Writing for free

I have heard this song before many times from artists, musicians and writers.

Exposure can be a benefit, if it is the right exposure. But just any exposure doesn't mean it is going to be valuable. That is something you need to evaluate on a case by case basis. I have been involved in a seasonal project over the last 11 years, and I don't get paid for it (no others are either). But pointing at it and saying, yeah, that's mine, has translated into real world value. If it isn't clear to you that whatever it is has value, then don't do it. Either you are right and the particular project doesn't have value for you or, you aren't a good judge of the value or the risk - both good enough reasons to say no thanks.
 
I'm going to respond here to something I saw in a parallel discussion elsewhere, which was a professional writer having a bit of a kick at hobby writers. Which, as a hobby writer, rather offended me. (And actually happened in person, once, as well)

Professional writers should not write for free unless for some very specific and particular reasons they choose to.

Hobby writers, in the vast majority of cases, are not competing with professional writers. Hobby writers fall into a number of categories, but broadly they produce works that are not commercially viable. This can be because they're not (yet) very good writers, or because the works don't fit very well into commercial forms, or they have a limited audience, or complicated rights issues. My 2000 word Star Cops fanfic (1) is not a threat to any published writer. Hobby writers are also, in the main, huge consumers of published writing.

I'm not entirely sure why it is, but writing, and particularly fiction writing, seems to be one of the only industries where some of the producers like to very publicly lay into the consumers for buying the "wrong" (i.e. not their) product, or not buying enough of it, or not consuming it in the "right" way.

TLDR: Professional writers shouldn't write for free. They also shouldn't tell hobbyists that they shouldn't write.

(1) I don't have a 2000 word Star Cops fanfic, but if anyone wants to write me one, I'd be very happy to receive it.
 
Steve Harrison said:
About 25 years ago I had a 3,000 word short story rejected by a major US SF magazine. The rejection came in the form of a two page, handwritten letter explaining exactly why it had been rejected, together with tips on how it could be improved and a list of writers I should read to help me develop my 'talent.'

In those days it was extremely hard to get published unless the work was to a very high standard, but you would at least be paid if successful. Now it's the opposite. It's not fair, but it's the reality.
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I wouldn't know what it was like back then, but if you want to be paid for a short story now, the competition must be much higher than it was - and therefore the quality, you would think for well-paid markets at least, is better. There are probably less well-paid markets than there were. Submissions are coming in from the whole world, to publications that once would have been more localised. The likes of Clarkesworld, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Flash Fiction Online etc. have huge slush piles - and I find the quality is generally higher than equivalent print publications from 20+ years ago. The detailed feedback for rejections probably doesn't come any more because slush piles are bigger, and margins are lower.
 
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