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Would you work for free?
Tuesday, February 24th, 2009 | Technical writing, consumer culture, content, websites, writing | No Comments
I recently corresponded with Company X regarding a job writing game reviews.
Game reviews are not my normal venue, but what the heck; I like gaming, I like writing and it seemed like a fun way to make some extra cash occasionally (plus, a cool addition to my portfolio).
So I sent an email in with my details and some questions and received the standard response asking for a sample review. It was this part of the response that concerned me:
“Submitted articles become the property of Company X.com, Inc. and may at some time be published in its submitted form or altered by Company X.com, Inc and subsequently published at some later date.”
The “submitted articles” are actually the writing samples they require to make a hiring decision. In other words, you send them a sample review written to specification based on an actual game and they get to keep it, alter it, and use it whether they hire you or not. Bonus for them, they don’t have to give the writer credit or pay them.
I emailed to confirm this interpretation and got the following reply:
“That is correct”
That was the entire reply – no lead-in or sign-off.
I replied that most places requiring samples asked for mock-samples but in the cases where proper samples were required that there was usually something in place to ensure the sample would never be used without full permission of and recognition to the author.
This was the reply I received:
“Thanks for your comments, however, that is our policy. The choice is in the hands of potential freelance candidates whether to submit their sample or not.”
Admittedly, he’s got a point. Anyone reading that ‘policy’ can always make the choice to not work for free. They can choose to write for a company that does not use ill-gotten content.
I was still a little appalled at how much they devalue writers – as though writing isn’t an actual occupation or, for some of us, the only thing we want to do for a living. If you write for a company, you should get paid a fair and decent wage for it – not find it published in an altered form where you get no credit.
Writing for free doesn’t pay the bills – so always read the fine print and ask questions!