It has been more than a week since Francis Wilkinson published an incisive commentary in The Week headlined “Is Writing For the Rich?” In it, Wilkinson (below), The Week’s executive editor, dissects a growing problem: the number of people willing to write for free, and where that leaves professional writers, which is even poorer than they used to be.
Wilkinson focuses on young writers, unable to get started. But this is a problem for established writers, too — just ask any of the thousands of journalists who’ve been laid off in the last 18 months or the battalions of freelancers trying to ply their trade. I know a Pulitzer-prize-winning reporter/author of three books who is leaving the profession because she can’t find a job and can’t earn a living freelancing.
I called Wilkinson to ask if he’d gotten any reaction from any publishers. “No, nothing,” he said. “They’ve been battered.” He has heard from tons of writers and people who want to be writers. Unless they have other income, few can afford it.
Why should you care? Imho, when you pay writers less, you get less: articles and books are less well-reseached, less well-written, and less thoughtful. They have little value-added editing. Readers have to compensate by reading more things — or they suffer, perhaps without realizing it, from being less well-informed.
Read Wilkinson’s article here. It’s not news that the business model for publishing is broken, but it’s surprising that more attention hasn’t been placed on writers. And if anyone has any ideas for a new publishing business model, I’d love to hear them.