Devaluing the Writer

It seems like more and more, magazines and publishers are trying to get writers to give away their work so the companies can make tons of money.  It’s always been a problem–it was common for me to run across a magazine that said “We don’t pay, but we’ll give you exposure.”

It screams that they don’t think the writer is all that important.

And this morning, I saw something along this line that floored me.

It was a workshop being given by an editor of a publishing company.  And the headline advertising it was along the lines of: “Books become best sellers because of the editor.”

Nowhere in there is the writer who created the story and learned the skills to make a good story.

Nowhere in there is that even an editor can’t turn a horrendously bad book into a best seller.

Nowhere in there is that without a writer to provide a story, the editor wouldn’t have a job.

And we’re not all that important, hmm?

Filed under: Writing Tagged: editors, stories, writing for free