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“As soon as you stop wanting something, you get it.”- Andy Warhol
Last summer I started doing a few pieces here and there for Interview Magazine. I was pretty excited, because it's a high profile publication with a big following and a respected pedigree -- Andy Warhol! Handsome photos of Brad Pitt! Plus I got to write pieces on a few Boston bands that I enjoy, like , Bearstronaut, and Mean Creek. All of which I considered a counterbalance to their laughable pay rate of $25 per post, which, even by typically pitiful internet standards, is still way below average. Keep in mind, that's for pretty in depth, feature-length interviews, not just jerk-off blog content. Whatever, sometimes in the freelance game you take a pay cut for exposure to a new audience. At least they paid at all. Or so I thought.
“It’s not what you are that counts, it’s what they think you are.” - Andy Warhol
In November I submitted an invoice for the second two pieces, and checked in with my editor about the first piece I had done.
Here's an invoice for the last two pieces I did. I never got anything for the first one from back in June, by the way. Is that normal wait time?
thanks again
Luke
It's not, I was assured.
Hey Luke,
It isn’t! Try emailing M in our accounting department, hopefully he can help out.
Thanks,
A
OK, easy enough. On November 13 I did just that, writing
Hey there, can you check into the below for me, thanks
Luke
There was no response by November 29, so I write back to follow up.
Hi folks. Any luck looking into this?
thanks
This time I got a response.
“The mystery was gone but the amazement was just starting.” - Andy WarholSorry for the delay, I will definitely resolve your issue as soon as possible.
ThanksM
Finally, I thought, someone is going to look into this. LOL fuck me, of course they weren't. On January 3 I wrote back to see what was going on.
Hey there. Any luck with this?
thanks
You'll never guess what happened next: nothing. I followed up again on January 27:
Hi there! How's this coming?
The next day;
Hi,
Not yet, but will be soon.
ThanksM
Oh good, soon! Who's the publisher over there now, Kafka? Any day now, I thought, I will be the proud owner of 75 crisp American dollars, paid to me, by the successful publishing concern, Brant Publishing, for services rendered. JK again, because another month went by, and still no word. A few days ago, on February 24, I wrote back one more time.
Hey there, how's that $75 coming from months ago?
Thanks!
I think, and I could be just a tad bit optimistic here, but that's going to be the one that finally convinces this internationally famous, venerable old magazine that they should honor their agreements to pay freelancers.
Obviously it's a miniscule amount of money, and I don't need it, but it's the principle that counts here, right? The sad part is, this sort of thing isn't even news to anyone. Any of my colleagues who're reading this are no doubt #smh-ing in sympathy, but they know that this is simply how it is. Too many other publications like this operate in the same way, forcing their contractors to chase them down for the most embarrassing pittances for months and months. I've had to wait around for a lot more money than this, rest assured, from publications both large and small, as have many of my friends -- holding out for thousands of dollars for months and months at times. That's a real problem, but for some reason, this one has really rankled me, maybe because the amount is so small. (I'll tell you who does currently pay me fairly and on time, and that's Bullett, MTV, and the Boston Globe, Phoenix, and Metro. Unsurprisingly, those are the places I most frequently appear in lately).
I realize that it's often not technically the fault of the assigning editors who writers like me deal with, I'm sure they pass the invoices along to the right people, who then pass them on to the shitter where they are ignored. What am I going to do, stop writing for them? Big deal, a million other schmucks are lined up behind me for the privilege of working for free. But here's the thing: the assigning editors are in fact the lifeline of the freelancers that they employ to provide content for their websites or magazines. I don't work with Joe Blow from Accounting, I work with you. When you stiff your freelancers you are basically telling us that our relationship with you doesn't mean anything. That's fine, I know it actually doesn't, but I just wanted to be clear that that is the specific message that thousands of editors are sending out, all around the country, every day: you are a worthless piece of shit, barely worth my time, and your work has zero value.
“An artist is someone who produces things that people don't need to have but that he - for some reason - thinks it would be a good idea to give them.” - Andy Warhol
Like a paycheck?
I'm sure the check will be arriving any day now, and apologies if this message has crossed over with its arrival. Thanks for the opportunity to contribute to your magazine all the same, Interview. I will keep it on my resume, and it will surely impress someone at some point, thereby leading to other opportunities for other publications to not pay me. But in the meantime I've got a new contribution to the site I hope you'll consider: Fuck you, pay me.
I'm reminded of a couple other things Warhol, the magazine's founder, once said: “Art is what you can get away with,” and “You know it's art, when the check clears.”
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9 comments:
"PTSOTL: Jerk-off blog content."
Don't sell yourself short. You're an incredible jerk-off!
Well, that's not always a bad description.
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sounds like Esquire who offered $75.00 per 1000 word piece- For exclusive reporting from IRAN/Middle East.
I was to pay ALL of my own expenses of course- hotel, air, transport, translators, bribes, meals... got them to up the offer a tiny bit, then it took months to be paid.
Hey Lukeski, don't take this the wrong way (hereto, forthwith, without further notice, D3T2W), but it your work doesn't have "zero value," what worth does it have?
Asking questions are in fact pleasant thing if you are not understanding anything entirely, but this post gives pleasant understanding even.
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Quit trying to penalize the job creators!
Justin: classic!
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