Friday, October 23, 2015
A Dismal Trend
This morning I received Duotrope's monthly newsletter and was surprised (almost) that of the 128 new markets they listed in the past thirty days that only 28 were paying (13 pro - 12 semi pro - 3 token). That is seriously out of whack. Another trend I've also seen the past few months is the number of non-fiction markets that are non-paying. How can so many publishers keep supplying content if they aren't paying the writers? And if they're making a profit why aren't author's demanding their share? It's a very lop-sided world out there.
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8 comments:
I slowed my storywriting output considerably when I decided that I would only write for money (or for a charity anthology, etc.)
It gave me time to work on novels. I respect editors and publishers, I am one, but we can't see what we do as "a favor" that deserves getting writers' work for free. We're supposed to be partners, or at minimum, hiring freelancers. Just because you want to give away your mag for free online doesn't mean you are absolved from paying writers for their work. It's your decision to give it away free.
Yes, there are a great many publishers who feel they're doing writers a favor by just publishing them. Online zines where nobody is making any money have never bothered me (as most mystery markets are in this category) but a publishing company that plans to make money on an anthology is a different matter.
Not a good time to make money as a writer it seems.
It's always been like that. There are always a lot of magazines that don't want to pay and make it sound like they're doing a favor to the writer. You won't see those around very long. With pay, they're only going to get the newbie writers without much experience, and not very good quality. That, in turn, will keep readers away.
It is discouraging.
Sounds about right, Charles. I don't know how the freelance writers keep their heads above water.
It seems as though the Internet has made it even worse, Linda. There are some non-paying markets that have grown into paying markets like ThugLit and All Due Respect to name two mystery markets, but they had a lot of support and published great stories by some name authors. The biggest problem with the Internet is any Joe Smoe can open a publishing company, sucker the writers, and then disappear.
I agree, Jacqueline.
It hasn't always been like that. Back when I started freelance writing (in the Dark Ages, granted--LOL), I frequently got $300 for an article/story. Then everybody got online and started saturating editors with stories, etc. There were a lot of desperate people out there who wanted to write, no matter what. And a lot of the publications went for it, thinking that they could always edit. This wasn't just in fiction; it happened in non-fiction, too. It IS daunting for those of us who want to make a full-time living in freelance/fiction writing. But what I've decided is to indie publish most of my work and submit stories to markets that do pay and have a good reputation. So far it's worked out well for me.
I don't believe giving it away free started with the Internet, though it did bring it forward full throttle,Bobbi. I remember reading an article in Writer's Digest that said to start writing Letters to the Editor of your local papers so you could have published clips to show editors. I followed the advice and wound up with a weekly column in our local paper. :) I think each writer approaches the market differently and does what works for them.
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