What value do you place on your time?

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We each have twenty four hours a day. That is an undeniable fact. How we use those hours is up to us - sleep, work, play - and equally how much worth we place on those allotted hours is our choice too.

I recently resigned from an unpaid role managing a Facebook page for a writing group. I've been in the role for a year and I felt that the time had come to move on and use that time and effort more effectively for my writing career. That was the main reason.

The second reason was that during the past year, the 'founder' of the group has expected more and more of me and has been unpleasant, to say the least, when I have tried to discuss the page with her. My resignation was met with an outpouring of poison from this person.

One of the unfortunate factors of offering our time for free is that certain individuals will have no respect for our effort. If they are not paying us for time spent managing a Facebook page or in writing an unpaid article for their site, those individuals will treat us as if we are offering them a sub-standard product.

Do not accept such treatment. You know the true value of your time, effort and writing. Do not let such individuals disrespect you in this way.

There are plenty of individuals out there who will appreciate your free time and free articles and give you the credit you deserve. Work with these people. They are truly worth your time.

Comments

  1. Kelly Hashway27 August 2013 at 11:27

    Sounds like you were taken for granted. Sorry to hear that. I'm glad you got out of that situation.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Author Dawn Brazil27 August 2013 at 13:07

    Sorry to hear about your unfortunate experience. Yes. We need to say no sometimes as writers but I think that we are consumed with getting our name out there... It's sad when others aren't respectful.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Chrys Fey27 August 2013 at 15:19

    I'm glad you stood up for yourself and got out of that when you did! Bravo!!

    I've experienced this with publishing. Now-a-days, there are less places that are willing to buy a writers work (the ones that do are increasingly hard to get into), and more that will publish your work but can't pay for it. Some of those places don't seem to care about a writer's work, all they want is to publish more stories on their website. Other places will publish you for free and give you all the support a new writer needs. So I've learned to look closely before I submit. Better to be cautious than taken for granted! ;)

    ReplyDelete

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