SOLD - To the Lowest Bidder?

The advent of creative bidding websites such as Elance and Guru among many others is a double edged sword. On one side, the sites provide worldwide exposure for creative professionals and subsequently more job opportunities. On the other side, the “bidding” aspect of the sites allows “professionals” of questionable background and expertise to, quite frankly, bid so low that real professionals who are charging market rates, have no chance at “winning.”

These sites are not the only forums where creative professionals are essentially told that doing their work for significantly less money should be considered a gift, especially in a struggling economy. There are also some individuals and companies (although what kind of company would do this I can’t imagine) who have the audacity to ask writers and other creative professionals to work for “free”, for “exposure”, implying through clever job ad wording that if we do the work for free this one time it could lead to money in the future.

When did it become acceptable to treat creative professionals, writers, graphic designers, website designers and others, as if we’re all starving, desperate and new to our industry? I am fortunate enough to have a wonderful, loyal base of clients who seem to respect free market capitalism and (within reason and sometimes with friendly entrepreneurial negotiation) respect the rates I set for my business. However I realize that many freelance writers, some with many more years of experience in the industry than I have, rely on bidding websites and writing job boards to make a living.

I would never drive my car after a mechanic worked on it for free “to get exposure” for his work, and I certainly wouldn’t allow a surgeon to operate on me for free to “build his resume”. And yes, I know there are people who will scream at me that we can’t compare these careers.

Would you trust a service vendor who didn’t charge you? What is their work worth and how much would you trust it? I read a post on a writing message board once that made a good point: If a non-paying client wants to pay my rent and utility bills, fine. Other than that – we are professionals and deserve to be treated as such.

The only way we, as writers, can create and maintain a reputation as valuable service vendors, no different than any other providers of services to the public, is by standing up for it. What would happen if you found out that paying your mechanic or your doctor, was optional? How would that affect your opinion of their true value?