If you’re looking to do some free writing for Film Stories, here’s the information you need.
We’re currently four issues into the Film Stories story, and are gradually growing this website alongside the magazine, primarily with stories of British productions and filmmakers.
What’s more, since the magazine launched, we’ve commissioned over 100 pieces of freelance writing, including giving at least a dozen people their first paid writing work.
As such, every week, our mailbox is attracting people who want to write for us, including offers from people happy to write for free, just to get some exposure. This is hugely appreciated.
That said, the business of Film Stories magazine is to put together writing in a magazine and hopefully tempt many of you into buying said publication. Film Stories is an independent publication, without a big publishing company behind it. As such, it’s very hand to mouth, and selling each issue is pivotal and crucial to us going forward. We do not have a lot of money at all.
But still: it is our business to publish writing. As such, our business plan (I’m overselling the document by calling it that, but bear with me) includes a budget for writing.
I fundamentally believe that if a website/publication exists to publish writing and attract money – be it advertising or a purchase price – for doing so, then not having a budget for writing is a flat no. An absolute deal-breaker.
As it happens, what we don’t have a budget for is marketing. But writing? It is paid for. Words have value. Writing should be, and is, paid for. Our page rates aren’t brilliant – £30 per page in the magazine is a low rate – but we’re not in profit yet and we, the people behind the magazine, aren’t taking a penny.
Forgive the slightly clickbait headline, then, but this is an absolutely crucial point of principle for us. We see local newspapers asking for reviews in exchange for a link back to a blog. We see, in some instances, big websites wanting free writing, in exchange for exposure. Name and shame them, folks. Name and shame them.
If your business is publishing writing, then pay for writing. It’s that simple.
For those, then, who want to write for Film Stories, know this: if we publish your work, we pay you. If you want to pitch to us, then send a pitch over to simon at filmstories co uk. We are committed to giving at least two people per issue their first paid writing work.
One caveat: we are a very small business, and as such we tend to be several weeks in arrears on pitches. Do bear with us. It’s nothing personal, but an army of people we are not.
If you don’t want to write for us, but want to support what we’re doing, we’d be hugely indebted if you’d either buy a copy of the magazine, or help spread the world of it. It’s the only way we can keep going. If we can break even, and maybe even turn a decent profit, then we can and will put more money into paying for writing.
Print subscriptions (available with monthly direct debit if preferred):
https://www.webscribe.co.uk/magazine/filmstories
Individual copies:
https://fusionretrobooks.com/collections/film-stories
Digital subscriptions:
https://shop.exacteditions.com/film-stories
Thanks for reading. And folks looking to write for a living/part-living? With few exceptions, never write for exposure. They don’t take exposure as payment at the shops, so why should you be the one left with nothing when a publishing company that should know better profits from work you’ve provided?
