Monthly Archives: September 2009

An open letter to media job boards everywhere

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writingscamsHere is the text of an email I just sent to Media Job Search Canada, and which I have forwarded to MediaBistro. It can equally well apply to media job boards everywhere that uphold this offensive policy of posting scam “jobs” meant to trick and/or entrap young, inexperienced writers:

Dear Media Job Search Canada,

As a hard-working freelance writer, I’d like to make a suggestion for your media job-posting site: Don’t post ads from “pay-per-click” sites like Suite101!

You recently posted this ad on your site:
http://www.mediajobsearchcanada.com/job_view.asp?jobID=13069

To me, this is not a job. It is insulting to see these types of scam ads on media-friendly, media-focused job boards, as the “pay” depends on the writer’s constantly pimping links to friends, family and random strangers. You are only “paid” when you reach a certain number of views on your articles, and for most writers on the site, places like Suite101 never pay out. Period. How do I know this? I “worked” for them, and have never received a paycheck for any of the articles I wrote for their site.

This is not a job, it is a scam. To post ads from scammers like these demeans all media job-seekers, and suggests that we are not worth paying for our efforts. We ARE worth paying, and I would really like this ad—and others like it—banned from your site.

Sincerely,
Laura Roberts
–
Writer, editor, button tapper
http://buttontapper.com
&
Editor-in-chief, Black Heart Magazine
&
“V for Vixen” @Hour.ca

My fellow writers, please do not apply for these types of “jobs.” They are not jobs, they are scams. Even if you are just starting out, you are a professional writer, and professional writers deserve payment for their work. If you must write on spec or for free in order to achieve clips for your portfolio, do it for a reputable company, one whose work you have read and admire. There are plenty of great magazines that are run by unpaid volunteers, and I would much rather see my friends and fellow freelancers contributing to these types of endeavours than getting scammed by scumbags like Suite101 and their ilk.

Oh, and for the record? Suite101 banned me from their site for being “too creative” with my work. If the fact that they never pay you for your work to begin with isn’t bad enough, the fact that you can’t even write something you’d be proud of should strike you as unbelievably offensive. Quite frankly, I am proud of the fact that they banned me from the site, as it only proves that they are close-minded where creativity is concerned and will never achieve anything beyond stealing writers’ works.

P.S. To clarify, I do respect MediaBistro as an authority on media jobs, which is why I find it puzzling that they, too, are posting “jobs” from people like Suite101. Suite101 is perpetually “seeking writers.” Is it any wonder, given their lack of payment? Also, if you’d like more comments/info on Suite101, WritersWeekly has a forum full of comments and complaints about them here and here.

Help name the MediaBistro blog, or forever hold your TK

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namefailOkay, I will admit that I am not tops at coming up with brilliant names, headlines, sub-heads and so forth, but I definitely know a clunker when I see one. MediaBistro is starting up a blog that will allow their AvantGuild members to showcase some of their work, comment on the media fields in which they work, etc., and currently their chosen blog title is… TK.

That’s right, TK. For those not in the media, “TK” is what you write in a piece when you think “Hmm, there should be a fact or figure here, but I don’t happen to have it right now, so I will have to go look it up later.” It’s a placeholder meaning “to come” that makes it easier to return to the spot in your manuscript once you have the info, or else it acts as a reminder that you have to look something up. It’s perfectly helpful and reasonable for a writer to use TK in their drafts, but as the title for a blog, it stinks. Total name fail.

Here’s why:

  • It implies that the people writing the blog don’t actually know anything, because they will have to go look it up later (as this is what TK literally means)
  • It looks like the name of the blog is, itself, a placeholder, which implies that the people who started it have no idea what to call it and have given up
  • It’s trying to play on some “insider” knowledge, but TK is pretty low on the list of things an insider would need to know to get ahead in the field
  • Seth Godin (writer, speaker and agent of change) says you should never use a placeholder name for your blog, as people will fall in love with it, and then changing it will be impossible. Please, for the love of dog, listen to Seth Godin!

That being said, it’s better than all their other idiotic suggestions, which include 4UXU (“for you by you”), The Mediabistro Bump (supposedly “an homage to Stephen Colbert’s The Colbert Bump”), UFTW (“you for the win”), and the possibly-maybe facetious “Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Blogorium.” Seriously.

I know media types love puns (hell, I sure do), and riffing on already-famous titles, song lyrics, etc., but 4UXU? UFTW? These are pathetic. We can do better… can’t we?

In the comments section, there were a few good suggestions. Greg Vogel suggested “BistroVision,” and Ed Cohen went for “In Communicado.” These are both far better than “TK.” As I said in my comment, the blog needs something that suggests its connection to MediaBistro, something that’s clever but not precious, and avoids being a lame variant on “for us, by us.” I certainly don’t think “BistroBlog” is the most original name in the world, but at least it’d be honest.

So what would you name a MediaBistro blog?

End of novel, feeling fragmented

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"Shards" (photo by Flickr user nualabugeye - back again soon)

“Shards” (photo by Flickr user nualabugeye — back again soon)

So… I finished my 3-day novel (and wrote about the experience for the Fuel Your Writing website here). It’s more of a long short-story than a true novel. But that’s about all I want to say about that, for now. I feel kind of drained, kind of disappointed, kind of silly. But ultimately, I think it was good to do it. It gave me an excuse to turn off my phone and not talk to anyone (except my husband, obvs) this weekend. And there’s nothing better than a good reason to be a hermit.

Of course now it’s back to work, and I’ve got some deadlines for assorted projects, so I’d better get to it. The day looks so grey already that I’m contemplating a walk down by the canal instead. Or an epic cleaning of the apartment, seeing as we need to move in a little over a month. What to do, what to do?

It’s back to school for most of the kids, which always makes me feel a bit weird, not being in school anymore. Maybe I should hit up the Staples for some last-minute deals on school supplies. That always cheers me up, somehow: shopping for stationery. But you probably already figured that out, based on my WP theme, right?

P.S. I’m moving, so I’m selling a ton of books. Please check out the list in the sidebar to the right!