What is Fair Pay for Writers (and how to make sure you get what your worth)

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