If “cheap, down-and-dirty ‘journalism’ is the intellectual equivalent of empty calories” we want to know: doesn’t all media fulfill an emotional need? How do you determine the best way to fill readers’ desire to connect as well as the need for intellectual stimulation? How much is engaging content worth? #editorchat
the post that inspired the topic from Alan Mutter’s Newsosaur blog http://newsosaur.blogspot.com/2010/02/stop-exploitation-of-journalists.html for the record, I invited eZine articles representatives to participate – never heard back from them Folks, I’d usually have posted the killjoy warning by now, but if you want to keep going please do. I have to deal with the kiddos and finish a story before midnight. Thanks Greg, and feel free to keep chatting.We’re talking fair pay on #editorchat, especially in light of Alan Mutter’s (Newsosaur) urgent message to writers not to sell themselves short and accept low pay for their work. So the first question courtesy of our special guest Greg, Writers: When have you felt exposure to be fairly compensated for your work? One thing Michelle Goodman addresses in her book Anti 9-5 Guide is to avoid being compensated in P.I.E (paid in exposure) I still have people asking me to do stuff for free, both editing and writing. I’ve gotten very good at saying no 
Thanks Andria 
It’s easy, when I reach the end of the month and have that hefty mortgage bill staring at me, it is time to demand a check for time spent haggling over words. Greg made an interesting observation in an earlier email exchange. Greg, tell them about the changing threshold of designers’ fees. Awww shucks, Ms. J, I didn’t know you were on Ladies and gents, one of my fine editors, Jordana It should be that way Lisa, have you found a way to successfully leverage the low-paying ones? I think there is also an expertise factor with designers. Most people think anyone can write, but are less likely to think that about layout. And code is a foreign language. IMHO, the skill level is the same, writing and designing is equally complex. And writers now have to include photos in many of their online features. I keep track of my own comments, no extra pay. Just based on anecdotal experience, none of my editors seem to care that I have a social media presence. Jordana, do you think many readers of the print Biz Black Box know that I’m such a twitter-holic Greg: No, no one ever asked. I supply the link when I pitch, but I’m never sure if they see how many followers I have, or when I posted last. See, that’s what I mean! So going forward, I will be sure to point that out when I pitch to new editors. That’s true Lisa, and some really encourage it. okay folks let’s move to the next question New question up aboveHello everyone and welcome to another edition of #editorchat. Please say hello to special guest Greg Spielberg joining to discuss pay models. And remember to introduce yourselves as you join in I’m your co-host Lydia Dishman, freelance features writer for BNET, Entrepreneur, Fast Company and others. Tim won’t be joining us this evening, just so you all know. Hi Charles and Lisa – thanks for coming! Hi Andria – don’t know if you noticed but I linked to your RWW piece on the editorchat blog. So while we wait for latecomers to join, I’ll do da rulz: Rule No. 1 Observers welcome but #editorchat is for those who are, or those who work with, editors. Rule No. 2 Stay on topic Rule No. 3. Courteous comments, please. (Thank you, sir. Ma’am.) And everyone’s favorite rule — Rule No. 4. Spammers will be electrocuted. (Your computer *is* wired, pal.) hee hee MOST IMPORTANT: Rule No. 5 No crickets. We’re here to chat; come join us. Okay, please follow me up to the box above for the first question. one box downWe’re starting in just a few minutes folks, please join in to talk fair pay on #editorchat with special guest @gregtspielberg Hi Jen and Becky, thanks for coming I’ll post the official greeting in a couple of minutesMany thanks to Debbie Stier of HarperStudio for joining us tonight, and thanks to all who participated in such a valuable chat about the future of our business. I’m Lydia Dishman, your co-host, see you all next week! Tim Beyers, your other co-host. Thanks, Debbie. Find me at http://timbeyers.com and daily at The Motley Fool. #editorchatWe have a good opportunity to open the floor for Debbie to take questions about her experience at HarperStudio. Please feel free to say what’s on your mind. No crickets, people. What questions do you have for Debbie? #editorchat So the social media is like currency? If an author has an online following they are more likely to be signed? So what’s a platform include? is it just personal branding? Wondering who’s platform you really admire. #editorchat Well, there’s two new follows for me. This thread makes me wonder if the traditional book tour is dead. Now, you want a Twitter tour. Yes? No? #editorchat I’d like to ask something else: HarperStudio is pioneering the 50-50 model for authors. Debbie is that working better than royalties? I’ve got a follow-up, Debbie. What do agents think of the model? Do they like it as well? I’m not familiar with how well or poorly the old model was working for them. #editorchat Debbie: So agents don’t factor in much, and you go seek authors rather than vice versa. Do you see that changing? Are more authors pitching you? #editorchat Debbie: Interesting. So I shouldn’t pitch you book my idea? (Grins.) #editorchat Also, what’s your prospecting process? Do you decide on topic or theme and then see who’s writing or tweeting about it? #editorchat Debbie: Do you like this model for the long term? To borrow a sports metaphor, it seems like you’re acting as talent scouts who