Here’s what I think about the whole “writing for free online” thing

amelia

SO. I was casually trawling around Twitter last night when a tweet by Marieke Hardy caught my attention:

It was a small spark that ignited a fire of discussion about the ethics and issues around paying writers, particularly online writers, for their work.

I’m weighing in because the issue of payment for online work is the single biggest issue in my life right now. It has been since July this year, when I decided to launch The Peach.

In my mission statement I wrote the following:

The Peach is entirely self-funded and, unlike many other online platforms, pays a team of staff writers to produce content.

As a former journalist, I have a real problem with the idea of people working for free.

The internet has democratized writing and provided an amazing platform for self publishing, but one of the unfortunate by-products of that has been the gradual loss of monetary value associated with online publishing.

The Peach’s team of staff writers are paid for their work and my long-term goal is to create a business model that enables me to pay all The Peach’s casual contributors too.

Currently, The Peach makes under $100 per month from the advertising you see on the site. We are new, we have a small audience, and right now we are far from being a commercially successful business. Currently, I pay anywhere between $300 and $500 per week to our team of staff writers for their content. ($50 for one piece, $80 for two). This is a tiny amount of money for a piece of writing, I know. But it is more than $0. It is also ultimately unsustainable for me. Financially, I am taking a huge risk. I work two full time jobs to make The Peach a reality. If I can’t turn the site into a successful commercial venture, not only will I not achieve my goal of paying for every piece of writing on the site, The Peach will probably fold. I’ve put everything I have into this site- my money, my love, my time- because I believe it is a risk worth taking.

Why?

This tweet by Helen Razer had my mind churning all evening:

“it’s presumptuous to suggest a young, independent media company is acting out of ethics, not exigency”.

For me, it is absolutely both. I don’t have the profile of a Mia Freedman or a Jane Pratt who can set up an online platform and attract thousands of writers to submit their work. I’m one woman, setting up a site to share stories. If I didn’t pay my permanent writers, I wouldn’t have content to publish. But my stance on payment is about more than just survival. It is about ETHICS.

If you are a commercial business profiting from the contribution of other writers, it is ethically inexcusable not to reimburse them with money. The promise of exposure or the privilege of being published alongside more established writers simply does not cut it.

And to justify it by saying that most other outlets don’t pay, so therefore it is OK? That’s not a valid argument. Just because something is DONE, doesn’t make it RIGHT.

I don’t think it is fair to single out one online publisher over others in this debate as the practice of not paying for work is so widespread. But for change to come about, independent sites must take a stand and forge new standards.

We are in the midst of a huge shift in the type of media consumers value. Increasingly, readers are seeking out real, relatable, no-holds-barred content written from a personal point of view. Individual bloggers are currently doing this amazingly well. Many are now being duly commercially rewarded for their efforts, which consistently bring in enormous audiences and incredible levels of engagement.

Sites like xojane have proved that you can take the personal flavour of blogging and amplifiy it to include scores of writers all sharing the one platform, while keeping the realism (oh, and they pay). This is the media not just of the future, but of the now. And those writers who bare their souls and share their stories and put themselves out there online? They deserve to be paid. There is monetary value in the personal stories they share- stories that attract traffic, which equals ad revenue, which lines the pockets of their employers.

As for me? I’m remaining steadfast in my commitment to turning The Peach into a commercial venture that enables me to pay the amazing women who sit down and take the time to pour some incredibly personal things onto paper and submit them to us for publication. It is not easy. It is not cheap. It is stressful and hard and emotionally taxing. But if individual players don’t take a stand and forge new paths, who will?

And to all of you who have supported The Peach thus far by contributing your work for free, I want to sincerely thank you. It means more to me than you could know.

What do you think about the issue of writing for free online? 

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Posted in ISSUES, MEDIA: blogging, media, online, publishing, writing

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  • http://www.sarahcooksthebooks.com/ Sarah

    Does xo pay now? Because I wrote a story a few months back and didn’t receive any compensation.

