writing for free Archives

“Fixing my toilet will be great exposure for your plumbing business” and other bullshit writers deal with

By Eric San Juan June 8, 2016Rants, Writing

Emails like the following are not uncommon, so today I figured I'd spotlight one of them - and anyone who writes, draws, or designs for a living gets this sort of pitch all the time: Dear Eric, Hope all is well. In the coming month a new and unique website will be launching called REMOVED. While virtually all other sites directed towards the male audience focus on sex, sports or men’s fashion, REMOVED will provide men with the resources to connect and exchange ideas on everyday issues, including relationships, life, marriage, parenting, etc. Based on your expertise and published work, we…

Why you should never write for the Huffington Post

By Eric San Juan February 22, 2016Rants, Writing

Imagine for a moment that you want to hire chefs to prepare food at your chain of restaurants, but you don't want to pay those chefs. You want them to volunteer. And when asked why you believe that's a valid way to do business, this is what you tell people: "If I was paying someone to cook something because I want to draw in customers, that’s not a real authentic way of cooking. When somebody cooks something for us, we know it’s real, we know they want to cook it. It’s not been forced or paid for. I think that’s…

Writers, don’t get suckered into working for free

By Eric San Juan July 20, 2012Writing

Writers want to be read. That is why you write. You write to express yourself or to earn a living, yes -- for me writing is as much a job as it is a joy -- but it begins with a desire to say, "Look at this. These are my words." That's why it's very easy for aspiring writers to get suckered into doing free work they should be getting paid for, or worse yet, for established writers to get tricked into doing the same. In the world of freelance writing especially, there are plenty of people out there ready…