I recently published a story here in The Haven about all the offers I’ve been given for “exposure bucks,” and I couldn’t agree with you more! I wrote from a more humorous standpoint, but the bottom line still holds true across the board: people will always try to talk you down to the lowest price (or freebie) they can, always claiming they “know a guy” who can do it cheaper. I always say to go for it. If they’re looking for cheap, they can find it — and I typically end up seeing them again somewhere down the road when they realize they should have paid for experience and quality in the first place.

I used to be polite about it, but now I’m just blunt, letting the person know how insulting it is for them to ask a stranger to invest 40–80 hours of work (in my case, copyediting a book) for no compensation. I’ve turned it around to ask people if they’re planning on giving away their book, and when they reply with a surprised, “No, I’m selling it,” I wait for the lightbulb to turn on in their brain.

It’s so frustrating. We shouldn’t be punished because we’re fortunate to enjoy the work we do. Enjoyment doesn’t pay the bills.