I participate in a forum where there is a constant debate on whether writers are underpaid and how a cheap writer is (or can be) as good as a well paid one.
This isn’t an argument about whether you should pay ten to fifty cents per word, but whether you should pay more than say $3 for a 400 word article.
I wrote the following in response to the post, and decided it was as good a reason as any to resurrect THIS blog and copy it in here for people to read…
I really do love how, because of the very transient nature of IM and it’s continue influx of newbies, we can have this argument infinitum with no change, year after a year.
Here we have two sides of the continuum- one set on their viewpoint that all writing is writing, and that a good writer can be found anywhere for any price and that to pay anything upwards of bargain prices is a crime
And on the other side people who either choose to pay, or are articulating that they are craftspeople who can create something the average person doesn’t. That skill then deserves more compensation.
And like any continuum there are all the people caught in between.
I want to make a brief analogy. Here in NZ we have a reasonably good healthcare system. Our doctors are well trained, and I can get heavily subsidised care for my kids. This means I know if my kids are sick it’s not going to cost me much. I get a good return, in other words for a pretty high level of service.
However, even though I can get that pretty good level of service for next to nothing, I opt to go to a doctor that is not subsidised. He has the same core experience and skills as those other doctors but there are some key differences
1. The practice believes that medicine is a craft. I know if I make a booking I’ll be treated with respect, I’ll have a good portion of time allocated to me and I’ll not feel they are churning through them.
2. If there is something more unusual or difficult, they’ll spend more time researching it for no extra cost. My daughter was just diagnosed with atypical pneumonia a few days ago. She reacted to the medication. My doctor and the practice contacted leading specialists, and tracked them down checking she was on the very best course- the upshot being this is the first night in weeks she’s slept through without a coughing spell that woke the family…
3. I know they’ll listen to my ideas, and take them, BUT that they are also able to contribute their own expertise, adding ideas and thoughts that I may not have thought of. It is a relationship of mutual respect. I don’t feel talked down to, I feel talked with, and this makes me feel confident they have my best interests in hand.
I pay for the quality because while I know I can get good results from a doctor who is trained anywhere, I choose to select and pay for more from someone who chooses to treat his craft a little differently.
We all have choices in what we prefer to invest our money in.
Me- I’ve always believed that I should pay the most I can possibly afford to the people who do the jobs around me. That attitude has meant sometimes I have sought out good people at bargain prices. But I also know that if I want the best, I’ll pay for the best. I want someone who’ll deliver the work I wanted them too, without me having to fight for it’s delivery or to spoon feed them into it.
Last year I learnt one very important lesson- if I REALLY believe in my future then I need to invest in it myself first. If I do invest in it, and believe what I am doing is right, then things flow better. I have a saying- hold all your possessions loosely that the more you give out of an open hand, and pay for what you should, the more it flows back to you. if your fist is closed, then you can hold onto what you have, but you will not be able to receive anymore. This universal truth is not just about LOA- or giving and receiving but also about paying people what is their due.
Try to see the argument in this thread from more than your perspective. Some people here have established that they can, and because of that they can discuss this intelligently. Others just read it through the haze of their own limited understanding and will just never get it.
Artists, including writers, were the storytellers and recorders of history. Yes, now most of us CAN write. That does not make us all writers. Then, out of those who profess to be writers, there are those who serve the bulk of humanity’s needs with their factory shop writing, not unlike a doctor in a busy free/subsidised clinic.
There will always people people however who want to create a finer product, that people WILL pay for because it’s consistent, it’s trustworthy and it’s part of a partnership between two professionals creating something new – you’ll feel the person is in synergy with you- producing something you could not, but at the same point something that completely reflects who you are, and what you stand for.
My daughter “could’ve” been lucky and got a doctor as good as mine for free. They are in those places. SOMETIMES. But it’s hard to find them, and often it’s a one off. You can’t count on it for consistency every time. So I choose to go to a practice where all the doctors are. Because for me it’s worth it.
), there was no doubt that Australian humour is in fact very very funny. I’ve heard few people moan that some of the comedians they’ve seen haven’t made them laugh very much this year. So when a man can come on stage and talk about the recession, abortion, and religion and still make me laugh, I’m impressed.
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