Archive for September 2008
To Blog for Free or Not to Blog for Free, That’s the Question
First, I asked Linda Lee, the owner of Smart Writers, Stupid Computers,a writer, speaker, educator, and expert in website design and on-line promotion and marketing. She also is the expert presenter on websites and online marketing and promotion for writers for the San Francisco Writers Conference and the Writing For Change Conference.She wanted to see the bog post Angela Hoy wrote. Here’s what she had to say after reading it:
“You are going to get website traffic from this article she wrote for years!” (I liked that!)
After quite a few bits of advice on how to capitalize on the “publicity,” she added:
“One more thing, I would say, ‘You Want ME to Write for FREE?! Ha Ha Ha!!! Yes, I will! That’s how you can promote yourself and your career online. I am in the Internet marketing community and they give out teasers, blogs and free articles ALL THE TIME to lead to better sales of other products. So she is wrong. So there!”
(You’ll be reading more from Linda here in November, by the way, when she writes a blog or two for me — for free.)
And then I asked Kevin Smokler, the editor of Bookmark Now: Writing in Unreaderly Times, the San Francisco Chronicle’s notable book of 2005, and the co-founder and chief evangelist of BookTour.com. (In a previous life, Kevin was the founder of the Virtual Book Tour, and he has been a presenter at the San Francisco Writers Conference several times. While at the conference, he also offers consulting services on platform building and publishing to attendees and donates all the money he earns to the conference’s scholarship program.) I asked him if it was common practice for guest bloggers to get paid for their contributions. He replied, “It is my experience that most blogs, unless run by major media, don’t have the budget for paying guest bloggers. The person asked to provide a blog has the right to say ‘no,’ but they don’t have the right to be offended by the request to blog for free. If the request comes from the NY Times, they might expect to get paid, but not if the request comes from an ordinary person. If it is that outlet’s standard policy to pay for guest blogs and it is making an exception by asking a guest to blog for free, then that is offensive.”
Kevin concluded by reiterating his main point: “It is my experience that, when speaking about someone who writes blogs not as a full-time profession, asking to be paid for that service is unreasonable.”
Do I write blogs as a full-time profession? No. Point made. Point taken?
Enough said. I think we’ve exhausted the topic. No need come November for someone to write on blogging for free or for pay. We’ll have more interesting things to discuss. See you then.
Don’t forget: Look for this blog at http://www.writenonfictioninnovember.wordpress.com/ in November. This year’s challenge takes place there!
(By the way…the comments have pretty much stopped. I only discarded those three I’ve mentioned already. You’ve seen all the rest. Those three were nasty and not worth publishing. Suffice it to say, they sided with Angela.)
Comments to Angela Hoy’s Posting
If you are coming here rather than to the old Write Nonfiction in November blog, which is/was hosted on Blogger, you might be missing out on all the action…I was going to say “fun,” but I really don’t think that would be the correct choice of words. Anyway, the comments are all being posted there…So, go to www.writenonficinnov.blogspot.com. Or, if you are too lazy to do that…or too busy writing (the better of the two choices), here’s what’s been going on:
i don’t think it’s a personal thing–angela believes writers need to get paid and you don’t. personally, i’m tired of working for my portfolio instead of groceries, while your intent may be sincere, i know that many artists are simply tired of producing writing/art/music without the same financial security as other professions. hopefully the two of you can patch things up…
Nina Amir said…
I never said I didn’t believe writers need to get paid. You are also making an assumption about me — or simply believing what Angela said about me. I make a living as a writer and an editor. By all means, I want to get paid, and I want other writers to get paid, too. I just believe that there are some circumstances in which we, as writers, can — and do — choose to write for free.
Comment deleted
Anonymous said…
Just read the two posts (and I got to Angela’s blog through your blog) and what she did was extremely unprofessional in publishing your exchange with a link to your blog – whatever her personal opinions might be.
Anyway, I’m on your side on this one, Nina. A guest post is rarely a paid position but a publicity opportunity. I understand her opinion that writers too often get asked to do things for free. But do journalists pay us to do interviews with us even though the interview will involve work on our part? In most cases, no – we recognise it’s a good source of publicity.
In any case, it didn’t warrant posting your exchange on her website with a link to your blog. Let’s hope it just results in more readers for you!
Catherine
Nina Amir said…
Thank you!
Actually, she published our exchange despite the fact that I specifically asked her not to do so. She got around my request by not actually publishing the emails themselves.
I hope you are right about the readers. You know what they say: Even bad publicity is good publicity.
