New links

Copyright Ruth Seeley

I've just added a couple of links relating to professionalism and intellectual property. For any 'knowledge worker' they can be invaluable, not only because they provide guidelines for what to charge, but also because they clearly outline why writers, photographers, graphic designers, and artists should not participate in the devaluation of work that only they can do. I don't mean there's only one writer in the world who can do the job, or only one graphic designer. I mean, rather, that in hiring a creative professional one is paying for services that are unique. There will never be consensus when judging writing or photography: there's always an element of subjectivity at play. Being technically literate doesn't make you a writer. Nor does knowing how to operate a camera make you a photographer. The criterion for professionalism in both fields is, to a large extent, the degree to which those who can are willing to pay.

The "No Spec" site outlines the reasons why giving it away devalues all work. The "What Writing Is Worth" site gives some very clear guidelines regarding current rates writers are - and should be - charging.

Early in my career I remember talking about rates to a magazine art director and to a copy editor. Both were at the top of their professions in Toronto, Canada's magazine publishing capital. The art director told me that he had watched the rates for illustration and photography fall by two thirds at a time inflation in Toronto can only be described as galloping. This was in the early 80s, when large companies tended to give 12% raises as cost-of-living increases (more for merit; I got a 20% raise in 1982 or 1983 and I hadn't asked for a dime). It was also only a few years before the unprecedented rise in home prices: 47% in a single year - 1986 - which eclipses Vancouver's 23% increase in 2006. It wasn't pressure from publishers that led to the drop in prices paid for full-page illustrations or photos in the magazines he art directed. It was people trying to get into the field undercutting more established artists' prices.

The copy editor explained very succinctly all the things her seemingly high rate didn't cover: vacations, statutory holidays, the cost of reference materials, health and dental benefits, and contributions to her pension plan. Conservative estimates of the cost of these benefits range from between one third to one half of salaries. By the mid-1990s, health benefits included up to $500 a year for massage, subsidized health club memberships, at better Canadian companies, paid sabbaticals and interest-free loans to buy home computers....

Think about it when next you quibble with a writer, a photographer, a graphic designer, or an illustrator about their rates. You do get what you pay for. We can't really do much about our cost of production. Most of us hone our skills throughout the course of our lifetimes. I'm a far better writer today than I was 10 years ago. I'm a much better photographer than I was even two years ago. And no, I won't write your press release for $15 an hour. Sorry.