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This is an excellent question, and deserves a more detailed answer than the one I gave. First: you need to distinguish between writing for yourself and writing for other people. Who benefits most from the work? I write lots of promo stuff for bloggers, and I don& #39;t ask to be paid. https://twitter.com/penny_author/status/1303301886905397248">https://twitter.com/penny_aut...
The main reason for this is that if bloggers don& #39;t get paid (and they don& #39;t), then it& #39;s unreasonable for me to expect payment from them. Most authors like to support bloggers. Also, if it& #39;s for book promo, then it mostly benefits me.
However, if it& #39;s a paper or magazine wanting an article, I charge. Why? Because they& #39;re a business. They have a budget for writers, and they& #39;re using my name and my work to sell their product. However, if it& #39;s just a quick Q & A or an interview, I don& #39;t charge.
With charities, I don& #39;t tend to charge, but I don& #39;t take a lot of commissions. I can& #39;t afford to take on too much unpaid work, so I choose my charities carefully. I also know that some people can *never* afford to do pro bono work, and I wouldn& #39;t expect them to.
When I do promo events in bookshops and libraries, I don& #39;t charge, because a) I& #39;m actively promoting my book, and b) because I want to support bookshops and libraries.
When doing festivals, I always charge a small fee (around £200), because festivals selling tickets rely on contributors for their existence, and it isn& #39;t fair to exclude them (after all, they would never think of refusing to pay for the caterers, the venue or the lighting).
For schools, I charge by the day, based on the salary a supply teacher would be getting. I think that& #39;s the minimum any author should be charging, unless they choose to work pro bono (I sometimes do, in the case of a school from an underprivileged area).
And when I do prono bono work, I send a voided invoice, so that they know the value of what they& #39;re being given for free. Otherwise, people tend to assume that my time and effort aren& #39;t worth anything.
But yes: all this takes time away from your writing. I think it& #39;s important for people entering the profession to understand that being a full-time writer involves a LOT of stuff that isn& #39;t actually writing at all, and that you need to be okay with that.
Unpaid stuff that most writers do:
Editing
Copy-editing
Touring
Signings
Promo events in bookshops and libraries
Charity work
Interviews, TV, radio
Online self-promotion
Social media
Website, newsletters
Blurbs
Conventions
This is why the things we DO ask to be paid for matter.
Editing
Copy-editing
Touring
Signings
Promo events in bookshops and libraries
Charity work
Interviews, TV, radio
Online self-promotion
Social media
Website, newsletters
Blurbs
Conventions
This is why the things we DO ask to be paid for matter.
