This is a series of articles I've written about writing, specifically about the problems faced by (a) the new writer who isn't selling enough work yet to make a living or (b) the older writer who isn't selling as much as they used to. To read other installments, click here.
We've been talking about becoming (or remaining) a professional writer and I plumb forgot to give what I consider an important definition of a Professional Writer. There are many but I think this one is key to understanding why you get work or don't get work. Here it is, set off with special margins to make it seem even more significant…
A Professional Writer is someone whose work is purchased, sometimes by total strangers, for professional rates or who is hired for professional rates, and this happens largely because of the merits of the writer's own work.
Okay, now: Before you start asking what "professional rates" are, that's easy. It's roughly what other Professional Writers are receiving for work of roughly the same value to the same employers or purchasers or comparable buyers. There are dollar figures determined by the free market, sometimes with the help of a union or other professional organization, that are more or less standard. At some comic book companies, for example, there's a beginner's page rate and if you're a beginner, that's the minimum you should probably get.
Be wary of an offer of much less. There are folks who think that as a trade-off for giving you an important break, you should work for less or even nothing. In some (not all) situations, that may not be the worst trade-off in the world…but don't do much of that, don't do it in a situation where they could pay you professional rates and just don't want to, and remember that you're not really a pro until you're getting pro money.
There are times you'll want to work for free or close to free because the project has a special value to you. For instance, I often contribute — pro bono — to magazines and projects that I feel further expand what we know about the history of some area that interests me like comic books or comedians…but I don't do that to promote myself. That's different. Or, sans pay, I write forewords for books that I want to see reach a wide market.
The kind of work you do to earn a living…that oughta pay. It doesn't have to pay top money if you're new but it should pay something that isn't insulting.
And note the part above where we consider the value of that work to the buyer. If you sell a 10,000 word short story to some magazine, that doesn't mean you have to get or will get the same money that they paid Stephen King for his 10,000 word short story in the same issue. His name on the cover probably has a lot more value to them than yours does…now. Later, when the world discovers you're a much better writer than he is, you should probably get more than he does.
For now though, you should be paid at the minimum whatever professional rates are for that engagement…or comparable engagements elsewhere. In an upcoming installment, we'll discuss why that's important for reasons other than getting as much money as you can get. (Hint: It also has a lot to do with how you and your work are treated.)
So now let's focus on two aspects of the above definition: "total strangers" and "the merits of the writer's own work."
An awful lot of writers get their first break or their big break because they know someone — a relative, a guy they went to high school with, whatever. That's a great boost for the writer but it only goes so far. There's probably a limit on how much work that friend or relative can give you so to have a long career, you have to convince some people outside your family or your circle of acquaintances that you can write.
I feel so strongly about this that when I've been in a position to hire writers or actors, I follow the following policy: I will give someone their first job but not their second. This is, of course, assuming I think they're good enough to warrant that first job. I tell them, "Okay, you have one credit. Now, go out and impress someone else and get another one." If they can't, they aren't going to have much of a career.
Please do not think I'm saying you shouldn't work over and over for or with the same people. If you're any good, they will want to work with you again…and again and again and many more agains. And if they treat you right, you'll want to work for them for many agains. But the core of a career is that you impress people who have no other reason to work with you other than they think what you produce is good enough to publish or produce. They read something you've written and say, "Hey, this guy's good" or at least, "Hey, we can use this!"
Or they meet you and hear some ideas or a pitch or something that makes them think you're good enough. You need the ability to do that because the producers and editors change over time…and if you got in because of a relative or a personal connection, you're likely to run out of relatives and personal connections after a while.
By the same token, if you aren't selling your work, don't start believing that the game is rigged because you're "on the outside" and don't have any family members or friends who can toss you a writing job. There are writers who enjoy some success for a time because of "ins" of that nature but a real career depends on being able to cultivate new "ins." This brings me to a question I've received in various forms many times since I began this series. Here's one form of it, cut-'n'-pasted from the most recent e-mail of this kind…
Isn't it all a matter of who you know? You know an awful lot of people and you've worked a lot. Isn't that what it's all about? You hire someone on one project and then they hire you on their project? Isn't that how it works?
No, at least in my experience, that's not how it works. I'll explain why in our next installment.