Damn right writers should get paid. Why is this even a question?
You're looking to hire, you pay up. Be it to make art, writing or whatever other creative services you might need. Its still labor y'all.
Lol no, you shouldn't pay writers. After all, what do they even do? They only put words on a page/screen. In fact, they to pay you, for the honour of working on your magnum dong opus of a comic.
I say NAY, never pay writers, embrace the Sigma Grindset or else, they'll get big egos and start thinking they're doing "Work" and deserve to be "Compensated". Shakespeare might have written A Comedy of Errors, but his drivel could never convey deep emotion like this glorious piece of art does17
I think that it's a difficult situation. If the artist wants to pay the writer then they should certainly do so. I find it very uncommon regarding that circumstance, but it is ultimately up to them.
After lots of reflection, I see that everyone should be paid for their work writing or drawing. When it comes to collaboration it gets tricky because people then ask, well is one more important than the other? Should one be paid?
I guess that's why collaborations exist, as they live as equals, not separations. However, some people realize that they need others and are willing willing pay which is their own choice. Overall, it's sticky.
I guess it comes down to this, all artists (writers and drawing as artists) work hard on their crafts and should be paid. When it comes to collaborations, a deal is formed where they become a team, working together.
Do writers deserve to be paid? Yes. It comes down to situation and ultimately the individuals involved.
I also want to apologize to any I offended. After looking at all the feedback, I realize my error in my comments and I've looked at it from a different point of view. If you are able to, please accept my apology with time.
If I am hiring a writer to write me a story that will suit my needs, of course I should be paying them. If I am hiring a writer that will suit my needs and I am asking a ton of world building, characters chemistry and other important stuff from them, of course I should be paying them.
Now I am not in a paid collaboration, but without my writer I won't be a creator of all these awesome comics, I won't be able to win a comic contest with this awesome story, not to mention I won't even start drawing comics at all because I was never confident that I can write a cohesive story by myself. It's time and skill and research that is put into writing work. To say that writers shouldn't get paid is as infuriating as saying that artists shouldn't be paid, because "eh, you like doing it anyway, like it's not hard for you or anything".
Most collaborations are about one person trying to execute a particular vision, and seeking outside talent to help realize that vision, in which case outside talent should be paid.
I think we also need to recognize that the reality of the situation is there are simply more writers who desire the contribution of artists to their storytelling than the reverse, which puts a lot of the "pay creative people for their work" pressure on these writers. ((Though reminder that many of these types of collaboration are actually from people with an idea, and no real writing experience, but they present themselves as writers)) This does not mean artists are entitled to free writing, just that the odds of a writer being willing to contribute their writing for free are probably higher. Which gets us into the myriad of issues with free collaboration.
So it's a sticky wicket. I hope most, if not all, of us realize artists and writers are of equal creative value. Whoever is offering a service should be paid.
Read through that thread & didn't notice anyone actually say writers should not be paid. Saw a lot of opinions to the contrary with some nuances based on whose ideas were being written, etc.
That's because the commenter deleted their statement and have made a new one here clarifying things, if you can read.
Sorry, you linked to a thread that doesn't contain the alleged "writers shouldn't be paid" statement but I can't find it & I wanted to see it. Who was it that deleted their statement?
And thanks so much for the snark.
Thank you! So, what was it that you actually said, because I can't see it and I have a half-suspicion this thread is about a misunderstanding of it.
I'll pm you as I wish to not take up space here. What I said was wrong and there might be a slight misunderstanding but I did say some things that I do regret and see error in my ways.
Yes, writers should be paid. Writing and creating is work after all. However it depends on who is paying a writer.
The writer completely owns their own intellectual property and anyone wishing to use that property should pay the writer in order for that use. However if the writer is asking for someone else’s labor or talent to help bring their vision to life then the writer should be paying the person whose labor is being used. So if a writer wants an artist, since the writer is asking for the artist’s talent and labor the writer needs to pay the artist, not the other way around.