A small rant

"We are offering non-paid writing opportunities. This is an excellent opportunity to build name recognition and gain experience in the rapidly changing publishing world and be a part of a growing web property."

Sure! I'd be absolutely and perfectly willing to offer up my services for free. Oh, suuuurrre, I only have eighteen thousand dollars in student loans to garner a B.A. with a concentration in creative writing so I can work for free. (I won't mention where this came from as it doesn't really matter since it's a bit of pretty generic crappola that I've seen many, many times.)

I'm absolutely sure that all those psych, education, and business majors are out there canvassing public schools and whatnot so they can offer up free services so they can "build up name recognition" while the revel in relative poverty just so one day, they too, can make the grand sum of $32,000 a year.

I don't go to McDonald's and demand free cheeseburgers then promise the guy at the counter that I'll "really help get their name out there."

Hey! Writing isn't like breathing, miserly ones. It does require some sort of thought process. If you can't afford to offer your writers a pittance of some type (I'll even take peanuts depending on the article length) then write it yourself. I can write for free on my own.