ASK & DISCUSS
INDEXYou've been conned! How writing (or filmmaking) for a living can cost you money.
11 years, 9 months ago - Vasco de Sousa
So, we've written bits about our experience. It's not whinging, this is about warning people.
Yes, I complain about the cheap b*****s on this site who will pay 30 pounds for a membership, but won't even pay that much for a screenplay. You can get more money writing or making films for paupers in the developing world on freelancing websites than you can from a wannabe director who pretends to be broke in Europe.
However, be warned, you might not actually ever see any of that money. Even if your employers pay up, the third party websites find ways to steal all of your money.
I've never been so glad that I didn't get a job writing a screenplay. It's one thing when you don't get paid for your work, it's even worse when you get charged because your employer disappears from the face of the earth.
No, this is not asking for union wages. It's not even asking for respect. It's just saying, watch out, you can get charged a lot of money for being willing to work!
http://ptara.com/2013/11/30/dont-be-a-two-dollar-hooker-avoid-freelancer-com-guru-odesk-people-per-hour-and-elance/
Only members can post or respond to topics. LOGIN
Not a member of SP? JOIN or FIND OUT MORE
11 years, 9 months ago - Vasco de Sousa
Dude, I wonder what planet you're living on. When the electrician comes to fix something, he charges per hour. When the builder makes the estimate for the cost of that conservatory, he knows how long he'll take. If you look at his itemized bill, or ask for one, you'll probably see a time sheet for how long it took him.
I have a friend in the building business who built us a fence. His quote, when itemized, included predicted time spent building the fence. If he couldn't earn at least twice minimum wage, he'd be flipping burgers instead of building fences.
If you underquote, then you do the extra hours and make a better quote next time. But, you quote with the hours in mind because if you break your back, you'll have to subcontract to someone who does charge per hour. Or, you'll get a bad reputation, because when you're exhausted the quality of your work will suffer. Or, it will be incomplete.
The same goes for any professional with half a brain. They charge with timescales in mind, and usually charge way more than minimum wage.
Editors also charge per hour. So do camera people. So do copywriters and many other kinds of writers. Welcome to the real world buddy.
If you're writing your own idea, on your own terms, you normally charge per word, or per draft. But, if you have to put up with Skype chats and all the rest of it as a ghost writer...
Never mind. Professional writers will understand. This is meant for writers who need to earn a living, not wannabe producers living in la-la-land. If Prince Charles can afford to write for free, let him.
Anyway, people work on my films for much less than they are worth because they like the project, and because I acknowledge that they are worth more than I can currently afford to pay them. I don't go about telling them they are worthless.
There are some people you wouldn't work for no matter how much they pay.
I just wrote this for free. I didn't do it for you, I wrote it for the writers with bills to pay who might be pulled in by these con artists. (And, it's not a site you go to in order to break it. You go to get some extra money.)
11 years, 9 months ago - Vasco de Sousa
@vasco de sousa
I meant break in. There are other typos. So what, I wrote it for free. Pay peanuts, get monkey work.
11 years, 9 months ago - Dan Selakovich
I call all of these "race to the bottom sites." They feed off the desperation of people trying to get their foot in the door.
11 years, 9 months ago - Daniel Cormack
It's certainly wrong to charge for monies that haven't been received.
However, why does he keep going on about the minimum wage? Screenwriters are self-employed. The self-employed are not entitled to the minimum wage and it would make no sense for them to have that entitlement. It is a well-established and well-respected principle, even among trade unions. And there are some pretty compelling reasons for it.
How on earth would a screenwriter charge an hourly rate? Does this include time spent staring at a blank screen waiting for the muse to strike? And what about the fact that many writers (the more talented ones in my opinion and in Keats') write quickly while some write slowly. It is a perverse incentive and wrong reward for the less talented and less efficient screenwriter. Should a builder who takes 12 weeks to build a conservatory be paid more than one who can do exactly the same work to the same standard in 8 weeks? Sometimes I wonder what planet these screenwriters are living on.
The corollary of the so-called "race to the bottom" is that those who do pay well get a competitive advantage and raise standards and aspiration.
11 years, 9 months ago - Paddy Robinson-Griffin
I'll post that link around a little Vasco, I certainly had no idea of the underlying flaws with their business proposals before, in sure others won't either.