I was going to write a report about the BBC TV Writers' Festival this week but have instead decided to explore a profoundly important subject raised during the Meet The Drama Commissioners session.
When it came to questions at the end of the session a writer broached the topic of working for free. The Drama Commissioners - Piers Wenger (BBC), Victoria Fea (ITV) and Anna Hargreaves (Sky) - appeared entirely oblivious that it was even a problem and were insistent that all writers that came to them received payment for their work. That writer then went on to ask the audience who is now or has ever been asked to work for free. Every writer in the room, including myself, put their hand up. It was a watershed moment.
The Commissioners seemed genuinely shocked to discover that writers were being asked to work for free by Indies. Piers suggested that when Indies are set up, they have several hundred thousand pounds available for this very purpose and writers should never feel pressured into working for free. The Commissioners really couldn't believe that (a) it was happening and (b) it was so rife. It was a very sobering moment for them and us.
Now I have in the past advocated working for free to help further your career. I want to clarify what I've said because I believe the two situations are entirely separate. When you are starting out as a writer to help get your name out there, you can offer to help producers by reading screenplays for free. If there's a young, upcoming director who is looking to make a short film it is perfectly acceptable to offer them your screenplay in exchange for a credit and copy of the finished film. These examples cost very little of your time but go a long way toward showing your willingness to collaborate, your skills and your reliability.
What isn't acceptable is the practice of Indies telling a writer they like their work and then asking them to write either a treatment or a pilot episode before they will consider it. Writers, especially new writers, then feel obliged to do so because they want their work to be picked up and their career to progress. They feel under pressure and are worried that if they refuse, they will appear awkward and that the interest in their project will be dropped.
This work is not to be confused with writing spec screenplays where a writer writes a pilot episode of their own making and then sends it out to directors, producers and Indies in the hope someone will be interested in it enough to at the very least option it. What we are talking about here is taking a pitch to an Indie and then being asked to complete extra work unpaid to get the project ready for shopping around. This is wrong! Writers have bills to pay like everyone else and should be paid for everything they do, including any prep work to get a project ready to pitch to broadcasters.
The problem with agreeing to do this work is that if the Indie then sends the treatment or script the writer has written for free out to broadcasters and gets a resounding no from them, the project is dead and the writer doesn't get paid for their time and effort. They've done all of that work for nothing, and now they can't even take that project elsewhere. The Indie might have saved a few quid, but the writer is now out of pocket.
I've been guilty of working for free or a deferred payment in the past, and I'm currently writing a treatment and series bible for two separate Indies and not being paid for either. I know I shouldn't, but like other working writers I feel under pressure to do so, and I'm worried that if I say no there's the threat I'll be kicked off one project and be told 'no thank you' form the other. The possibility I might lose either or both of these opportunities is genuine and is an obvious concern to any freelancer who is between projects.
These are producers I have known for a while, get on well with, am very keen to work with and I haven't agreed to do the work for free on a whim. I decided to polish the feature treatment because one of the producers wrote the initial version and I knew the other producer has been actively pitching the project to investors and has already had a lot of interest. I'm developing the series bible with another Indie on the understanding if they don't option it, I have their permission to take it elsewhere. It was an idea I was going to develop anyway so am happy to have someone else's input while creating it. I've made a calculated risk with both. They may or may not pay off, but I genuinely believe that they will, or I wouldn't have agreed to work for free.
However, by doing this and not insisting on payment, I am acutely aware I am adding to the problem. While writers (especially new writers) continue to work for free, the practice will still exist, and some Indies will continue to exploit writers. So as a writer I have decided, once I have completed these projects, to make a stand and in future, I will not write for free regardless of any promises or who asks.
In an ideal world, if every broadcaster and commissioner insisted on positive proof writers had received payment for their work before they agreed to read it, it would stop the practice in its tracks. It would halt the exploitation of writers and aid talented new writers to launch their careers.
What are your thoughts?
Happy (and profitable) writing!
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