What If I Offer To Pay You To Read My Shit?
NOW THAT I HAVE YOUR attention, no I’m not going to pay you. Misleading title? Not really…but kind of. I came across this article (links at the bottom) the other day and really had a good laugh. After reading it, I went to the Kroger near my house, loaded the cart with organic groceries (I don’t even eat organic) picked out the best meat (I love a good steak) and probably put more shrimp in the cart than I will eat in a lifetime. Well…not really. I love shrimp and would eat it three times a day if I could. I literally love that shit almost as much as I love green olives. Oh yeah, I grabbed a bunch of green olives. Anyway, after filling my cart, as much as I was tempted to go back and grab another one and stock up, I felt I might be getting carried away. I went through the line, and had Nicole, a sweet lady with blue hair, ring everything up. What bothered me, is that she was expecting for me to pay for everything.
I explained to her that I had a wonderful experience at Kroger, and that if they pay ME for the groceries, I’ll take them to my house, and tell everyone about them. She wouldn’t budge. What an ass! So much for being sweet.
I would be a shitty ass person if I did that for real, but no sane, rational person would request that, and we would wonder if something was mentally off about a person with such expectations. Que Rolling Stone Magazine and other vanity presses. Several years ago, when I started out as a writer, I submitted my work to a magazine, Starfeather Publishing. I was ignorant and my writing was horrible. But for $10, they would read what I submitted and if I was worth gracing their magazine, they’d publish what I wrote and pay me. When I was trying to pay, they were quick to respond to any emails, but once the pay went through, responses went cold. I forgot about them…and one year later, they emailed to say they were not interested in what I wrote. It made me wonder how often people submit to magazines, pay to be considered, and are rejected.
Rolling Stone Magazine has learned that the hustle is not in paying the people who work for you, but have them pay you…for exposure, $2,000 a year to be exact. That’s right, you can pay one of the largest entertainment magazines to write for them; kind of like paying to be a model or paying to be on television. It’s a brilliant scheme that hustlers and con artists use all the time, “if you do work for me, I’ll promote you on my instagram,” “it’ll be great for your portfolio,” “think of the exposure you’ll get doing this,” something that usually works in favor of the hustler. One author told me that you should never, ever, ever pay someone to be published. This is not about co-op publishing, where the publisher fronts some money and you pay the difference, or you pay a publishing house for self publishing services. Any legit publishing company will back that statement up. If a company does work, they should get paid. And, if you’re writing FOR a magazine, you should get paid for it.
What’s bad is that Rolling Stone Magazine is doubling down on their plan. I think Forbes is doing something similar-pay to play. You pay with the hope that it’ll grant you exposure leading to more work (eventually paid work), something that only the upper class can afford. According to them, “Being published in one of the best-known entertainment media outlets in the world sets you apart as a visionary, leader, and bold voice in your industry.” Imagine that…someone who has $2,000 of expendable income can pay to be a bold voice.
What this really is, is a cry for help. Print sales and advertising revenues to Rolling Stone Magazine have plummeted, and it’s clear they’re struggling. Sure, they’re still a leader in the entertainment publishing business, but after posting the Boston Marathon Bomber on the cover of an entertainment magazine like a model, as well as an article detailing false rape allegations without fact-checking, and anti-semitic hypocrisy, it’s not hard to see why they’ve fallen. At some point you have to find a way to make up for it, and that way, is charging people to write for you.
Paying for exposure is the oldest, lamest, most desperate trick in the book, and it’s sad that they’ve resorted to this con. It’s like paying for an applause and bragging about getting a standing ovation; it’s cringe-worthy and desperate, and that’s what Rolling Stone Magazine is…desperate. What’s worse are the ignorant writers who will fall for it. Sure, some will most definitely get somewhere by paying for exposure, but that’s with anything. Some will make it to the top with Amway, selling essential oils, or donating to Kenneth Copeland and Joel Osteen. But the majority of people who pay for this scam will spend $2,000, see their article in print, and never hear from an agency-it’s the nature of the sham. You don’t have to fact-check anything I just wrote, Rolling Stone Magazine has a history of failing to do so. Paying for exposure dilutes your brand, and you are worth more than exposure dollars.
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2021/jan/23/rolling-stone-magazine-culture-council-publication
https://nypost.com/2021/01/23/rolling-stone-wants-content-from-thought-leaders-who-pay-2k/
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