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Is it standard for freelance writers to have a portfolio?

Why don't people want to pay writers?

  • I see so much of this on Craigslist! I'm not talking about startup situations where payment is delayed pending the success of the publication, and the writers get in on the ground floor of the business. I mean when people want one-off articles (often to fastidious specifications) and try to convince the writer that the "national exposure" or whatever is worth more than money--even though, 9 times out of 10, it's painfully obvious that the "magazine" in question is just a crappy website built a month earlier. Is there any other service people try this with? Does anyone try to get web design or app programming done for free because it "would be a great addition" to someone's portfolio? Would you try to get out of paying your grocery store, gas station, or doctor by offering a good Yelp review in return? Why is writing some big exception to the God-bless-America ideal of a day's pay for a day's work? People like to call my generation "entitled" for ambiguous reasons, but I don't think it gets much more entitled than thinking you can have someone's labor for free...

  • Answer:

    People don't want to pay anyone if they can get away with it. People tend to want to accumulate and hold money as much as possible. If people can get something for free, they're going to want to get it for free.   A more relevent question is why people think they can get writers without paying them. The answer is simple, because they can! People are fully aware that there are more aspiring writers than there are writing jobs available. That means that aspiring writers tend to be desparate, and will therefore work for less. Some are willing to work for nothing but exposure. If people can get something for free, they're going to try to. The same thing does work for web design, it also works for internships and other unpaid or low-paid positions that people will take for a chance to get their foot in the door. It's unfortunate, but when there are more applicants than positions, economics dictates that you have very little power.

Geoffrey Widdison at Quora Visit the source

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The fact that you are asking this question suggests you are a wanna be writer. The current market for writers is very low in many countries. So you better enter other lucrative fields that are related to this. You might start out as an erotic writer. Go buy some porn magazines from any local store and contact the companies. Think of few erotic stories and try to become a successful erotic writer. Once you excel in that field, you will have a lot of experience and network and you will have known how things work in the writing industry. You may even choose to move to writing for porn movies. Then using your experience and contacts, you may get a chance to write for mainstream movies, TV series, books etc., but by then you will have gotten bored of writing and tired of this ugly world and most likely, you will lose all your creativity. So, you may choose to settle in as the editor or somethng for one of those porn magazines you have worked for. If you don't want to go through this tough path, you have an alternative. You can go fuck yourself. Just fuck yourself very very hard till you feel the pleasure of the pain you fart fucker. Better yet, ask one of your friends to insert a giant rod up your ass you smelly butt-hole dipshit. Just fuck yourself sideways you asslicker. Hope my answer helped you.

Anonymous

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