On Festivals and Fees
Spring is in the air, and it’s festival season again. Thatmeans a fresh raft of invitations from literary festivals all over the country, some very local, others vast organizations of international repute, bringing in tens of thousands of visitors from all over the world.
Let me make one thing clear from the start. I love literary festivals. They remain the most effective means of promoting literacy, celebrating books and bringing together like-minded people in the love of reading and writing. They are the best way for authors to meet their readers, and for readers to discover new writers. Most festivals are lots of fun for authors and the public. Most festivals are well-run and organized by hard-working, passionate people. However (in spite of charging up to £25 a ticket for certain events), most festivals also tend to get away with either not paying authors at all, or simply accepting to cover their travel and hotel expenses.
Why? Well, there are historical reasons for this, which date back to the days when all authors were traditionally-published. In those days, publishers saw literary festivals as an excellent means of promoting new books, and were happy to help subsidize them by arranging author visits and covering their expenses themselves. However, things have changed since then. The rise of the e-book has changed things. Celebrity culture has changed things. Small publishers have been taken over by large ones, or squeezed out of business altogether. Author advances are shrinking, except in the cases of a few celebrities. And the number of festivals has grown exponentially, now numbering over 600 in the UK alone. Some of these are very small, and cannot afford to pay fees or expenses to visiting authors. But some are huge; sponsored by large companies and attracting an international audience. And these international festivals, which once prided themselves on treating all their authors the same, are now offering large incentives to politicians, musicians and actors, whilst still expecting ordinary fiction writers to work for free. In some cases, authors have even been asked to pay a contributors’ fee for the privilege of working for free. Some younger and less experienced authors accept this for fear of being excluded, or because they think they have no choice – which is a pity, because it’s usually these younger and more vulnerable authors who most need the validation of a fee in the first place.
Let’s look at why some festivals (and even publishers) think that this situation is okay, and why I think it’s a bad idea. These are some of the arguments I’ve heard to justify not paying authors.
1: We just can’t afford to pay you.
Hmmm. To a certain extent, I sympathize. Some festivals are very small, and don’t have a budget of millions. However, this doesn’t entitle you to expect authors to work for free – or worse, to expect authors to be out of pocket for the privilege of doing you a favour. The fact is that festivals are happy to pay for their catering; their engineers, drivers, publicists and organizers; the printers who publish their promotional material; the firms that supply Portaloos and marquees; the hiring of theatres and halls. How can they justify paying everyone but the authors, without whom there would be no festival? By all means support the small festivals you care about – and if that means occasionally waiving your fee, so be it – but let’s not make it the norm for all literary festivals. Authors are often notoriously bad at talking money, but we are not philanthropists. We’re trying to make a living, like everyone else, and we deserve respect for the job we do.
2: But we’re providing free publicity.
Ah. The historical argument. But publicity is a publicist’s job, not the job of an author. And authors already have publicists, provided (and paid for) by their publisher. So what you’re saying is that, on top of their actual job, authors should also be doing their publicist’s job for free, while the publicist draws a salary?
3. But you’ll get a lot of book sales!
Well, it’s true that festival events sell books, but in order for the proceeds to cover an author’s time and expenses, you’d have to sell many hundreds of copies. Most authors are happy if they sell a dozen hardbacks or so. The figures here just don’t add up.
4: It’s only a few hours of your time.
True; but what you’re getting is far more than just that. Even without the time it takes to get to the venue (and, if it’s an evening event, the overnight stay, the return home, and the subsequent time spent away from the desk), what you’re getting isn’t just the time the author spends on the clock. What you’re getting is the sum of their expertise; skills that may have taken decades for them to hone and develop. That’s what makes their time valuable – and remember, time spent working for you is time they’re not spending at their desk, doing the thing they’re paid for. Most writers love festivals and want to help support them – but expecting them to do it for free is basically saying their work isn’t worth paying for. That’s hardly a great recommendation for a festival that claims to love books...
5: But you’ll get a free holiday/lunch/day out in the open air. Won’t that be nice?
Maybe it will. But it’s still work, not a holiday, and professionals don’t agree to work for food, or a trip to another place. Don’t believe me? Try asking your plumber to work for bus fare and a curry.
6: But...market forces determine what you’re paid. It’s not our fault if we can’t make enough money from ticket sales to pay you.