have known holes to fill. So, you fly to Cuba and look the second baseman with the vacuum-cleaner glove. #editorchat Crap, I meant “look for.” Sorry about that. We’re about 15 minutes from reintros, folks. What other questions do you have for Debbie? Or should we talk more technology? #editorchat Jen; Agreed. I’m a huge fan of the model, Debbie. I think it changes the game for writers as much as it does for HarperStudio as a publisher. #editorchat “I think it’s the heyday for the indie entrepreneur.” Interesting that we heard something similar from John Byrne when he guest hosted here. Now he’s left BusinessWeek and is a media entrepreneur. Telling? #editorchat Hahahahahaha. No! Don’t go anywhere! (Grins.) We are here every Wednesday night at 8:30 Charles: I absolutely believe there’s a rebellion underway. Editorchat was designed to find co-conspirators. #editorchat Don’t you have to be an indie spirit to want to be a part of the writing world? It’s a must. I’m hooked on the indie life. #editorchat Okay folks we’ll wrap it here – thanks for joining us Debbie Debbie: You were terrific. Thanks *so* much for joining us — we’re thrilled that you want to come back. Please do, anytime. #editorchatNo matter that the name is bad, the iPad is a game changer. How much will it and other technologies change the way editors and writers work together? Nevermind on the rules we all know ‘em anyway, right? Actually, let’s just do one. Rule No. 4. Spammers will be electrocuted. (Your computer *is* wired, pal.) #editorchat Bzzzzt! Makes me wonder if editors are going to need to be coders. We talked about writers learning more technology. With platforms like this, I think eds. are in the same boat. What would *you* do with the iPad, Debbie? How would you push the medium? #editorchat I think Jobs wants to see the industry grow. That was the whole point of iTunes, to try something entirely new — $0.99 buy-by-the-track in that case. #editorchat I’m not so sure I agree. Doesn’t good design improve readability? I know design isn’t necessarily part of the editor’s job, but it helps know what looks awful to the reader, yes? #editorchat Beck-ay! Say hi to Debbie Stier, associate publisher of HarperStudio Hey Becky. Yup, the iPad. Can’r wait to hear what you have to say about that name. #editorchat Agreed, Charles. So let’s ask the crowd: What’s the one thing you’d do with the iPad? You’re an editor and you get to choose. Dream big. #editorchat I’d try content-by-the-slice, a la iTunes music tracks. Buy only the stories you want. For books, I’d even allow buy-by-chapter. How cool would it be to recreate the Dickens experience of buy bit-by-bit, digitally? #editorchat that changes the revenue model for sure Lisa: Yes, I think he did. Debbie: Didn’t know that. Did they announce specifically for the iPad, or a buy-by-the-chapter deal? #editorchat Really Dave? Because I think the content by the slice model Tim speaks about would apply to newspapers David: The economics of info don’t change because of the device, but I believe the device allows newspapers and publishers to experiment with new delivery models. Pay-per-story, for example. #editorchat Dave: Nothing, but I think the iPad makes the potential experience more attractive. The back-end is more seamless. The store is in place. The payment mechanisms established. Etc. #editorchat Hey Kevin. Glad you stopped in. Didn’t know that about King’s metrics. Isn’t the possibility of creating better metrics also an iPad advantage? Maybe that’s just ePub. Good standards make measurement easier. #editorchat Follow up to the next thread for open forum questions. Kevin: I’m particularly fascinated by what Doctorow is trying. HarperStudio also fascinates me for what they’r doing. Treat the writer well and the readership will follow. I’m rooting hard for Debbie and her team. #editorchatGood evening everyone, welcome to our State of the Publishing Union edition of #editorchat with special Guest @debbiestier I am your co-host Lydia Dishman, freelance features writer for Fast Company, BNET and others Your other co-host, Tim Beyers, here. Motley Fool tech contributor and freelancer covering tech, business, and culture. #editorchat Hi Dave, glad you made it Hello Jen, Lisa and Charles – our faithful crew oh teh puppeh! iTampon is trending on twitter Yes, this is the device formerly known as iSlate. No symbols for Jobs or Apple. I heard starting at $499 I like it, agree with Dave that it’s not an instant game-changer, but it has huge long-term potential. Remember the ridicule the iPod Touch got. “What? You’re selling an iPhone … without the phone? Yeah, wake me when that works.” A few million unit sales later … #editorchat Let’s wait another minute and then we’ll dig into the meet of the discussion and Debbie can take some questions Going to the rules in a sec and then we’ll get right into it. Really happy to have you here tonight, Debbie. k folks, let’s suppress the giggles (mine too) and follow up to the questions above Peta and Dave, please follow us up to the next thread
It’s an issue that keeps coming up. In an age of free digital content and proliferating content mills, how can writers ensure they are being paid fairly for their work. Tim wrote a terrific post about Helium’s business model, in which he discussed selling one of his own pieces to the content aggregator. One of #editorchat’s regular contributors, Andria Krewson, also wrote a detailed piece about her experience writing for Demand Media (low pay, lots of freedom). And ever since I started blogging and tweeting, I’ve been encouraging (getting preachy at times) freelance writers not to sell themselves short and become the piece workers of the knowledge economy.
