I finally posted one of those "response to shitty job offers" things on Craigslist...
(and this is now the second time I'm posting this, because IE7 refreshed itself).
Here's the original ad some asshat posted on Las Vegas Craigslist:
"ello I have a story that needs to be written looking for a comedy screen writer. Will pay $100 yeah I know it's weak but at least it's pay. Let me know. I will send you the synopsis. Thanks"
My response?
"Mate, are you taking the piss or what? $100 to write a comedic screenplay? Start right here, the joke's in your original ad below. Don't expect quality work unless you can prove you're even a D-list talent like Judd Apatow and exposure would be what makes up for this lousy compensation. You get what you pay for - $100 will buy you a couple of thousand words at best, written in poor English, and delivered a few months after you wanted. Good luck finding someone stupid enough to work for such a smug disrespect to the writing profession. "Weak pay" = weak work. You should pay me $100 for THIS."
I am so fed up of people posting crap like this; it's enough to make me wish that the blog Craiglist Curmudgeon still posted, to snark on such fuckery. At times it can get just utterly ridiculous, such as the "must be experienced" ads, only you scroll down to see "compensation: no pay". What kind of "experienced" writer in their right mind would pour out their blood sweat and tears for no pay? It's not right and it cheapens the whole writing craft. I may not be seasoned but I know what's a crappy deal. I posted something similar previously on Craigslist:
"FREE WRITERS!! (anywhere and everywhere)
Reply to: see below
Date: 2008-06-24, 3:03PM EDT
Hip, awesome, punk rock new alt-cool blog that you can boast about writing for or hugely popular, long-running blog with millions of hits per day needs writers.
You should be reliable, punctual with 10-20 posts per day. NO EXCEPTIONS. You should also have an impeccable resumé and 5-10 years of experience working for a high-end magazine. If you're a student, don't worry - you may still apply, but we will have more work for you and it'll be an internship.
You must be excellent in your field, as we only want THE BEST. But, right, now we can't be bothered to pay you. But we STILL want THE BEST.
This is a chance for all of you awesome writers to gain some experience, because, let's face it, we could all use some more, even the ones that actually need money from their writing to live. And even though there are over 891 million blogs listed on Google, maybe one or two people will read ours and in a few years or so, we'll pay you with whatever we've got left over from paying other people to read our piss-poor excuse for a blog.
---To all of you so-called blog and site/zine/magazine owners looking for free labour - go f**k yourselves! How DARE you expect writers to waste their time "gaining experience" writing for free? That's valuable time they could spend creating their own blog. Because, as you've proved - ANYONE can do it. And if you think you're so amazing to deserve such talent - prove it! Pay your writers!--- " -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EDIT: my Las Vegas post just got flagged and removed. But the original is gone too, though I had nothing to do with it (well, in terms of flagging, anyway). Ha!
Here's the original ad some asshat posted on Las Vegas Craigslist:
"ello I have a story that needs to be written looking for a comedy screen writer. Will pay $100 yeah I know it's weak but at least it's pay. Let me know. I will send you the synopsis. Thanks"
My response?
"Mate, are you taking the piss or what? $100 to write a comedic screenplay? Start right here, the joke's in your original ad below. Don't expect quality work unless you can prove you're even a D-list talent like Judd Apatow and exposure would be what makes up for this lousy compensation. You get what you pay for - $100 will buy you a couple of thousand words at best, written in poor English, and delivered a few months after you wanted. Good luck finding someone stupid enough to work for such a smug disrespect to the writing profession. "Weak pay" = weak work. You should pay me $100 for THIS."
I am so fed up of people posting crap like this; it's enough to make me wish that the blog Craiglist Curmudgeon still posted, to snark on such fuckery. At times it can get just utterly ridiculous, such as the "must be experienced" ads, only you scroll down to see "compensation: no pay". What kind of "experienced" writer in their right mind would pour out their blood sweat and tears for no pay? It's not right and it cheapens the whole writing craft. I may not be seasoned but I know what's a crappy deal. I posted something similar previously on Craigslist:
"FREE WRITERS!! (anywhere and everywhere)
Reply to: see below
Date: 2008-06-24, 3:03PM EDT
Hip, awesome, punk rock new alt-cool blog that you can boast about writing for or hugely popular, long-running blog with millions of hits per day needs writers.
You should be reliable, punctual with 10-20 posts per day. NO EXCEPTIONS. You should also have an impeccable resumé and 5-10 years of experience working for a high-end magazine. If you're a student, don't worry - you may still apply, but we will have more work for you and it'll be an internship.
You must be excellent in your field, as we only want THE BEST. But, right, now we can't be bothered to pay you. But we STILL want THE BEST.
This is a chance for all of you awesome writers to gain some experience, because, let's face it, we could all use some more, even the ones that actually need money from their writing to live. And even though there are over 891 million blogs listed on Google, maybe one or two people will read ours and in a few years or so, we'll pay you with whatever we've got left over from paying other people to read our piss-poor excuse for a blog.
---To all of you so-called blog and site/zine/magazine owners looking for free labour - go f**k yourselves! How DARE you expect writers to waste their time "gaining experience" writing for free? That's valuable time they could spend creating their own blog. Because, as you've proved - ANYONE can do it. And if you think you're so amazing to deserve such talent - prove it! Pay your writers!--- " -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EDIT: my Las Vegas post just got flagged and removed. But the original is gone too, though I had nothing to do with it (well, in terms of flagging, anyway). Ha!