Yes, You Deserve to Get Paid

Hello Everyone!This was such a fantastic conversation, and I’m still thinking about it even into the next day. I’ve followed Elizabeth Silleck La Rue, Esq.’s work on Medium for years, and she’s always thoughtful with excellent insights.We discuss the issue of paying writers versus the pressure to work for “exposure.” This is really one of those cases of issues having a variety of layers, and how those layers appear different depending upon who you are as an individual.I’ve always encouraged other writers on Substack not to use a paywall. The reason I offer that advice is because that has proven to be the most effective growth and earning strategy for me. Naturally, what I’m trying to do as a writer is different than what other people are trying to do, and there are other objectives where a paywall makes a lot of sense. For example, my work on Medium is behind a paywall.Lately, my criticism has been directed at the Substack writers who claim to be “fighting fascism” but then keep their “important message” behind a paywall. Like, if you’re fighting for democracy, shouldn’t everybody be able to read it? I also often bristle at what I call the “writer elite” versus the “working class” writers like myself. It irritates me how we live in a system that feels it has to shovel a bunch of money at people who are already rich, and it leaves only pennies (if that) for the rest of us.Elizabeth’s business helps people emigrate from the United States to start a new life in a more tolerant country. Naturally, that’s a business model where some information must be held in reserve for paying customers.From there our conversation expanded and we began to talk about the various structures that exist which exploit women and all people from traditionally marginalized groups. Will Fullwood shared some upsetting stories about the lengths people have gone to convince him he has to keep working for free.The idea of paying writers to be guests on a podcast is also something I’ll have to consider more. I think Elizabeth is right in rejecting offers, even from very large publications, that have the resources to compensate her for her time and choose not to. Why do we tolerate a system like that? Why do entities that can afford to pay you think that they don’t have to?At the same time, I’m very happy to jump on podcasts with other “working class” writers who are essentially in the same position as I am. I feel that some cases are collaboration, and other cases can become exploitative. The lines between those two alternatives are easily blurred. However, I suspect it’s impossible for an exploitative relationship to become collaborative.Most of all, I appreciate how we addressed so many emotionally charged concepts and we were able to find common ground and clarify our messaging. This was an excellent conversation. There are quite a few things that Elizabeth said that continue to resonate with me.The aspect of the history of economic exploitation is much bigger than “Walter’s tips on how to monetize your Substack.” Also, as a writer I’ve always found that what works right now might not continue to work an hour from now. Sometimes we adopt habits just to survive in an exploitative system that blinds us to the actions we could take to resist the existing mechanism of abuse. Elizabeth reminded me that we have a dual purpose if we’re going to be activists for a more conscientious future. We have to consider both how we can survive in the moment while simultaneously working to make a better future.I hope you enjoyed this conversation as much as I did!Thank you Robin Wilding, Untrickled by Michelle Teheux, Colin MacRae, PamC, Marg KJ, and many others for tuning into my live video with Elizabeth Silleck La Rue, Esq. and Will Fullwood! You all make this newsletter happen! Thanks for your sponsorship! I have payment tiers starting at as little as twenty dollars a year.Upgrade at 30% offUpgrade at 40% offUpgrade at 50% offUpgrade at 60% offI’m so happy you’re here, and I’m looking forward to sharing more thoughts with you tomorrow.My CoSchedule referral linkHere’s my referral link to my preferred headline analyzer tool. If you sign up through this, it’s another way to support this newsletter (thank you).I'd Rather Be Writing is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to I'd Rather Be Writing at walterrhein.substack.com/subscribe