After last week’s post about being a self-sufficient artist who slices, dices –and probably self-publishes– I thought it was a good idea to look at the evergreen topic of creatives not getting paid.
Writers being undervalued and being underpaid is an oft-told tale — and not just because there are writers around to write about it.
Writer Matt Wallace created a freelance rebuttal guide that covers about just every usual reason given to not pay writers — or not pay them much.
It’s fantastic.
Read it. Absorb it. Make the answers your own. Get comfortable quoting rates that you know to be what the actual market finds fair.
Because while I’ve had the pleasure of working with some nice producers (and indeed, I try and be one of those nice producers), some people are horrible about trying to gaslight and guilt trip creatives. What I especially like about the rebuttal guide is that you can tailor it to a very neutral tone and make any issue just about the project at hand. Slimy producers and publishers show their hand when they try and make it all about you and won’t let your refusal to work at their rate go (producers who know you’re pricing yourself “out of your league” or their budget will simply wish you luck).