    • http://www.thepeach.com.au/ Amelia Grevis-James

      My understanding is they pay for everything except IHTM. Perhaps email them and check? x

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  • Sarah

    Wow Amelia – I love this post. I too have been growing slightly weary of Mamamia and their biased articles – hellooo The Peach, my new favourite website! Your words alone have convinced me that this is a site that will do great things.

    I probably shouldn’t say this, but I even write a weekly column in my local APN paper…and I don’t get paid. That’s not even unpaid online writing! I agree about the great exposure but perhaps it is time I valued my work a little more.

    Thank you. xx

    • Amelia Grevis-James

      Hi Sarah! Thanks so much :) We love having you! I think valuing your work is really important. I’m a big advocate for more transparency about pay in the industry and I also believe that people should be able to set goals for themselves about where and how long they are willing to work for free based on an informed decision, rather than just having to work for free indefinitely and “hope for the best”. It is an interesting debate and one I am very passionate about.
      Amelia xx

  • Carly Findlay

    Following up from my last comment: here’s my 2 c worth. http://carlyfindlay.blogspot.com.au/2012/12/why-i-will-write-for-free.html
    One of the big reasons I appreciate the exposure of writing for free is that it hasn’t been likely that ‘someone like me’ would make an impression in the mainstream or new media unless it was a sensationisr article ridiculing or exploiting the way I look. And through blogging, which has led to publication on other websites and magazines, I am getting the type of exposure and to an extent, shaping the way media covers disability and appearance diversity.

  • Carly Findlay

    Hello
    Great piece as usual Amelia. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this matter, and also for wanting to publish contributors for their work. I agree – it takes a lot to share a story online, to such a wide audience, and not be compensated for it.
    I do want payment for my original articles I submit to various publications. However, when I submit something to Mamamia for publication, it has been a piece of writing that has been previously published on my own blog – and the same goes for my contributions to The Peach. I am happy for the increased exposure and audience I get this way.
    I also weighed into the writing for free debate over on my blog.

  • Gaynor Alder // The Modern Woman’s Survival Guide

    Bonjour Amelia,

    I too pay my regular writers on The Modern Woman’s Survival Guide, and like you my business model is to be able to pay more in the future. I think a lot of people miss the point that online publications are a business, and how can you expect to set up a business without factoring in paying staff?

    I am really proud that I pay any current income from my site to my regular writes first before I pay myself. Any business is a long term plan, and I am putting my heart and soul into making it a profitable business venture whilst staying true to the values of the site which are quality, integrity and authentic voices that connect with readers.

    I also love that I get to nurture other writer’s careers – it is a real passion of mine. I have internships with university students and I always connect with where they want to take their writing and invest a lot of energy into working with them to make that happen, and also look after them.

    I have worked for free in the past, and it was a wonderful experience in terms of learning the ropes in an industry I was starting out in. I don’t think it is exploitive, as long as you have your own boundaries around what you are prepared to do for free and how long. I was lucky enough to work for a wonderful editor who has a lot of integrity and I never felt exploited – quite the opposite in fact.

    I share your sentiment Amelia too, and I do believe that you can make a successful business from what you have set out to do. I am just not sure why people think that setting up an online business is any different to setting up another business. Shouldn’t the same ethics apply?

    It does make me angry when organisations who can afford to pay writers don’t. There are good online publications out there who are genuine and there are others who are potentially exploiting the write for exposure notion.

