Putting a Value on Your Work

John Scalzi took Black Matrix Publishing to task for their offered pay rate of one-fifth of a cent per word. In a followup post entitled “Aspiring Writer Stockholm Syndrome“, Scalzi responds to defenses offered for the criticized publisher:

“We can’t all make what the pros make” — Why not? All it takes is the decision not to take less than that for your work, and patience until you get to that point. This is why I advise writers to keep their day jobs. If you can’t or won’t wait, pick a lower amount you’re happy with, below which you do not go. Allow me to suggest that amount be an integer when it comes to pennies per word.

“A market like this gives me hope” — A market that thinks so little of you that it takes five words to get to a penny gives you hope? You need better hope standards, my friends.

I have yet to have any fiction published but I have been writing professionally for a few years. Working as a freelance writer makes you realize quickly what monetary value you can- and should- put on your work.

I had no real experience when I started working as a freelancer. But even at my first job- a poorly funded online magazine- I made more than one cent a word. And it was openly acknowledged by my boss that the pay was fairly crappy.

I’ve worked up since then, building my portfolio along the way, and am now supporting myself decently solely on freelance writing. It is obviously unrealistic to plan on supporting yourself as a short story writer. But you still shouldn’t undervalue your work.

Let’s look at the standard pay rates for short fiction writing. Duotrope’s Digest has the following definitions of payment: token- under 1 cent per word, semi pro- between 1 and 4.9 cents per word, and pro- 5 cents per word and up.

To join the Science Fiction and Fantasty Writers of America as an associate member (the lower membership status), a writer must have at least one short story sale to a qualifying market. To qualify, the markets must pay at least 5 cents per word. The Horror Writers Association qualifies publications at the same pay rate

The publications with pro rates are going to be the most competitive. The upper end of semi-pro isn’t a bad gig if you’re not angling for membership into one of those groups. But there doesn’t seem to be much point in submitting to a publication paying token rates.* Those publications likely have a very low readership, little to no industry recognition, and essentially exist, for writers, as a “place to get published”.

There’s nothing wrong with wanting to get a story published somewhere, anywhere. But if your story has found no home in the pro or semi-pro markets and you feel that it absolutely must see the light of day, why not publish it yourself at your website or via a service like Lulu?

* There is a very large exception category here. There are well-respected smaller publications who have a nonexistent budget (for whatever reason) and offer payments of little to nothing with the implication that the real payment is the honor of being published there.

One of my first published articles was in such a publication, well known and respected among liberal political sorts. I don’t regret it at all and am still quite proud of the piece and the placement. But making such a decision requires sufficient knowledge of the industry you are submitting to and the publication in question.