me and she tells me they’d like to use it on the DVD, and can that be arranged?
And I said, “Absolutely, all you gotta do is pay me,” and she said, “What?” And I said, “You gotta pay me!”
She said, “Well, everybody else is, just, you know, doing it for nothing.”
I said, everybody else may be an asshole, but I’m not. I said, by what right would you call me and ask me to work for nothing? Do you get a paycheck?
“Well yes—”
I says, “Does your boss get a paycheck? Do you pay the Telecity guy? Do you pay the cameraman? Do you pay the cutters? Do you pay the Teamsters when they schlep your stuff on the trucks? Then how—don’t you pay—would you go to a gas station and ask me to give you free gas? Would you go to the doctor and have him take out your spleen for nothing? How dare you call me and want me to work for nothing!”
“Well, it would be good publi—”
It goes on from there, and it’s a hoot of a rant. Feel free to watch the whole video here. It’s under four minutes long.
Then there’s Cheryl Strayed, author of “Wild,” which was made into a Resse Witherspoon movie:
“Writers should be paid. When we click on something and can't read it, we call it a paywall. Well, there's also a paywall between you and the apple in the grocery store, or the movie that you go see in the theater, and we don't call those things a paywall. We call those the cost of buying an apple or going to see a movie. Nobody expects to get those things for free because we understand that they have value and that work went into making them… Writing is the same.”
I’ve pondered these two stories for quite a while since I ran across them. Of course, the Harlan Ellison story has been around for years; the Cheryl Strayed quote came up more recently. But it got me thinking about the world of writing. And I wonder why writing, particularly, is a more difficult skill, discipline, or career to get people to understand that writers should be paid.
But I suspect it’s not really that way much more. But again…it depends! In 2008, I started a blog in the tradeshow world, and over the next dozen years, I cranked out hundreds of articles, podcasts, interviews, and more, all intending to build up my name in the industry. It worked – sort of. Many folks in the tradeshow world recognized me and even got a few projects as a result. In fact, in 2016, my business generated nearly 2/3 of the nearly $90K business we did, which came from three clients who found me through the blog. But that was the exception, not the rule. If only it were that easy!
Yet, writers aren't the only ones in the crosshairs of undervaluation. Take photographers, for example. In a specialized market such as real estate photography (which I am a part of), those who price their products at a bargain are shortchanging themselves and inadvertently setting a precedent that pressures their peers to follow suit. Much like a silent auction in reverse, this phenomenon drives down the going rate for everyone's craft. It’s a race to the bottom, and as Seth Godin has famously said, it’s a race where no one wins.
One final perspective as a writer: I’ve been paid for my writing many times. Twenty-plus years ago, I was hired by a local athletic club to write and photograph short profiles of their members for their website and newsletter. I got paid a few bucks, something like $150 a month, plus a free membership, which was great. I took my kids to the pool and spent a lot of time on the basketball court. Over the years, they cut the price they were willing to pay until they just ended it. Another example: I was hired to write articles for an online publication in the events world, and I got maybe $100 for each article. Not much money, but then again, it didn’t take much time to come up with 300-400 words on a subject. That also lasted a few years until things changed.
Here on Substack, I have a handful of paying subscribers (THANK YOU!), which I absolutely appreciate, but that’s not the reason I’m doing this. Those other things, the athletic club, and the online newsletter? I wouldn’t have done them if they weren’t paying me. But this? I enjoy doing this, and it’s for a lot more than money. In the last seven or so months that I’ve been posting weekly, I’ve found myself digging into how Substack works: what to write about, how to run the publication, how to make it more useful to readers, and more. It’s enjoyable, and I’m learning. Plus, I enjoy writing about the things I love most when it comes to creating and enjoying: writing, photography, and music. So yes, it’s a labor of love. Along the way, I’ve come across many Substacks that I get a lot out of, and I have ponied up a few bucks for maybe a half-dozen of them as a way to support their work.
Next week I’ll be on the road in LA and I’m not sure if I’ll have the time to post my weekly missive. I’m planning a piece on the world of reggae, how I became a fan, and continue to do a weekly reggae radio show…but I’ve got a busy few days this week, and then I’m off. So—-we’ll see how it all shakes out!