  • Deborah Robinson

    Take it from someone who has been operating websites since 2002 and launched her most successful website more than 5 years ago, you are going to go broke. Whilst I applaud your business ethics and your belief in what you are trying to achieve here, any business which is running at a loss is going to fail – it’s simple mathematics. I agree that profitable websites should pay for written contributions that increase traffic to their site. But don’t feel you have to take responsibility for writers who have been screwed over by Mia, Jane and others. Writers also have to take some responsibility and stop contributing their labour for FREE in the hope it will raise their profile or send more traffic to their own websites – because it won’t. If the experience of the writers who contributed to the success of the Huffington Post has taught us anything, it’s that internet users don’t behave in ways which we expect them to, or even in ways that make sense! I would never contribute to a profitable website for FREE and nor should anyone else. I don’t pay for contributions to my website because although the site is profitable, I can’t afford to pay out all the money earned to writers. Most of the contributions on my site are sourced from PR agencies who’s clients are promoting a book, a business etc and have paid a PR agency a truckload of money – these contributors certainly don’t need a few dollars from me! I’ll get down off my soap box now and end by saying: I applaud what you are trying to do but I am also very concerned for you.

  • Evangeline @ makeup tips

    Thanks for finally saying what I think a lot of writers want to say! I occasionally don’t mind writing for free if its for a publication I admire or if I just want to do it out of good will but I think sometimes people need to remember that although we are passionate about what we do and see it as a creative outlet, writers do need to make a living too, we simply cannot live off of “exposure” that’s not what pays the bills.

    Great post Amelia, well done!

  • Kasey

    Hi Amelia

    I just want to leave a quick message, as I am out of time but if I had more time I would write an essay. This is such an important issue, and I am so glad that this has come to the fore. I feel a bit sorry for Mia Freedman copping the brunt of it, but I whole-heartedly agree that it is unethical to profit from content that is not paid for.

    PS – Your words in this article alone have persuaded me to follow The Peach. You have an admirable set of values. I hope lots of other people follow it too and that your business is a thriving success.

    Kasey

    • Amelia Grevis-James

      Hi Kasey, Thank you so much for reading and commenting. I totally agree- there is no need for one person to become the poster girl for deeply embedded, industry-wide issues. I really appreciate your words and am so happy to have you as part of The Peach community :) Amelia xx

  • sarahbutler

    A few things on this.
    Amelia your mission to eventually pay all writers is very admirable so props to that. However I think that this debate highlights many issues.

    One being the current media landscape and the way in which audiences interact with content and how much of it they expect to be delivered direct to them on a daily/hourly basis (generally for free). I used to buy The Age/Herald Sun almost everyday and now I simply read The Age online (sometimes every HOUR). So things are changing on that front and people seem to still be working out exactly how to manage this new type of media consumption and still make a buck out of it. It leads into the whole issue of selling out re advertising and how to pair your content with an appropriate amount of ads etc. whilst still growing a loyal audience that appeals to the advertisers. Exhausting and I really can’t be bothered going into that any more here but it is clearly a very tricky path to navigate.

    The other issue this debate highlights is the challenge of transitioning from a small business to a larger, more successful one. Remembering that currently The Peach and Mamamia are no different – they both pay a staff of core writers and then do not pay for guest posts. But Mamamia and ultimately publisher Mia Freedman is copping flak because they are deemed ‘successful’ and have not (as yet) decided to change their business model and look to pay for posts. People seem very quick to support those getting ‘off the ground’ and far less friendly and open minded to an established business for fear that it has ‘sold out’ and ‘lost it’s way.’

    However, no one knows how much profit they turn, or how long Mia herself took a significant pay cut when she was growing her site. It comes down to a question of ‘how much money is too much to make before you need to pay’ which I’m guessing would be hard to get agreement on. How much revenue will The Peach need to make before paying guest posters? How much is fair? Should there also be a grace period where Amelia pays herself to compensate for the months of personal financial stress? What if she wants to invest in a new technology for the site? She may not turn pure ‘profit’ for years. My point being that it gets complicated.

    Now rightly or wrongly, popular view or not, MM obviously feel that they give back to the writing/journalism community in other ways.
    I think it would be better if they did pay guest writers but I also think that as their conditions for guest contributions have always been very clear. So if you didn’t buy the exposure argument then that’s fine, you go elsewhere to pitch a story for $$.

