SiteDon’t people DIE from exposure?
Yesterday I received an e-mail from an editor at J. Morgan Magazine inviting me to send articles to his publication. Ah, once again my charm and beauty have attracted work. But wait…the e-mail included lengthy writer guidelines, at the very end of which was:
1. J. Morgan Magazine offers no financial compensation for published articles. Authors of published articles will receive compensation for First American Rights by way of no more than two complimentary copies [What?? I insist on three copies or no deal. -Linda] of the publication in which their article appears.
2. Being published in J. Morgan Magazine provides contributors an opportunity to increase their visibility with a specific audience; conversely, the tone of each article should be from an informative perspective and are not meant to be advertorial to the author’s business, service or product.
Wow, I’m in the wrong business. Forget writing — I need to be pubishing a magazine, raking in the ad dollars/subscription money/whatever and getting content for free!
I don’t understand why so many magazines ask writers to work for the “exposure.” Do enough writers fall for this crap to make it worthwhile for publishers to operate this way? Do these publishers ask their plumbers, lawyers, and accountants to work for exposure? And even if you did churn out a free article for a magazine — have you ever, ever received paying work from someone who saw your bio in a non-paying magazine?
Repeat after me: “People DIE from exposure.”
9 Responses to “Don’t people DIE from exposure?”
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dianaburrell
Said this on July 25th, 2006 at 12:29pm:Heh. I love the coverline on the magazine about creating abundance.
David Geer
Said this on July 26th, 2006 at 6:55am:Is there any way in which this kind of thing is illegal?
LindaFormichelli
Said this on July 26th, 2006 at 8:56pm:I wish! But I suspect it’s not illegal to hire freelancers for crappy wages of they agree to it. I could probably ask people to write articles for this blog in exchange for the dust balls under my bed if they agree to do it.
(Gee, I hope I didn’t just give publishers any ideas.)
Linda
Morgan McKean
Said this on October 2nd, 2006 at 5:11pm:To Whom It May Concern:
I am the publisher of J. Morgan Magazine. It is a new publication I am trying to get up and off the ground. I am offering it free to the public and many people find its content to be a great service to the community.
Anyone can tear something down. It takes courage to stick your head up and try. Please try not to find a way to judge or critize that which you do not understand. Walk a mile in my footsteps and try to see where perhaps I may actually be trying to do right by people.
The publication website is up for your viewing at this very moment at
http://www.jmorganmag.com
Best regards,
Morgan McKean
DianaBurrell
Said this on October 2nd, 2006 at 6:38pm:Ah, thanks for clearing that up — you’re trying to do right by PEOPLE. Not writers. Whew! I’m sure every writer here feels much more charitable toward your magazine this evening.
Gwen Moran
Said this on October 2nd, 2006 at 7:00pm:Mr. McKean:
While your intentions may be good, you must realize that you’re asking writers to contribute their work and talent to your online *publication — which, presumably, attracts readers and advertisers based on its content — for free. Office Depot didn’t ask its manufacturers to pony up free goods for it to sell while it got off the ground. Try launching a printing business by asking your vendors to donate their machines, paper and ink so that you can make some dough.
One wonders about a business model that does not invest in the very content that will drive its success. While it may be free to the public, my bet is that it’s certainly not free to advertisers. You will find that if you carve out even a moderate editorial budget, you will attract a better caliber of writer (read: not a complete novice desperate for clips and not a self-serving individual who simply wants to promote a product or service) and deliver more value to your readers. That, in turn, can be marketed for greater readership and higher ad dollars. It’s an equation in which no one is exploited and from which you emerge more successful. Everyone wins. Food for thought.
Kerri Fivecoat-Campbell
Said this on October 2nd, 2006 at 7:23pm:Welcome to the wonderful world of publishing, the only industry in the world where publishers can offer the opportunity to writers to perform their craft free of charge. It really never ceases to amaze me, though it should at this point, that publishers will ask writers to provide the backbone of their business without compensation. Hey, publisher, you want to perform a service? Give me a fair wage so I can pay my bills and contribute to the economy! But I do think that some responsibility lies with writers who continue to give the impression we are cheap and free labor. As my mother always said, “Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?”
DianaBurrell
Said this on October 2nd, 2006 at 9:13pm:I just checked out your LinkedIn profile, Morgan, thanks to a tip from a blog reader here. A producer at Paramount Pictures, huh?
Well, I could make a terrible joke about screwing writers. Ooops, there I go.
Julie Sturgeon
Said this on October 2nd, 2006 at 10:29pm:>
Spoken like a true idealist.
Sigh, Morgan — that should be anyone can dream out loud. Me, I’d like to open a scrapbook store and give away all the supplies to anyone desparate to scrap their photos. Think how happy they would be. Maybe cancer patients could find a great outlet for their emotions. A young girl would find her talent, straighten up her attitude in school and win a full-ride scholarship to college. How could that not be helpful to the people? And of course manufacturers will fall all over themselves to keep those supplies rolling in for free because it’s such a great idea.
Unfortunately, this world works on realism … you know, that nasty stuff that says gas costs money, Internet connections costs money, houses cost money, dog food costs money. And can you believe this one? Target tonight had the nerve to charge me for a pair of toenail clippers. Even though they could have had to courage to stick their heads up and try, do right by all people with toenail funguses and give me the clippers gratis.
So as long as I have to wallow around in this un-idealistic world, I’m afraid I’m going to have to earn money for my job.