Freelance writers writing on spec: no, no, and NO!

New writers start out with a “PLEASE CON ME” placard posted on their back.

Far and away the most common con indulged in by the sleazy when hiring freelance writers is the “speculation” con/ scam.

The sleazy ask writers to write on spec, which means that unless something (let’s call it “X”) happens, the writer won’t get paid. Since the writer usually has no way of knowing whether or not X happened, the writer just worked for free.

X can equal:

* If it’s published

* If we make sales

* If we get funding

* If we/ they like it

* If… whatever – the permutations of “if” are endless.

The one and only time you should write on spec

Writing on spec is always GAMBLING, and there are times when you might want to gamble. You only gamble when you have nothing to lose, and something highly valuable to gain.

For example, if you have no credits, and no clips, and a prestigious magazine asks you to write a piece on spec, you can gamble. You just may the get the piece published. Great news. But even if the piece is killed, you still win: you retain the rights to the piece so you can publish it elsewhere, and you’ve made a useful editorial contact.

You also gamble when writing novels. No one will contract a novel from an unknown writer, so you need to write at least one novel (and probably several) before you make a sale. This isn’t writing on spec: no one will ask you to write the novel, you write it because you want to. Writing the novel will teach you so much about writing and yourself that you’ll get a lot out of it, whether the novel is published or not, so it’s definitely worth doing because you’re gambling on yourself.

Please keep your antennae quivering for any hints of writing on spec when you’re dealing with a new publication or new client. It’s rarely worth it – remember that you’re gambling.

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