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This morning I stumbled across Harlan Ellison’s rant… or at least I stumbled across it again… about Paying the Writer for their effort. I think you can safely substitute web designer, coder, graphic designer, artist and journalist into that rant without risking offence to anybody but the people who want to get rich off your effort without paying.

Enough can’t be said about this subject because the No Spec! Campaign has been getting a little traction for years and we still have the problem. The problem is the person who is willing to undercut, to try to get a foot in the door by working cheap or for free… the person who impales themselves on the commercial juggernaut of business with the gusto of a World War One cry of “Over the top, lads!”…

Don’t be fooled. Those guys in the suits, those guys with the swish cars and lattes and sitting in nice office chairs with receptionists – THEY ARE GETTING PAID. And Harlan’s right… they’re not only getting paid, they’re bitching about how much they’re getting paid and they want more.

Oh it’s hard sometimes to take a dollar away from a not for profit agency or a small business. I’m as guilty in the past as anybody for lowering the hourly rate or pitching below cost because I felt a pang of guilt somewhere deep inside my Myer Winter Sale shirt… because I felt what I contributed wasn’t worth it. I felt like a bit of a fake.

So I’d like each of you to start this week with the realisation that you are worth it… don’t be intimidated about asking for money. That’s the reality of being in business. And more than just being an artist, designer, coder or writer YOU have an obligation to YOURSELF and SOCIETY to earn your keep. It’s as simple as that.

Does that small business demand their customers pay them for products and services? Yes.

This morning you should get up out of your office chair and with some small consideration I want you to write a few numbers onto your whiteboard. The first number is the amount you need each week to survive comfortably (factoring in your insurance, power, software and hardware replacement and general social needs). The second number is the hourly rate that you will demand for your undivided effort.

Promise yourself this. For at least the next month (and preferably forever) you will demand that hourly rate and concentrate on achieving that weekly target. Why? Because you are worth it. Because any industry is fucked if people will work for nothing… would the construction or trucking industry take that zero pay bullshit – FUCK NO.

The trucking industry would hunt down a free or below cost worker and break their legs in several places. Understandably.

So respect yourself and respect others on the commercial highway of life. Don’t be anybody’s donkey.

This entry was posted on Monday, July 26th, 2010 at 11:31 am and is filed under business, design, journalism, photography, programming, writing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.