Come back in November when there will be something more interesting to read!
Cherrye at My Bella Vita said…
I’m sorry it seems like an innocent request turned brutal. I don’t know much about Angela, but I enjoy Writers Weekly and respect the website.
I understand what you were requesting with the guest bloggers, as I’ve been one and requested some myself.
Good luck with your November writing project.
Kate said…
I agree with Caroline, it was unprofessional of Angela to publish an interpretation of your emails without your consent.
On the other hand, trying to be fair, I don’t think she realises the difference between writing for traditional print and writing for blogs. In a sense she is right, but not about this. Guest posts are a long established and accepted form of promotion. The blogger gets good content and the writer gets long term publicity which can often be far more lucrative than the £20 they would have made if they had been paid. It’s a gig that keeps on giving. Contrary to what Angela says, many highly successful blogs are run this way.
Anonymous said…
I don’t think you should waste any time on Angela Hoy. She appears to be a very angry woman, never happier than when she can provoke someone into an argument. She is also extremely rude. My advice is to ignore her.
Nina Amir said…
Thanks for the support, those of you who have commented! I appreciate your views.
Again, I do support writers getting paid. Of course. Why wouldn’t I? But in this case, I dont’ believe I was wrong to ask for a free blog. I do believe guest bloggers commonly offer their posts for free adn bloggers as for those blogs for free. And it is good publicity.
It’s true this blog doesn’t have a huge readership. How do you build a blog? With good information. That’s why this year I want to supplement the information I have with the information others can offer — others who might know more or have more experience or have another area of expertise. And I’m not excluding other editors…which means I’m not doing this to make money.
Now, if I get a client or two out of a month of blogging, that woould be nice. Did I last year? No. Is that the most important part of Write Nonfiction in November? No. If it was, I wouldn’t be asking other people who compete with my business to blog for me.
For those wondering about how many comments I’ve received that support Angela and chosen not to post, so far only two…and a really mean email from someone who felt the need to take time out of their day to do that. I also got one from a life coach…which I posted and then deleted, because it didn’t pertain to the issue at hand. I’m not posting the mean and nasty comments. I don’t really want to give them more energy than they deserve. I’m happy to acknowledge that they did show up here, though, and I’ll keep a running tally of them for anyone who really cares. Ask, I’ll give you the current numbers, if you care.
(I admit I have posted one saying mean things about Angela…Sorry.)
By the way, I wrote a blog post about mean people in my very-alive-and-well blog, which does run all year long, at www.purespiritcreations.com, if you are interested!
See you hear in November…unless there are more comments to moderate!
Thanks again!
Nina Amir said…
Forced to Blog Before November
For anyone showing up at this blog because of a posting by Angela Hoy at www.WritersWeekly.com, let me inform you that this blog lies dormant, with a few exceptions, except during the month of November. Thus, its name….Write Nonfiction in November. Occasionally, I am prompted to write something newsworthy, as I did when the Amazon/Booksurge issue was all the talk in the publishing world and when I felt the desire to promote a writing conference, which I did in June (my last posting…not in April, as Angela claimed). I feel the need to at least explain that, should you think this blog is “dead,” as she incorrectly reported. It is not dead; it lying in wait until November when the challenge begins again.
As for Angela’s need to make me so wrong, fine. I have no need to do that. If she wants to make assumptions about me, fine. If you want to know who I am and what I’m about, read my blog. Then you’ll know the truth. Go to my website, http://www.copywrightcommunications.com/ and read my work or my bio or my resume. Ask my clients and my students what they think of me and my advice and my work. They know the truth. Go to my other website, http://www.purespiritcreations.com/, and learn about me as an author and a person, if you feel so inclined.
Angela doesn’t know me at all. She is basing her judgments on a series of emails and even on my attempt to clarify a statement about writing for free. She says I misread her rudeness. Is it possible she misread anything in our communication or about me?
For more about writing for free, check back in November…when I will have something to say on the subject and some guest bloggers will offer their expertise and knowledge — and their writing — to this blog (for free), because sometimes being of service by supporting other writers is just the right thing to do.
By the way, this blog was formerly hosted by Blogger, and I converted it to WordPress not long ago. In the process, the dates got moved around on the postings from November and the last blog actually got dropped off. These problems will be fixed prior to Write Nonfiction in November 2008’s challenge. If you want to read that post in the meantime, you can find it at http://writenonficinnov.blogspot.com/.
I hope to see you hear again in November!
ninaamir