Writers of short stories are increasingly being
requested to offer their services for free. Competitions are run in which the
prize is publication, but no financial reward. Websites spring up offering the
opportunity to ‘build profile’ but without payment, often demanding only
previously unpublished work.
In an age when there are demonstrations about the
level or remuneration received by bankers, Alfie Dog Fiction is calling upon
the reading world to give thought to the low levels of income achieved by the
vast majority of writers.
You wouldn’t ring the plumber and ask him to
install a new shower without payment, but on the promise that people using your
bathroom would see his work, so why expect writers to give you their work for
free?
For writers to produce quality work, which will
last for generations, they have to be able to support themselves financially.
With the frequency of copyright breaches on the internet and while work is
predominantly expected to be given for free, writing can only ever be a part
time hobby for the majority and here at Alfie Dog Fiction we think it’s time to
draw a line.
We are calling on the press to join us in setting
a standard of expectation. It is not unreasonable to pay to read work that a
writer has laboured over. It’s time to make a stand before no writer of books,
short stories, articles or even news copy is paid for putting pen to paper or
keyboard to screen.
The world would be a poorer place without
professional writers. Make a stand today and call for fair returns to writers
for their work.
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