Er... actually - yes, it is. I find that having to pay the author is a terrific incentive to festivals to really make an effort to promote and publicize the events. Besides, you don’t organize a dinner party, then tell the guests you spent so much on wine that there isn’t going to be any food...
7: Now you’re being ungrateful. You wouldn’t be where you are today if it wasn’t for festivals like ours.
Let’s just look at that, shall we? Some festivals have grown so huge that they have started to believe that the festival itself is what brings the public in, and that authors should be grateful for the chance to work for free. Well, of course we appreciate festivals and value what they do, but ultimately, they exist to support the arts, not the other way around. We owe our real debt of gratitude to the reading public. They are the ones who buy the books. They are the ones who vote with their feet. Book festivals were created in response to their enthusiasm. And most members of the public would be appalled at the fact that, for the majority of author events, no part of the price of their ticket goes to pay the performer...
So...where do we go from here? Well, firstly, it's up to authors to try and change the historical perception that it’s somehow tacky or wrong to be paid for public appearances. That means actually charging a fee for festivals and readings. It doesn’t have to be an extortionate fee, but professional writers deserve respect, which means being paid like professionals. Most importantly, it means never accepting to be out-of-pocket when dealing with a ticketed event. If all authors do this, then festival organizers will soon get used to according them the same respect they give to everyone else. Of course, every author knows that the world does not owe us a living; but if our work is in demand, then we should not be afraid to charge a rate that reflects its value. Authors don’t get a salary. They don't get paid by the publisher for book tours or promotion. Instead, they are paid on the basis of individual pieces of work – a book; an article; a talk. And if the public is prepared to pay to hear their favourite authors speak, then why should a festival – or even a publisher - get to decide otherwise?
Let me make one thing clear from the start. I love literary festivals. They remain the most effective means of promoting literacy, celebrating books and bringing together like-minded people in the love of reading and writing. They are the best way for authors to meet their readers, and for readers to discover new writers. Most festivals are lots of fun for authors and the public. Most festivals are well-run and organized by hard-working, passionate people. However (in spite of charging up to £25 a ticket for certain events), most festivals also tend to get away with either not paying authors at all, or simply accepting to cover their travel and hotel expenses.
Why? Well, there are historical reasons for this, which date back to the days when all authors were traditionally-published. In those days, publishers saw literary festivals as an excellent means of promoting new books, and were happy to help subsidize them by arranging author visits and covering their expenses themselves. However, things have changed since then. The rise of the e-book has changed things. Celebrity culture has changed things. Small publishers have been taken over by large ones, or squeezed out of business altogether. Author advances are shrinking, except in the cases of a few celebrities. And the number of festivals has grown exponentially, now numbering over 600 in the UK alone. Some of these are very small, and cannot afford to pay fees or expenses to visiting authors. But some are huge; sponsored by large companies and attracting an international audience. And these international festivals, which once prided themselves on treating all their authors the same, are now offering large incentives to politicians, musicians and actors, whilst still expecting ordinary fiction writers to work for free. In some cases, authors have even been asked to pay a contributors’ fee for the privilege of working for free. Some younger and less experienced authors accept this for fear of being excluded, or because they think they have no choice – which is a pity, because it’s usually these younger and more vulnerable authors who most need the validation of a fee in the first place.
Let’s look at why some festivals (and even publishers) think that this situation is okay, and why I think it’s a bad idea. These are some of the arguments I’ve heard to justify not paying authors.
1: We just can’t afford to pay you.
Hmmm. To a certain extent, I sympathize. Some festivals are very small, and don’t have a budget of millions. However, this doesn’t entitle you to expect authors to work for free – or worse, to expect authors to be out of pocket for the privilege of doing you a favour. The fact is that festivals are happy to pay for their catering; their engineers, drivers, publicists and organizers; the printers who publish their promotional material; the firms that supply Portaloos and marquees; the hiring of theatres and halls. How can they justify paying everyone but the authors, without whom there would be no festival? By all means support the small festivals you care about – and if that means occasionally waiving your fee, so be it – but let’s not make it the norm for all literary festivals. Authors are often notoriously bad at talking money, but we are not philanthropists. We’re trying to make a living, like everyone else, and we deserve respect for the job we do.
2: But we’re providing free publicity.
Ah. The historical argument. But publicity is a publicist’s job, not the job of an author. And authors already have publicists, provided (and paid for) by their publisher. So what you’re saying is that, on top of their actual job, authors should also be doing their publicist’s job for free, while the publicist draws a salary?
