Being under-appreciated and undervalued are just a couple of issues among the litany of struggles faced by freelance writers
There are quite few general perceptions about writing that tick off every person who makes a living through this vocation. The most egregious off all is the thought that writing is easy, and writers needn’t be paid much for putting some words together. And I believe, a majority of those in this profession will agree to this observation.
Recently I was approached by a person who claims to be the ‘editor’ of an alumni newsletter. He wanted to rewrite a few articles to suit his publication. Once it was done, I sent the write-ups along with an invoice, quoted lesser than the usual rate since the person was recommended by a senior journalist. What happened next, was beyond appalling. According to him, writing an article is equivalent to DTP work and he kept stressing on the fact that in all the years of his experience as an ‘editor’, he has never come across the concept of paying writers by word count. The way he saw, a page of typed material was worth Rs.30 (for English) and Rs. 35 (for Malayalam). I summoned all my patience, which has reduced considerably with age, to go Hulk on him. But the conversation left me with such a sinking feeling. Did I go wrong with my decision to become a freelance writer? That too in India?
The choice to quit a well-paid, full-time job as a journalist abroad did not come easy. I’ve always had the dream of establishing myself as a creative writer – to become someone like the great Malayalam story writer, novelist and script writer, M T Vasudevan Nair. It’s herculean and to be honest, I don’t have a fraction of his genius. But I do possess a certain set of skills, a bit of verbal jugglery and a cinematic sense, which I believe would help me realise my dream.
Before you ask why I didn’t try being all these while I kept that lucrative job, let me tell you, I did. I tried and failed. And that’s a story for later.
Having quit the plush job, I returned to India, hoping for the best and preparing for the worst. Yes, I am a dreamer, but I am a pragmatist too. Breaking into the film industry was not going to be easy and while trying, I needed to survive, and my journalistic skills were my resorts.
I was well aware of the market that I was getting into. Thanks to 10 odd years of my career spent here. The industry was going through some drastic changes and it also offered some opportunities. Media companies were reducing staff and at the same time needed more content to fill up the pages on print and online. This was a win-win situation. I could keep writing for various publications without being subjected to the drudgery that a full-time staff has to endure.
The work was not regular, but the freedom compensated for the lack of regular income. Established newspapers and magazines paid according to standard market rates, but there were others who either deferred payments or paid a pittance. And some never paid. But things took a turn for the worse with Covid-19. Work from mainstream papers dried up and what remained were too few and too rare to help with the money woes.
Amid these troubles came characters who have the ability to ‘unleash the Kraken in you’. These include people who wanted to hire my services but wanted me to just thankful to them for the opportunity to keep working in this troubled time. In short, forget being paid. Then there’s the worst kind. The condescending bunch who cannot write a proper sentence to save their lives but will suddenly turn into ‘linguists’ once they see the finished copy. This is just another haggling technique.
Navigating market realities and fending off characters mentioned above have taken priority over getting some actual work done. Writers of all kinds – journalists, story writers, novelists, scriptwriters, content writers, copywriters etc – have faced and still face these attitudes from clients and the general public. And these are just a dekko into the professional hazards that majority of pen-pushers or key-strokers have to endure throughout their careers.
(This is the first in the series articles about writing as a career, especially as a freelancer, based on my experiences and some borrowed from peers.)
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