Would You Write For Free?

I have a favorite e-group that I absolutely love run by the lovely Diane Newton that I visit once in awhile to check what's going on or to make a post about something that has happened that the group might be interested in.

About a week ago, I decided to go over there and post a call for publishing horror stories for a chapter in my new how to book for first time authors that will be published by Zumaya Publications tentatively next year. Response was great. Not only did I get a few horror stories, but successful publishing stories as well. A well-rounded combination.

I decided to go into the group and check on things a few days ago when I saw that all hell had let loose. Someone had come into the group and flamed me, saying that she was a contributor of my anthology and that her experience was the most horror story of all. This was the first time this gal has posted and I'm pretty sure she found the link to the group on my website.

Her claims were that I was living off of other people's writings and that it "made her feel dirty to even be involved with me at all."

Basically, if you want to read the post, she's got it up at her blog at http://www.livejournal.com/users/katharinakatt/. And, to make matters even worse, she's copied entries from an egroup I am in (complete copyright violation) which you can read here... http://www.livejournal.com/users/katharinakatt/140441.html#cutid1. Smart woman, eh?

Di ended up throwing her out of the group, which I imagine isn't the only group she's been thrown out of, mine included.

I just don't understand that mentality. You submit a story to an anthology, knowing that your payment is a copy of the book and you are fine with that. Once the book comes out, you start complaining about someone getting rich off the book that you agreed to be a part of?

My rebuttal on Di's group states my views on "writing for free":

I have written oodles of articles on this very subject. They have
been included on Absolute Write and other places.

When you write an article and you send it to a publication that does not
pay, does that make you mad because you received no monetary stipend for
doing so? If it did, then writing articles for free isn't for you and you
are missing out on a great opportunity for a free ad for your book or
services.

Whenever I send my articles off, I see a bump in Amazon rankings.
Okay, maybe someone might have bought the book without seeing the
article, but it was a mighty coincidence it coincided with the same time my
articles appeared live, don't you think?

How many people blog? Do
you get paid for making your words live? No? Then, what are you
doing it for then?

Dr. Bob...he's always asking for calls
for his newsletter. Do you send him anything? You do?
Well, don't you expect to be paid for this just as you expect to be paid for
anything else live on the web or in print? No? Well, shame on
you. Don't you know that your words are valuable? Don't you know
that your words have dollar signs written all over them?

How about Fran Silverman's newsletter? Have you ever sent her
something for it? Has she become rich off of your words?

Of course not. The people that are all involved in "using" your words
for their benefit are in fact providing you with a service and a place to
promote your books/services. And why do they do it? They love
it. They absolutely love it. To be able to do this for people
is what they live for.

My writing site takes a lot of work. I pay
almost a hundred bucks a year to host it on Homestead, not to mention what I
have to pay for the domain name. I get no revenue. Absolutely
nothing. No sponsors. Nothing. So, why in the blue blazes
am I doing it? To make money? Forget that one buster. Because
I love it? You betcha.

I absolutely love it. And when someone flames me not only in
private, but on a public list for something they have no idea what they are
talking about, I can only shake my head. It totally befuddles
me.

But that's neither here nor there. The bottom line is you DO get
paid. Have you looked at what ads cost? There's your monetary
value. So when someone comes up to you and asks you why aren't you getting
paid for your article, tell them you are getting paid very well.

The book in question is called Romancing the Soul and was born not to make money off of anyone. It was born so that others might like to know the real truth about soul mates. In fact, before I put it together, I had no idea what soul mates were all about. To read the real story of why I joined forces with my deceased soul mate to write it, follow this link...http://thewriterslife.net/RomancingtheSoulBeginning.html.