3. But you’ll get a lot of book sales!
Well, it’s true that festival events sell books, but in order for the proceeds to cover an author’s time and expenses, you’d have to sell many hundreds of copies. Most authors are happy if they sell a dozen hardbacks or so. The figures here just don’t add up.
4: It’s only a few hours of your time.
True; but what you’re getting is far more than just that. Even without the time it takes to get to the venue (and, if it’s an evening event, the overnight stay, the return home, and the subsequent time spent away from the desk), what you’re getting isn’t just the time the author spends on the clock. What you’re getting is the sum of their expertise; skills that may have taken decades for them to hone and develop. That’s what makes their time valuable – and remember, time spent working for you is time they’re not spending at their desk, doing the thing they’re paid for. Most writers love festivals and want to help support them – but expecting them to do it for free is basically saying their work isn’t worth paying for. That’s hardly a great recommendation for a festival that claims to love books...
5: But you’ll get a free holiday/lunch/day out in the open air. Won’t that be nice?
Maybe it will. But it’s still work, not a holiday, and professionals don’t agree to work for food, or a trip to another place. Don’t believe me? Try asking your plumber to work for bus fare and a curry.
6: But...market forces determine what you’re paid. It’s not our fault if we can’t make enough money from ticket sales to pay you.
Er... actually - yes, it is. I find that having to pay the author is a terrific incentive to festivals to really make an effort to promote and publicize the events. Besides, you don’t organize a dinner party, then tell the guests you spent so much on wine that there isn’t going to be any food...
7: Now you’re being ungrateful. You wouldn’t be where you are today if it wasn’t for festivals like ours.
Let’s just look at that, shall we? Some festivals have grown so huge that they have started to believe that the festival itself is what brings the public in, and that authors should be grateful for the chance to work for free. Well, of course we appreciate festivals and value what they do, but ultimately, they exist to support the arts, not the other way around. We owe our real debt of gratitude to the reading public. They are the ones who buy the books. They are the ones who vote with their feet. Book festivals were created in response to their enthusiasm. And most members of the public would be appalled at the fact that, for the majority of author events, no part of the price of their ticket goes to pay the performer...
So...where do we go from here? Well, firstly, it's up to authors to try and change the historical perception that it’s somehow tacky or wrong to be paid for public appearances. That means actually charging a fee for festivals and readings. It doesn’t have to be an extortionate fee, but professional writers deserve respect, which means being paid like professionals. Most importantly, it means never accepting to be out-of-pocket when dealing with a ticketed event. If all authors do this, then festival organizers will soon get used to according them the same respect they give to everyone else. Of course, every author knows that the world does not owe us a living; but if our work is in demand, then we should not be afraid to charge a rate that reflects its value. Authors don’t get a salary. They don't get paid by the publisher for book tours or promotion. Instead, they are paid on the basis of individual pieces of work – a book; an article; a talk. And if the public is prepared to pay to hear their favourite authors speak, then why should a festival – or even a publisher - get to decide otherwise?
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Lauh - Random Utopias
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Mar 03, 2015 02:38PM
Altough I'm not a writer, I can't help agreeing with you. The same discussion was brought up by some portuguese authors as well and as a reader I was absolutely shocked at how badly paid (if they got paid at all) they were. The main reason people go to those festivals is to buy cheaper books, since most festivals have sales, and meeting the authors. The idea that the festivals are the ones making people appear and not their own interest in the subject is just proof of how things can get distorted without us realizing.
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Actually, the main reason people go to festivals is not to buy books - but to meet the authors, get ideas and possibly network if they have designs on becoming an author themselves...I go to local festivals because I want to hear what the authors have to say - I don't go to be entertained by politicians or comedians. I also think people who are celebrated in one career do not make good writers or have interesting things to say. I am fed up of having books by footballers or comedians or TV presenters shoved down my throat and promoted by the media... I am fed up with publishers who will pay £3million to Wayne Rooney for some poor underpaid writer to write it for him... what will they write - I am in my twenties, I play football, I mix with footballers, I have had something weird down to my hair and my wife is a celebrity as well because she breathes in and out... Let writers write and let them get paid in relation to their popularity. I have been to festivals where some authors I want to see have sold out... at the end of the festival all the profits should be divvied out according to the authors that the people who read books most wanted to see, not for people who are running festivals like a business.
