Should you write for free?
Sigh.
This question is such a pain in my fatty. There really isn’t a simple yes or no answer.
Why?
Because I know a New Eager Writer who wrote for a website for two years, without seeing a single coin—all because New Eager Writer’s editor convinced her to do it for the exposure.
See that thick ugly, yellow line that resembles caution tape at a crime scene?
Yeah, that one.
That’s the fine line between a dope opportunity and a goddamn rip off. Exposure can lead to pneumonia. Hope you go some gold star health insurance because you’re going to urgent care, sis.
Look, I know that an established writer wrote for a business blog for free (for exposure) and flipped that opportunity into a paid columnist gig at Forbes, but I bet you he didn’t write for free for 24 months. #facts
There’s levels to this and you have to know what you’re getting yourself into before you say, “Yes, I’ll write that 2,000-word piece on fried Oreos for ExtraCrispyCookies.com for zero bucks. And yes, I can have it to you tomorrow.”
There’s a time and a place to write for free and then there’s a time to demand your r-e-s-p-e-c-t. (Rest in power to our great auntie Aretha.)
Watch me teach a class about writing for free via a video from my Yeah Write with Taiia Smart Young group on Facebook. If you aren’t down with my crew, like the page and join us. Quick note: I talk about a writing contest and my new T-shirts at the beginning of the video, speed up to the 6:10 mark to get to the good stuff.
