by Effie Moore Salem

Created on: July 05, 2007

All websites should not pay writers for articles, but all websites that rely solely on writers' articles [magazines, in particular]should pay. Actually, all, or most all websites that cater to the writers that write for them do have some incentive for the writers. Otherwise why would the writers write for them?

Some of the pay is in publicity, some is in convenience, and some is in expectations of greater rewards. Some writers need others to know of their writing. As an example, editors needing such and such articles can readily check out the particular website that where such and such writer has stored articles.

Publicity: It will be good to mention to the editor in cover letters, letters that accompany manuscripts, that writing samples are on mywritingsamples.com, or whatever. Depending on the editor's policies they may frown on going this extra fourth of a mile to check out writing styles, quality, etc., but I see this attitude changing as competition for the better on-line writers speeds up.

Convenience: Where else can writers write and write and write, if not on-line, and have a hefty bunch of articles to showcase to friends, to editors, to whomever. [The scales of writing justice is beginning to tilt in the favor of the writer. Too long has the publishers ruled and the consequence has been some good writing ht the slush heap while 'what pays the office expenses' got published.)

Expectations: Writing where expectations face off with reality is truly a slippery slope. Not all is equal here. But a writer that is a writer learns in time that he is actually writing for himself. When others demand his kind of writing then that is 'writer heaven'. If he has not compromised his integrity to meet the expectation of greed, then the rewards will be even greater.

There are as many kinds of writers as there are views about them. A writer simply writes and lets each day take care of itself. But few give up their day jobs; and this is especially true if the writers happen to be those who like to write, need to write, regardless of ability, or time, etc., and find nothing untoward about writing for places that promise much but pay little.

Their thoughts could be, "someone out there may need to know what I have to say, therefore I am not going to deprive them for the sake of money'. Writing is and has always been an honorable profession. Think back to when you learned of the scribes that copied The Good Book by hand. Then, boredom was probably not an issue, but they were probably glad to get past all that begetting in Numbers.

Still, online writing or elsewhere, writers should be compensated for work well done, for work where agreements have promised pay, and where pay is warranted. But everything being equal, jamming letters together into fractured words and haphazardly forming sentences that start from nowhere and go to even less, is not writing. When a writer is a writer, he writes; what he doesn't know, he learns; and when paid, he is grateful and with the money he buys more pencils.

Write.

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