Category «Money»

Do me a favour

I struggle, truly, to understand people who don’t bat an eyelid at handing over £3.50 for their morning cococcino frappe-foamed mochalatte but baulk at the prospect of paying that, or less, for an eBook. Happy to support an international coffee-house chain but not an independent writer who may be shivering around a mug of thin …

What Geoffrey Owens can teach us

At the beginning of this month, actor Geoffrey Owens made the news for being photographed working in Trader Joe’s, a US grocery chain. Monstrous purveyors of fetid journalism the Daily Mail appeared to take pleasure in this purported downfall. “From learning lines to serving the long line!” they sneered, not passing up the opportunity to remark …

Freelance writing rates

One of the most common questions I get asked about freelance writing for magazines and newspapers is, you won’t be surprised to learn, “How much do publications pay?” The answer is that it varies — hugely. In the UK, glossy big name magazines can pay £1 a word or more, especially to big-name writers. Small …

You have one job (Mistake #117)

If being a writer and only a writer isn’t working out, then it may be time for a change-up. This isn’t about giving up being a writer – although I have written about that before, in Mistake #108, and don’t believe it’s something you should never consider – but about being more than a writer. …

Bloglovin’ and unpaid contributors

Bloglovin’ are looking for contributors. Here, they say they’re after a ‘wave of talented food writers/curators’ willing to contribute ‘1-2 articles per week [unpaid]’ Here, more recently, they’re looking for a ‘wave of talented home decor writers/curators’ willing to contribute ‘1-2 articles per week [unpaid]’. Having secured $7m investment a couple of years ago, I …

Desperation (Mistake #101)

This may sound harsh but it needs to be covered. Nobody wants to hire desperate people. You’re a writer. Writers write. Writers want to sell their work. Every editor knows that. It comes with the territory. Wanting to sell is the default setting. Being desperate to sell is not the default setting. If …

No sampling (Mistake #99)

A recent blog post by Simon Whaley put forward an interesting idea from journalist Nick Fletcher. I’ve edited lightly for clarity: “If you want a regular column … offer to supply a column and give the editor the first three or six pieces on a free trial basis … Once the free trial is over, …

Money, again (Mistake #85)

I’ve been experiencing a flurry of talented students emailing me with news of writing successes. “What fee have you been offered?” is my knee-jerk response to each communication, though I usually manage to check myself and squeeze in a “Congratulations!” before the filthy dosh question invariably spills over. (As an aside, I once went through …

The Book’s the Goal (Mistake #80)

Quite a lot of new writers tell me upfront that their ambition is to write and publish a book, and that’s cool. But a sizeable number make it also clear that a/ it’s the be-all-and-end-all of their ambition or b/ that they want it to be a fait accomplit by the end of the year. …

Writing for free, indefinitely (Mistake #75)

I will say upfront that the decision on whether to write for free or not is yours and yours only. As someone who has been making his living from words for 16 years – writing, translating, editing, proof-reading, tutoring – part of me, admittedly, thinks giving away words for free undermines the business in which …