Comments on Carson's Old Blog: I want a fair wage... Pay this singing sensation ...

Excellent Article. I will link to this article fro...

2008-07-04T18:37:00.000-07:00

Excellent Article. I will link to this article from our site. Take some time and check out ICanFreelance.com for any freelance copywriting or freelance designers.

I often find ads for writers, editors, etc., in wh...

2006-12-13T02:20:00.000-08:00

I often find ads for writers, editors, etc., in which the client ends the ad by saying, "I'm not familiar with this business or the going rates of writers/editors, but I'd like to pay the fair rates."

What the heck are the fair rates? I used to think, "Dang, I'm missing something, no one has told me yet what the going or fair rates are." And I was thinking that seriously, not sarcastically.

Once I realized there were no "going," "standad," or "fair" rates my worries turned to, "What if I lose a potential job because I charged $10 more than the person who got it?" (Anne and I just talked about this over at her blog.)

Now I'm dealing with that. It's still a concern, but I'm warming up to the fact that I must stand firm.

I get a little help everytime I think about the sickening number of poorly written articles, content, ad copy, etc. overtaking the Internet.

Very appropos analogy, Carson. I would love to pl...

2006-12-12T16:34:00.000-08:00

Very appropos analogy, Carson.

I would love to play Major League or even minor league baseball. Bull Durham and Field of Dreams have just made baseball completely seductive as a career and a lifestyle for me.

But I haven't played ball since I was 8 or 9. And when I did play, I couldn't hit or play defense. I try my best and I do everything I can to play well when a softball game is suggested.

But noone owes me a baseball career. If I want to go do the work that is necessary to play ball at my ripe old age, I am more than welcome to do so. But noone would want to watch me play baseball in the shape I'm in today as a potential batter or fielder.

I want everyone to have all their basic and even most of their not so basic needs met. But they aren't owed that and I think this is where my strong work ethic comes from. Because I'm perfectly clear that noone owes me a job or a wage or anything. If they are willing to help when I need it, then I'm in luck. But I not only need to do everything in my power to have it covered on my own, it is the only thing I can or should expect in a world where independence is valued and where it makes people more responsible for their lives.

I don't make good choices all the time. Noone does. But I try to be responsible for my choices, including my willingness to do what it takes to be great at something.

A lot of people may not know this, but one of the reasons why Carson has some insight into this is because he knows what it's like to be great at something. Not just good at something.

Carson, back in the day, was one of the best debaters on the college debate circuits (there is an argument for his high school days as well, but his college days are really beyond argument). He was a semi-finalist at CEDA nationals, a very, very difficult thing to do and something that I have long envied because I know just how difficult it is to achieve what he achieved. He was also a hell of a coach, as well. He was my coach, in fact. And he was the only decent debate I ever had, and one of the best coaches I had, period.

And when you are that good at something, you realize that many people can aspire for me and often choose less. But when you choose to aspire for more, it involves a lot of work. And you know that noone owes you a national championship, no matter how much you may covet it. And goddamn if it wasn't a lot of work to earn your position.

There are lots of things I want in life. But noone owes them to me.

I would love to be a Major League Baseball Player. I would love to be a rock star. I would love to be a big name Hollywood actor or director. I would love to be a Harvard professor.

But noone owes me any of these things.

Either I earn them or I don't.

There are lots of limits to this idea. Lots of people in the world don't get rewarded comparable to their contributions. Lots of really great people in their fields don't get recognized as much as they deserve. Lots of really decent people get rewarded much less than lots of shitheads.

All kinds of unfairness in the world.

But, generally, I think, if you give your all, life will reward you enough, especially in a free market, I think, where there are more opportunities for everyone to make the kind of living they might like to make and for others to appreciate and reward their efforts. Lots of unfairness in free markets as in socialist and communist and fascist and other economies and societies. But less, generally, I think.

And most importantly, no matter what the society, we all have the opportunity somewhere in the world to give our best and be really great at what we do and be to paid and rewarded decently for our efforts. Not perfectly. There is no perfection. And we have a long way to go to make life more ideal.

But, generally, you can scratch by a living, I think, doing something you love that is better than 90% of the rest of the world in a liberal democracy like the U.S. where we have so many freedoms and luxuries and institutions and benefits that we take for granted that it is hard to count them all.

And when we don't, we aren't owed rewards we want, I don't think. We are lucky and should appreciate and show some apprecation for people who help us, even though they don't have to. I just think it's good manners. And it keeps the sharing coming.

And in the meantime, noting that merit needs to count for something matters, I think, since the opportunity to find people of merit in any field and to enjoy the fruits of their efforts is something that we very much take for granted in a free society that we ought to appreciate more, I think, rather than bemoaning, too much, what we don't have (not that I excuse poverty or serious wealth inequities or greed or people lacking basic needs or any of the serious issues around wealth inequities which I do take very seriously).

My experience with kids and adults is that most people feel too entitled rather than not entitled enough. Most people need to spend more time earning their way throught life, aspiring to demonstrated merit in their efforts, and appreciating the merit in others' efforts far more than they need to be given more. We have plenty of serious wealth inequities in the world to resolve, that is definitely for sure. I spend much of my life and time working on those issues. But more than anything else, we need more people who say, "Goddamnit, I'm going to really earn my way, today, and let everyone know just how much I have to offer."

What I wouldn't give for 90% of my students to take on that very simple attitude that has everything to do with the possibilities for success and opportunity in this world:).

It is exactly what my family said when I was a kid:). This is something I understand much better as an adult than I did when I was younger:).

Anyway. I thought it was a great analogy, Carson:).

And if anyone wants to hear about someone really standing out at something really impressive, you should ask Carson, sometime, about his debate days. He was definitely one of the best and one of a kind:).

Talk with you later, man:).

Ben

As a writer, I can choose to accept the client's o...

2006-12-12T07:17:00.000-08:00

As a writer, I can choose to accept the client's offer, barter for a higher rate, or pass on the project. And if I want that higher rate, then I better be prepared to show some skills.

Writing ability and drive are the answers to earning more money as a freelance writer--not by enacting a minimum wage law.

(BTW, lovely picture of Pat Benatar.)

Yeah, I get a little irritated by all the freelanc...

2006-12-11T20:40:00.000-08:00

Yeah, I get a little irritated by all the freelance "writers" who think that all that's required of the title is throwing a few words together. The problem with writing and editing is that there are no qualification exams. And even if there were, who would be the judge/grader? One man's piece of crap is another man's poetry...or something like that. Hit me with your best shot! I'd actually like to have a way to prove my capabilities, aside from my compelling blog, of course. ;o)

Ooh, can I be your backup singer? I've always wan...

2006-12-11T15:21:00.000-08:00

Ooh, can I be your backup singer? I've always wanted to be a singer--but like you, I can't sing either. That shouldn't stop us though.

Let's not pay our dues or hone our craft, lets just be singers--start at the top right off the bat.

This was a good post. I found it very amusing. :)

And might I add, that you picked an awesome singer to highlight today. If I had half the voice as Pat, I'd be on cloud 9.

I couldn't agree more. As a writer, one thing that...

2006-12-11T14:36:00.000-08:00

I couldn't agree more. As a writer, one thing that really gets up my nose is seeing someone make money for writing rubbish.
And the other thing, that is just as bad, are those legions of people out there who just want you to write something for their church/school/charity/local newspaper/magazine (delete as approrpriate) but no, we don't pay.

Sing it, Carson!

2006-12-11T14:18:00.000-08:00

Sing it, Carson!