How often have you seen this statement? “All submissions become the property of XYZ Company?”
What if you saw that while you were applying for a freelance (or full-time) writing job? If you do, be very wary.
Thank you for your article on non-paying writing publications. As a newsletter editor myself for over four years, I’ve managed to find the funds to pay the writers who contribute to my publications even when it put me financially in the red back in the beginning. I am ever amazed at how little writers pay writers. I keep a list of writing newsletters and websites that accept submissions, and I feel I’ve hit the jackpot when a publication pays more than $20. I am dumbfounded at what some of the major newsletters pay with editors bragging about their own successes. Thanks for preaching the mantra of “do not write for free.” (For your information…I pay writers $30 for 500-700 word articles.)
C. Hope Clark
https://www.fundsforwriters.com
Editor’s Note: Hope Clark isn’t the only one who’s noticed this trend. Read today’s Feature Article, To Pay or Not to Pay…Fellow Writers.
With keen interest I read a letter written to Angela Hoy from a fledgling newsletter editor unable to pay column writers. Angela nicely but firmly advised the editor to think twice about that no-pay policy. She warned the novice that the seasoned and veteran writers would flame viciously and ruin the editor’s reputation.
Not so. Writers write for free all the time and no one seems to care. Writers even write for other writers without the respect of a paycheck. What I’ve learned as a writer who likes to write articles about writing, is that writers are some of the worse paymasters in the world. And for some reason that depresses me.
Taking the plunge into writing full time has been one of the hardest and yet easiest decisions of my life. In the last year I have gone from stumbling along to writing every day and submitting work at least three times a month.
The city is installing a new sewer system on our street and things have been quite noisy and hectic here for the past three weeks. The good news for Max is that they’re now right in front of our house. There is a huge “twackturr” right in front of our window and it’s been digging and scooping and filling up dump trucks all day long, every single day. (They start at about 6:00 a.m. each morning…grrr!) Anyway, they’re even using explosives to blow up the huge rocks, which the kids think is super cool.
The other day, Max was sitting at his perch, by our bedroom window upstairs, watching the big “trackturr” out front. After about an hour, he turned to me and said, “Mommy, I don’t want pway wif dat trracturr. It too big. I go get baby trackturr.” And he disappeared to his room and returned with a toy “trackturr” that he proceeded to push on our bed, scooping up covers and dumping them on the floor.
The trackturr sure is close to our power lines. They keep bumping into them over and over again. Eeesh.
Hugs to all!
Angela
P.S. Want to read real query letters that landed these contracts?
Woman’s Day – $2,800; Redbook – $3,500; Ladies Home Journal – $3,000; DiscoveryHealth.com – $2,000; Lifetime Magazine – $3,000; Life Extension magazine – $6,480; Natural Remedies $11,300; and many more!
See: https://www.writersweekly.com/books/1409.html
In response to last week’s article, 10 Things You Should NOT Say When Submitting Your Book for Consideration, one reader wrote asking for a list of 10 thing you SHOULD include in a book proposal. I called on our trusty friend and book marketing expert, MJ Rose, who generously offered to pen an article on this topic for us to run this week. Please see this week’s Feature Article.
This Week:
In response to last week’s article by Angela Hoy, 10 Things You Should NOT Say in Your Book Proposal, famous author and book marketing expert MJ Rose shares advice on what you SHOULD include.
I’ve been subscribing for a while, and now I am on the flip side of the job market. I am hoping to start a newsletter and wondering how to attract contributors. It is to be a “sharing” newsletter, so the writers need not be professional. I’ll be the editor, and at least at first, the writers will not be paid. Do you have a place on your site where I can spread the word? If not, do you know where I can?
I took Ali (age 13) in for her annual physical this week. She’s already 5′ 9″ (much to the frustration of her 17-year-old brother, who’s only 5′ 8″) and the doctor plotted her projected growth. The doc predicts Ali will be 5′ 11″ or 6′ by the time she’s finished growing. She already has a hard time finding nice shoes in her size, and we already have to look up when we talk to her. Ali’s taking it all in stride. She’s very proud of her height…and boys don’t pick on her anymore since she towers over those her age. Heh…
Zach started the new golf season this week. He’s a senior and one of the best players. He was named one of the team captains this year (there are two captains each year). He’s very proud and having fun playing every day. Since Ali and Frank are homeschooled now, we don’t have to go on that annual, expensive school-clothes-shopping-spree. We do still buy supplies, but we don’t have to buy brand new Nikes, designer jeans, and more. What a relief!! And, since the children don’t feel any pressure to wear “just the right” clothes, they don’t mind missing the shopping spree this year.
Frank’s birthday party was on Saturday. We took six children skating and then they all spent the night. Richard and I are still recovering from that…
Hugs to all!
Angela
P.S. Want to read real query letters that landed these contracts?
Woman’s Day – $2,800; Redbook – $3,500; Ladies Home Journal – $3,000; DiscoveryHealth.com – $2,000; Lifetime Magazine – $3,000; Life Extension magazine – $6,480; Natural Remedies $11,300; and many more!
See: https://www.writersweekly.com/books/1409.html
