Harlan Ellison’s most eloquent rant on why he demands payment from everyone.
“They always want the writer to work for nothing. And the problem is there’s so many god damn writers who have no idea that their supposed to be paid every time they do something, they do it for nothing.”
As professionals we ought never give away our work for free. But often we do, perhaps because we are a terribly insecure lot. But we don’t go to a grocery store, pick up some food and expect to walk out there without paying. Shouldn’t we treat ourselves the same way, as professionals?