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The elephant in the room of the current tatterpig discourse is the concept that "finding work is also work."
Let me explain. But, first, let me say that *of course* paying more is desirable. Obviously. Like, nobody& #39;s actually arguing that, are we?
No. So anyway,
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Let me explain. But, first, let me say that *of course* paying more is desirable. Obviously. Like, nobody& #39;s actually arguing that, are we?
No. So anyway,
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If I work for a company that pays me $.05 a word, but that company consistently provides me work in the multiple thousands of words that I don& #39;t have to spend hours chasing, and then I spend hours/days/weeks chasing $.10 a word where the max assignment is 1k-2K words...
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... which situation actually pays me more for the TOTAL WORK I am doing?
Like, we talk about how workers should be paid for their total work time including commute (and they should), right?
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Like, we talk about how workers should be paid for their total work time including commute (and they should), right?
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So why are we not putting in to the convo how much time people have to spend chasing $.10+/word? How the amount of words matters as much as the rate?
If what you& #39;re offering is $.10/word for 1K words, that $100 is not a living wage. It& #39;s not a reliable freelance income.
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If what you& #39;re offering is $.10/word for 1K words, that $100 is not a living wage. It& #39;s not a reliable freelance income.
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It is, instead, & #39;mad money& #39;. A small tattoo, ordering dinner for my family.
And here& #39;s the thing: for individual freelancers, saying & #39;you& #39;re a bootlicker if you accept less than $.10& #39; is not only fucking hilarious, but... really weird, you know?
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And here& #39;s the thing: for individual freelancers, saying & #39;you& #39;re a bootlicker if you accept less than $.10& #39; is not only fucking hilarious, but... really weird, you know?
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As a freelancer, you have to make the decision for yourself and for your family: where do I want to put my energy?
Do I want to put it into chasing multiple small assignments with a higher per-word count? Do I want to put it into writing more words at a lower per-word count? 6/
Do I want to put it into chasing multiple small assignments with a higher per-word count? Do I want to put it into writing more words at a lower per-word count? 6/
How does that equation change when you& #39;re getting a steady feed from a couple companies that pay lower rates but you don& #39;t have to work at chasing the work itself, just show up, do good work, & get invited to new projects?
There isn& #39;t a right answer. (No, there isn& #39;t.)
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There isn& #39;t a right answer. (No, there isn& #39;t.)
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There& #39;s really just & #39;what& #39;s right for you.& #39;
No one& #39;s out here fucking busting unions (we& #39;d want a guild anyway, y& #39;all) or buying their third yacht off of RPG money, so let& #39;s just throw all that nonsense out the window & when we have these discussions, have them realistically. 8/
No one& #39;s out here fucking busting unions (we& #39;d want a guild anyway, y& #39;all) or buying their third yacht off of RPG money, so let& #39;s just throw all that nonsense out the window & when we have these discussions, have them realistically. 8/
Maybe this is just me, because I grew up with a dad who was a freelance journalist, but like, hustling for work IS WORK, and if we& #39;re having this conversation, we have to really be honest about the amount of work that finding work _is_.
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And nobody seems to be talking about how much work it is to find enough $100 1K-word assignments to live on. Never mind the amount of research you have to do for a $100 1K word assignment vs a 5000 word $250 assignment.
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You do the same amount of research, basically. You do the same amount of prep work.
Again, _I think people should be paid more._ But I think we& #39;re not talking about what REALLY goes into any of these assignments, and while I don& #39;t think people are TRYING to be dishonest...
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Again, _I think people should be paid more._ But I think we& #39;re not talking about what REALLY goes into any of these assignments, and while I don& #39;t think people are TRYING to be dishonest...
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... I think maybe some of us aren& #39;t really being honest with ourselves.
Mind you, I think that part of the problem with the RPG industry is that people merchandise for _shit._ There& #39;s so much money left on the table by basically every company I know.
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Mind you, I think that part of the problem with the RPG industry is that people merchandise for _shit._ There& #39;s so much money left on the table by basically every company I know.
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Redbubble is not going to finance you paying your writers better. It won& #39;t. Sorry.
There are resources for putting out quality, cost-efficient, per-order pieces of merch which have much higher profit margins, but companies aren& #39;t looking at that.
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There are resources for putting out quality, cost-efficient, per-order pieces of merch which have much higher profit margins, but companies aren& #39;t looking at that.
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And hey, if you want to find out how to do effective and good-profit-margin merchadising? You can email me.
But yeah, until RPGs fill out their offerings, and aren& #39;t offering just books or PDFs at the thinnest of margins, it& #39;s always gonna be a choice:
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But yeah, until RPGs fill out their offerings, and aren& #39;t offering just books or PDFs at the thinnest of margins, it& #39;s always gonna be a choice:
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Are you offering more words at a lower rate, but putting out a chunkier product that people will pay more for, or are you offering fewer words at a higher rate? And what will freelancers accept as the amount of unpaid work they have to put in to finding a million tiny gigs? 15/
Right now, ALL of my current projects are each paying me over $500/gig, and I didn& #39;t have to run across the earth to find them. I& #39;m not a 20 year vet, either. I& #39;ve only been doing this professionally for like ... 3, 4 years.
I put in for indie gigs, too, and I do & #39;em. But.
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I put in for indie gigs, too, and I do & #39;em. But.
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Hell yes, I work for OPP. I do work I& #39;m proud of for good chunks of money per gig, and since I turn in good work every time, they keep hiring me.
(Look at the people consistently railing against any particular company, and you& #39;ll find people who shat the bed and got fired.)
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(Look at the people consistently railing against any particular company, and you& #39;ll find people who shat the bed and got fired.)
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OPP has raised pay since I& #39;ve worked for them, worked with me on moving to other lines so I can expand my portfolio, helped develop me as a writer and a professional freelancer, helped me move to editing and develop as an editor.
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And every project I get, unless I specifically say I want less, I get $500+, and since I haven& #39;t shat the bed, I get continually invited to new projects.
So, you know. That& #39;s the choice you make, I guess. One, the other, or some mix of both.
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So, you know. That& #39;s the choice you make, I guess. One, the other, or some mix of both.
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Anyway, the idea that small RPG companies (and companies like OPP and GR and so on are like, 3, 4 people at most) are sitting on piles of cash and making freelancers dance for their bourgeois entertainment is laughable...
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...and we need to actually talk about the fact that getting work is work, and your crisp hundo isn& #39;t a living wage either, bro.
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