Pay the Writer
For any writer out there, this is a must-watch this video by Harlan Ellison.
Known for his screenplays, essays and strong opinions, Ellison goes to town with this one. You’ll laugh so hard you’ll almost cry as some, in my freelancer writers’ group, did when I passed the video around via email.
Maybe Ellison is channeling his inner Sinatra, from his younger years at a private Beverly Hills club.
You may recall Gay Talese’ famed 1966 narrative essay in Esquire magazine entitled “Frank Sinatra Has a Cold,” which includes a Sinatra rant on Ellison over his boots.
Ellison stood his ground after Sinatra told him “I don’t like the way you’re dressed” with the reply: “Hate to shake you up, but I dress to suit myself.”
Say what you want about Ellison’s genre of science fiction writing (he is known for writing screenplays for everything from Star Trek to The Alfred Hitchcock Hour and short story antologies like Dangerous Visions) but this video will have every writer nodding their head in agreement:
Pay the Writer.
Hilarious and true.
Post Your Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment
T/S Members
Log in with your True/Slant account.
Hell yeah, baby!
I was called this year by a researcher — paid, on staff, for one of Canada’s largest investigative TV shows — asking me to send her (!) a copy of an article from a Canadian magazine I’d written. I suggested she look at their website (?!) or — gasp – go to the local library and get a back issue of it.
I asked if she would pay me for my time or use me as a consultant since they were using my story for their show. Of course not! “We’re part of a journalism fraternity,” she whined.
I snorted, laughed and told her to piss off.
He’s right and every single writer needs to follow his lead.
You’re spot on, Caitlin. That’s why I posted this. I can’t tell you how many people have tried to get me to give my writing away for free. I don’t. It’s just a bad policy.
I made an exception, once. It was for a non-profit organization that assisted those with cancer and they were putting together a newsletter. I allowed them to re-publish my story about How to Have a More Peaceful Life based on things I did after being in a bad car accident. They felt like my tips and suggestions would greatly help others. I felt like it was my charitable donation. Again, it was the exception, not the norm.
In response to another comment. See in context »“No man but a blockhead ever wrote, except for money.”
Dr. Johnson was right 300 years ago, and he’s right today.
[...] Pay the Writer (T/S) [...]
I think it’s difficult for people to value your work if you don’t ask them to pay for it. My philosophy has been to charge a reasonable rate, or give it away. Your work is worth its price, or it’s priceless. So if you want to do it out of the goodness of your heart, don’t price your soul by giving someone a figure that will just end up making you feel cheap. We may pimp our work, but that doesn’t make us whores.
Harlan’s point if well-taken. If you’re a writer, you must get paid – that’s all you own. But if you’re a personality, which also describes Harlan, it’s a different story.
In this case, the production company is clearly asking him for rights to an interview he’s done so that they don’t have to pay someone else a licensing fee. I’d be upset about that, too. But that’s a different issue than asking a person to compose original work.
strongerbonds.com