I recently attended a conference where panelists in every break-out session recommended subscribing to Duotrope's Digest. I wish I'd had the nerve to raise my hand and ask how many in that room (or on the panel for that matter), contributed. I have, several times, yet every month they seem to be in CODE RED.
According to their last newsletter, so far this year––and the year is rapidly moving toward its close–-only 9.97% of subscribers have donated for an average per subscriber donation of $17.63. Come on guys. That's peanuts.
I know that every time you turn around it seems someone is asking for your money. In these days of under-funding for the arts––heck, under-funding for education, infrastructure, healthcare, you-name-it––we sometimes feel the need to put a limit on what we can afford to shell out for the common good. However, this is something from which you benefit. Don't you think you could pay a little something for it?
Many of the writers using this service are MFAs. That means they've spent thousands of dollars on their writing. Others of us attend workshops and conferences, subscribe to various magazines, publications and newsletters. If every subscriber to Duotrope's would donate just $1.00 per week, that would be $52 per subscriber. Almost 5 times the average donation they received this year.
You spend more than a dollar to mail a submission. Don't you think it's time to start helping out?
No comments:
Post a Comment