Now the venerable Alan Mutter, watchdog of the newspaper industry, is urging journalists not to commit “journicide” and accept low wages for what is highly skilled work.
So let’s discuss this tonight on #editorchat. We are pleased to have another special guest on board, Greg Spielberg. Currently Greg is the community editor for Bundle, a site loaded with helpful data on spending and savings. Greg took a turn at BusinessWeek not too long ago, so he’ll have lots of insight for our discussion.
Greg also came up with the thought-provoking questions we are leading with tonight.
Mutter complains: “I hear from people almost every day who want to commission an article or reprint a post in exchange for the ephemeral compensation known as “exposure.” Writers: When have you felt exposure to be fairly compensated for your work?
Mutter writes: “ … cheap, down-and-dirty ‘journalism’ is the intellectual equivalent of empty calories.”
Editors: Doesn’t all media fulfill an emotional need? How do you determine the best way to fill readers’ desire to connect as well as the need for intellectual stimulation? How much is engaging content worth?
3. Mutter says “If they don’t put a value on what they do, then no one else will, either.”
Publishers (and writers) What is it going to take to up the price on quality content?
Join us tonight at 8:30pm ET on FriendFeed. www.friendfeed.com/editorchat
The Media Equation – To Deliver, iPad Needs Content Providers on Board … David Carr expresses enthusiasm for the iPad, but we’re still waiting for the business model breakthrough that will make the device the winner we want it to be.The Public Editor – Secondhand Sources – Op-Ed – NYTimes.com Calrk Hoyt raises interesting questions about sourcing. Do the standards change for format and subject? Should they?
Set your DVR, writers and editors, because at around the same time the president addresses Congress and the nation in his State of the Union speech tonight, we’ll be talking about the state of the publishing industry’s union between writers, editors, and technology.
Indeed, tech seems to be the publishing topic of the week. At Digital Book World in New York, Google’s Amanda Edwards talked up Google Editions, its searchable store that will sell both digital and print books. Google plans to make Editions available on any device. “We’d like to make it so that books can be bought anywhere and read anywhere,” mediabistro’s eBookNewser quotes Edwards as saying.
On Monday, Bloomberg reported that The New York Times plans to create a whole new business out of charging for electronic editions, including content made available on Amazon’s Kindle an other e-readers. Bloomberg cites an internal memo that says The Times has appointed Yasmin Namini as general manager of the new unit.
Finally, there’s Apple’s tablet — or “iSlate,” as its being called — which is expected to be announced a few hours after this post goes live. It will be full-color and powered by a version of the iPhone operating system, according to comments made by McGraw-Hill CEO Terry McGraw in an interview on CNBC (tablet talk begins at around 2:49):
How much will these and other technologies change the way editors and writers work together? That’s our topic for tonight. Specifically, we’re wondering:
- Writers: Are these highly mobile formats encouraging you to try the shorter form? Are editors asking you to write shorter?
- Editors: Are you experimenting with digital media and HMTL, CSS, and other code as a consequence of these more interactive formats? (We asked writers about this in a recent chat. Now it’s your turn to weigh in.)
- Publishers: Do you agree with McGraw? How important is the iSlate and related technologies to the business of publishing?
Join us tonight at 8:30pm ET to discuss these questions and more on FriendFeed.
[Full disclosure: Tim owns shares of Google.]
“In the annals of history, perhaps only the D-Day invasion required as much meticulous, torturous planning as the New York Times Co.’s decision to begin charging consumers for its online content,” the Wall Street Journal reported today, although the rumors and speculation that fee-based news have been flying for a while.
It’s not surprising that the NYT is bending under pressure to increase revenue as ad dollars dwindle. We agree, it is time for a new business model. But we can’t help think that there has to be a better approach. Especially because a straight charge-for-content works for print, but not necessarily online.
Up for discussion tonight: how might publishers create a hybrid revenue model, perhaps by even restructuring author rights. For example, were the Times to use more freelancers and become a marketplace, it would vastly reduce overhead and increase its coverage capability. Meanwhile, breaking news would come from AP, Reuters, and Bloomberg. Rights to features would be purchased at whatever cost made the most sense to the paper and the independent writer.
Of course, rights and royalties are sticky wickets, ones that have the potential to generate much controversy, as seen with Amazon’s new bid to offer authors a 70 percent royalty on e-Books. We don’t pretend to have the answers, and so we’re asking you:
- Writers: Would amending your current contracts to include different rights and royalty agreements increase your bottom line?
- Editors and Publishers: What are your biggest concerns with a hybrid model? What opportunities are you preparing to exploit?
Join us tonight at 8:30pm ET to discuss these questions and more on FriendFeed.
