My recent crowd sourcing of information on freelance rates and experiences has attracted a lot of interest. Last Friday, I got the following guest post from Jim Clarke, who as boss of Nuance Multimedia Australia has commissioned many pieces in his time. He endorses the findings of my study, but also suggests that freelancers can behave unfairly as well. What do you think? Comments are welcome.

Margaret Simons’ conclusions drawn from her survey of rates paid to freelance writers are well founded and highlight a disjointed industry that is well poised to exploit the vulnerability of many of those who aim to be, or even rely on being, published. 

The three goliaths – News, Fairfax and ACP – individually set their own standards and apply their own level of integrity, at times with inconsistencies across each group. There is no common standard, fee or rule for freelancers. Clearly, though, writers would benefit if other publishers used News as a model. Then there is Pacific, who attracted only one response (Home Beautiful 70-85 cents/word), which rates well against other magazines, but it is seeking absolute ownership in perpetuity. 

After that, there is a broad spectrum of publishers, some of whom respect their writers and pay what they can afford; others pay as little as they can get away with. A major difficulty is the extreme situations of the various smaller publishers. 

As a small publisher, I aim to be fair. But the perception of fairness, like beauty, is in the mind of the beholder. To apply a single rate across my publications would be distinctly unfair. Should a person with a passion for cycling who has ridden across the Flinders Range and submits a personalised account, perhaps little more than notes, of the tracks they rode be paid the same as a respected business writer who conducts interviews and detailed research on a complex topic. I think not. 

Margaret Simons’ predicted that some editors would argue rate variations are caused by the quality of the freelancer involved; well, they would, because quality varies to a frightening degree. Just as an entrepreneur with a friendly printer can become a publisher, a person with an idea can become a freelance writer by convincing someone to put their words on paper or online. 

We are fortunate in Melbourne to have available a good spread of freelance writers who sharpened their nibs on quality newspapers and magazines. They are professional, reliable and versatile, but not all have these attributes. 

Fairness is not one-sided; writers have a similar obligation to that of publishers. What’s unfair? Some examples: 

  • A name writer who is published with a byline in a magazine that competes head-to-head to with the publication which regularly commissions the writer. 
  • A writer who sources quotes from the web when an interview is required. 
  • A writer who rehashes a piece previously published and, by omission, presents it as a fresh story. 
  • A freelancer who writes a profile without declaring to the editor that the writer also is paid by the subject of story as a media consultant. 

Then there is the commission itself. A commission should be for a stated number of words at an agreed rate. If a writer is commissioned to write 1500 words at 50 cents a word then the fee is $750. If 1400 or 1600 words are submitted, accepted and published the fee should still be $750. I recently was presented with an invoice for 1942 words by a writer commissioned to write 1500 – and they had not even been published at that stage. 

Occasionally stories do get pulled for various reasons. The starting point for consideration is was the piece accepted by the editor? If so, then a 50% kill fee should be paid, the publisher has no further right to publish the story and the writer is at liberty to place the work with any other publisher. However, if the publisher wants to retain the exclusive right to publish the piece at a future date then the full commissioned amount should be paid to the writer. 

Extenuating circumstance may cause a commission to be withdrawn after research has started. If the writer has invested serious time, telephone calls etc into preparing the piece then an appropriate fee should be paid. 

The rule for publishers should be a variation of the old adage: Give freelancers the respect and fairness that you expect them to give publishers.

 

Jim Clarke

Founder

Nuance Multimedia Australia Pty Ltd