Even when I’ve been involved with writers’ groups, I’ve found that our perspectives on what’s good, bad, interesting or worthwhile differ wildly. I love genre fiction; others feel that only literary fiction is worthwhile. I like blogging and want my blogging to be taken seriously; others think that blogging is plain silly. I write for kids, and plenty of writers think of YA and children’s writing as second rate.

I don’t need other writers to validate my choices or smooth my road. It is nice, though, to occasionally meet a “fellow traveller!”

Lisa

I still think a fair exchange of posts (“in-kind trade” as Dawn called it) seems reasonable to me, though. But that opinion may change as I think about this more…

Thanks for your thoughts. I used to encourage guest blog posts too but I realized it was free content so I began to pay.It’s not a huge amount – $15 – $50 depending on the length of the piece, research,etc. but I can’t in good conscience encourage anyone to write here without any money. I don’t believe it has anything to do with a profit – it’s what is fair to the writer.

Because something isn’t making a profit doesn’t mean it’s ok not to pay writers. It has nothing to do with profit, it has to do with someone writing for nothing – or getting very little in return. It seems strange that we’re all outraged by all the losers looking for freebie writing on Craiglist but turn around and say, “hey write my guest post for free.” I’m not sure I see the difference. That’s why I pay for guest posts here. I don’t pay a huge amount of money, but I don’t take something for nothing.

In regard to writing mills: As I mentioned on more than one occasion, I’m not for all content mills. There are a few that I feel are good experiences for writers, others I feel are bad experiences.

The content mills I support offer:

*A chance for a writer to become published and receive payment
*The opportunity to earn a livable wage
*Tools and editorial guidance to help further a freelance writing career.

However, as they all pay their writers, I believe they’re a better solution than working for free for a website or blog that may not offer much in the way of exposure.

I hope that helps to explain things a little better. I take a lot of heat for my support of certain content sites but I will still maintain some of these places are a great place for writers to get their start and supplement their income. I can’t say the same about guest blogging for a blog that receives little traffic.

I first read the item here about writer mills and how they’re just fine and doesn’t devalue writers and then read this about people asking you to guest blog and taking advantage of you. It seems like its okay if a big company asks you to do something for almost nothing; but it isn’t okay for a fellow writer or friend or colleague to do the same thing for exposure or introducing you to a new audience. Is that dollars vs in-kind trade? Hmmmm.

Dawn

Maybe I think this way because my blogs don’t make money and I didn’t create them to do so. Not that there is anything wrong with monetizing a blog and treating it as a business, because I admire those that do. I’m just not one of them at this time. I understand that some people’s goals are different, though, and time is always worth money.

All that being said, you’ve really made me think about my guest post policy and how other writers might be interpreting my requests. My community is extremely important to me. Having support, conversation and interaction within a community makes what we do as writers/bloggers worthwhile. I’d hate to think I’ve been alienating other writers with invitations to write posts for my blogs.