    In summary, I think it would be great if all writers were paid in exchange for their creative contributions but I also respect the right for different sites to have their own rules and business models. I also think it would be a stretch to pick on Freedman just because she has managed the near impossible – creating a hugely successful online website in times of media hardship. And considering that if nothing else, she has likely motivated a lot of other women (and men) to think – ‘I can do that too’. If they then choose to do it differently – great.

    Perhaps this debate will prompt MM to change their current approach to guest posters. But if not, and people don’t like their business model then they can stop supporting the site both in terms of contributing content and also in readership. Only time will tell if there will be a backlash to Mamamia (somehow I doubt it).

    I say all of this with much admiration for Amelia’s current business plans and very much hope that she one day faces the exhilarating challenges and moral compromises of business growth!

    • Amelia Grevis-James

      This is an excellent excellent excellent comment. It think MM has been made a bit of a scapegoat in this when actually this is a cultural issue that permeates the entire industry. I don’t know the answers to your questions but I’m always honest, so when I know, you’ll know. This is a wayyy bigger issue than just me or any individual sites so what I hope to do is show it CAN be done. If I fail, I’ll fail publicly, knowing I gave it everything.
      Amelia x

      • sarahbutler

        Thank you for this response Amelia. I think it would be so much better if people more freely admitted that they didn’t have the answers and acknowledged that some issues have many layers of complexity.

        But I do wish you all the best. Based on your current plans your success will be the success of all writers!

        Cheers, Sarah

        • Amelia Grevis-James

          Totally agree Sarah. We are a society obsessed with having all the answers but the truth is we are all collectively finding our way. And you nailed the many layers of complexity this issue has. Thanks so much for reading and commenting, it means a lot. Amelia x

  • Drag0nista

    Being a freelance writer online is a bit like being a beautiful woman in LA – you can’t just rely on your natural talent. We as writers need to focus more on ourselves as our product – find the niche, develop the product and market it in a creative but intelligent fashion. One of my previous bosses used to remind me that I would be paid what the market would bear, and that is just as much the case online. FWIW, I get paid for original work and charge nothing when my blog posts are republished somewhere else. All of my published pieces point back to my blog.

  • Meagan Harding

    Totally agree with you!
    I think it also highlights creative industries in general expecting contribution for free. I am often contacted by young hopefuls offering to work for free to gain experience. My response is always the same – don’t undersell yourself, everyone is worth something!

  • Cassie

    Coming from a background in freelance graphic and Web design, I am already so sick of the “But it boosts your portfolio” excuse. The Peach is a new enterprise, and as such. I wouldn’t expect you to have money to spend. But Mama Mia has no such excuse.

    • Amelia Grevis-James

      I think the “boosts your portfolio” thing has a definite shelf life. I have done lots of work experience for free but once I graduated from uni, my lecturer (who worked for News Ltd for 20 plus years) told me not to work for free for the most part. You have to draw a line in the sand at some point and value your work. Thanks so much for commenting xx

  • Karen Charlton

    I won’t write for people online if I don’t get paid for it. I have been published by Mamamia and Daily Life, and my experience was very different for both. One I left feeling appreciated and nurtured, the other I felt like I’d been thrown to the wolves. I am lucky enough to make this call from a financially secure position; many new writers are so keen to make a name and some dollars that they feel they have no choice but to work for free.
    Payment is important to keep the quality of the pieces high; if you accept pieces simply for the amount of attention they will garner, rather than trying to open up and steer an intelligent discussion of issues then it’s bound to fall in a heap. Perhaps this is why Daily Life is the most read women’s website in Australia, because they keep it clean and respectful and high brow.
    The bottom line is if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys. Mamamia has a big enough audience she should be able to pay their writers. To me it shows Mia, as Chief, doesn’t fully believe in the legitimacy of the online world. I think perhaps that’s been her biggest mistake.

    • Kasey

      Karen, I found this post very interesting.

      I’ve been looking for an alternative to Mamamia for a while now. I always get sucked in because the headlines are colourful and provocative, but often the bias in the articles make me angry. The lack of research is very obvious. The comments are often snarky. So I am definitely in the market for an alternative.

  • Sharon Green

    What a refreshing perspective, Amelia. I spent many years writing for free as I built my portfolio and tried hard to find opportunities that would pay. It still amazes me just how many media outlets – print and online – are not paying their contributors. I value my work and I produce high quality work so expecting some kind of remuneration is reasonable, I’d say. I’m now at a stage in my career where I am only taking on paid work. I think it is also the contributor’s responsibility to decline unpaid work, within reason, to ensure we’re not creating this culture and perception that writing/producing has no value attached to it. 

    • Holly Curtis

      Couldn’t agree more Sharon!!

    • Amelia Grevis-James

      100 per cent agree Sharon regarding not participating in a culture that ultimately only cheapens the industry for everyone. Tank you so much for commenting xxx

  • Holly Curtis

    Amazing post Amelia. Firstly, I am SO proud to be involved with The Peach, and I admire you so much for trying to do the right thing from the start. Hopefully yourself and The Peach will pioneer a whole new way of starting independent online platforms.

    The excuse for non-payment that REALLY irritates me is the ‘having your work published on Mamamia (for example!) is fantastic exposure so keep sending us your free writing because you need the exposure!’ As a journalism graduate who has spent countless hours writing for free, I can appreciate this point to some degree, but how long until your work is deemed valuable? And what’s the point of all this ‘exposure’ if 9/10 people aren’t going to pay you for it in the end?

  • Nikki @ Styling You

    I have a blog – a small commercial enterprise – and I write most of the content myself.

    I also contribute – and get paid for those contributions – on The Hoopla.

    This year I’ve also paid my only regular freelancer too. It felt like the right thing to do.

    • Holly Curtis

      Hi Nikki! So wonderful to see you on The Peach! Your comment made me smile.
      Holly x

  • Sarah

    Amelia, you’re great. I want everyone to know what a fantastic site you have here. Beginnings are always rough, but you’re a gem.

    With love from a very happy contributor.

  • Mathieas

    This article should be sent to every single website out there that has contributing writers. I had a terrible experience with a major site that I used to write for and it really put me off on writing for a long time.

    I hope things go well for you. Have you considered a kickstarter campaign to help raise some funds?

  • Marisa

    Also so glad you wrote about this.

    You guys, Amelia is not kidding when she says that paying her writers is top priority for her (along with kick-ass content and no airbrushing, of course). When I first started writing for Peach as a contributor, Amelia told me right away that she could only pay full-time staffers but that paying contributors was super-important to her and she was hoping she could there. When I became a full-time staffer and began getting paid, she lamented she couldn’t pay more.

    I’m not just telling you this so you know what a great editor and person Amelia is. Having an editor who treats your writing in this way — like it’s a valuable commodity — is incredibly reassuring for a writer. It also makes a writer (or me at least) work harder to turn in the best writing possible, because we know that Amelia is working her ass off to pay us for that writing.

    One of the reasons I love The Peach so much and hope we can make it profitable before Amelia would have to consider folding is because I believe that when you have at the core of a website a founder who passionately believes in what he/she is doing (in this case, publishing honest, great writing), that’s a website that should succeed. So keep reading Peaches! We want to keep writing for you. xx

    • Holly Curtis

      Wonderful comment Marisa! I totally agree, Amelia is a fantastic editor and could not be more supportive, appreciative, and inspiring!

  • eatmeetswest

    Amelia, I think I love you.
    I grew up with Mia Freedman as my hero. But increasingly lately, I begin to worry about the direction she’s taking.
    I know there’s issues getting an income from online, but the people who are writing these posts deserve to be paid. After all, it’s their content that’s bringing readers, who in turn bring the revenue. We should value their work.
    Thank you for what you’re doing. I’m converting :)

    • Leah

      I agree with you about Mia Freedman eastmeetswest! She did some great things in print but her venture into online, although exciting at first, has left me feeling a little sour, and not just because a lot of the content is :S. Mammamia would make a decent profit.. they have their own online shop for goodness sake! And the site gets A LOT of hits which equals good advertising dollars! I don’t think she has an excuse.

      • Holly Curtis

        I also think that considering the huge profile that Mia Freedman has, she could be doing a huge favour to the industry by using her profile to pioneer a change in the culture of not paying for online writing, rather than just going with the status quo.

        She considers herself a ground breaker in the industry (being the youngest editor of Cosmo and also the work she did there) but personally, I feel like she could be doing a lot more ground breaking…

        • Beth

          Amelia! Thank you for this and other though-provoking articles on this amazing website/community that I have only recently discovered.

          I think you are doing the right thing here. You made the tough choice by committing to any payment for writers to your start-up and I think you should gain some rewards from this even in the short term – legit content and loyalty from your writers and readers.

          I think anyone working in the arts or the media will have a pretty clear opinion on the issue of payment. Starting out my career I have felt a lot of uncertainty and been plagued with feelings that my work may not be good enough. The industry inevitable scares you enough to think that you won’t ever be paid for you work. Maybe this is not the experience of others but it’s certainly something that I’ve been aware of.

          Talking to successful, experienced people in your field can reaffirm that by working for free you are not only robbing yourself but effectively you are doing a disservice to other writers by undercutting them.

        • Beth

          Amelia! Thank you for this and other thought-provoking articles on this amazing website/community that I have only recently discovered.

          I think you are doing the right thing here. You made the tough choice by committing to any payment for writers to your start-up and I think you should gain some rewards from this even in the short term – legit content and loyalty from your writers and readers.

          I think anyone working in the arts or the media will have a pretty clear opinion on the issue of payment. Starting out my career I have felt a lot of uncertainty and been plagued with feelings that my work may not be good enough. The industry inevitable scares you enough to think that you won’t ever be paid for you work. Maybe this is not the experience of others but it’s certainly something that I’ve been aware of.

          Talking to successful, experienced people in your field can reaffirm that by working for free you are not only robbing yourself but effectively you are doing a disservice to other writers by undercutting them.

    • Amelia Grevis-James

      Thank you so much eatmeetswest. You comment means so much! Thank you for reading and being part of the conversation :) xx

  • Rebecca

    I’m so glad you addressed this, Amelia, because it’s something that is just NEVER talked about it in the online publishing world. It seems that companies are always so cagey about how much they pay their writers (or whether they pay them at all) so this post is just so refreshing. As a new writer, I’ve always wondered what the deal is with getting paid for work and how long one is expected to ‘pay their dues’. This has really shed some light, thank you. I also followed the Twitter feud last night while it was happening and I had no idea that Mamamia didn’t pay their writers. Considering how established that site is, it just seems wrong.

    • Holly Curtis

      I agree Rebecca, it is not discussed enough! It’s hard to get the message out there, as most other media organisations wouldn’t publish this issue, as they most likely don’t follow the same ideal!

    • Amelia Grevis-James

      Hi Rebecca, thank you so much for your comment. I agree that the lack of transparency is frustrating and I find it really counter-productive. It contributes to a culture in which everyone just keeps writing for free hoping to see the paid light at the end of the tunnel. IF we can collectively change this culture and monetise the value of online, we will all be so much better off. Thanks for reading and contributing :) xx

      • Claire

        I love that this is generating so much debate…As a writer, I think it is amazing to find somewhere like The Peach where they’re trying to build a sustainable business model while putting a price on writing and valuing the written word. I think it is absolutely the way of the future. Although, I must admit, I was so keen to be involved in The Peach because I saw something so unique in it and loved it’s mission that I was willing to write for free!!! So, I feel a little torn!!! Not to turn this into a debate about MM – but I am very surprised that such a huge business (which YES, did come about from just one woman in a loungeroom – but hey, businesses grow) haven’t re-structured their business plan to try and pay at least some kind of small amount, particularly for their regular contributors. Maybe not the one-off submissions…