Interview with National Writers Union Organizer Andrew Van Alstyne
by Linda M. Rhinehart Neas
Being a freelance writer can be as lonely as a sailor adrift at sea. In this interview, Andrew Van Alstyne, an organizer with the
National Writers Union (UAW Local 1981), will share the importance of solidarity among freelance writers.
Andrew is a Ph.D. candidate in sociology at the University of Michigan. He currently lives in Arlington, Massachusetts with his wife and two daughters.
WOW: Andrew, to start, could you tell us a little about what the National Writers Union is and what they do for writers?Andrew: The National Writers Union (UAW local 1981) has been around since 1981. We’re the only labor union representing freelance writers. We work on everything from contracts and grievances to copyright issues and member education. Writing is often a solitary profession and the union is a much-needed source of solidarity and support for its members.
This solidarity and support can be crucial for freelance writers. We just won a significant settlement with the publishers of
Heart & Soul magazine for unpaid wages for contract writers and staff editors. The magazine’s publisher will sign a confession of judgment and pay the writers in six installments. The first payment was just sent to a writer facing foreclosure. This victory wouldn’t have happened without the commitment of the affected writers, but it also shows the value of collective action and solidarity.
WOW: How did the Pay the Writer campaign begin and why is it important?Andrew: In 2011, AOL bought the Huffington Post for $315 million. By now, the Huffington Post model is well known: there are a small number of staff employees and a seemingly endless supply of unpaid bloggers. When the sale went down, the unpaid bloggers expected to be rewarded for the value they’d help create. Instead, the site made it clear that bloggers wouldn’t see a dime. In response, Huffington Post bloggers independently called a boycott of the site. We joined the campaign and launched Pay the Writer to make clear that working writers deserve to be paid. This was incredibly important beyond the Huffington Post as a host of imitators emerged all looking to cash in on unpaid bloggers. It’s a successful scheme—Turner just spent $200 million on Bleacher Report.
We recently announced an end to the Pay the Writer campaign so we can focus our energy on building an online writers division within the union. We already have strong divisions for book authors, journalists, and academics and an online division makes sense.
WOW: How can freelance writers know which companies are safe to work for?Andrew: When dealing with particularly egregious cases, we will issue advisories. For example, in the case of
Heart & Soul I mentioned earlier, we issued a Writers Alert letting writers know about the problems at the magazine.
In this market, there are far too many publishers looking to make a quick buck by taking advantage of writers, so it’s important that if a writer encounters problems, she or he has an ally. That’s why contract advice and enforcement is such an important part of what we do.
WOW: What advice do you have for writers—young and old—who are trying to work in the “online” market?Andrew: A quick scan of Craigslist reveals the challenges writers face, as companies feel no qualms offering negligible rates for professional quality work. There is absolutely no way a writer can make a living on a fraction of a cent per word, but those kinds of job posts are everywhere.
For a new writer or an established writer, my first piece of advice is not to go it alone. Connect with other writers—joining the National Writers Union would be an excellent start. Beyond that, my advice is to not undervalue yourself. Every offer is negotiable, whether it’s on pay or rights or something else. Again, we offer advice on these to members.
WOW: What should writers be looking for in the future from the National Writers Union?Andrew: We’ll continue working for writers. As our recent
Heart & Soul victory shows, there is power in solidarity. As we build our online division, we’re looking to create the infrastructure necessary to make the digital age writer-friendly. Please visit
http://www.nwu.org to sign up.
WOW: Thank you for taking time to share this information with us, today. I know there will be many members of WOW interested in what the National Writers Union has to offer freelance writers.***
Interview by Linda M. Rhinehart Neas for WOW. Linda is no stranger to WOW. She has taught classes, written articles, participated in contests and joined blog tours. She is an educator/writer/poet, living in Western Massachusetts with her husband and cat. Linda is also a member of the National Writers Union, Local 1981. You can read more about her on her blog,
Words from the Heart.
Writing and Balance
by Linda Rhinehart Neas
Balance is a tenuous dance we all do to remain on what Buddhist call, “the center path.” At times, it seems that the slightest push can send us reeling into the gullies of despair, confusion or fear. Writing is the ballast that keeps me coming back to center.
Plagued early in life by disease, poverty and abuse, I became a tenacious survivor thanks to a mother who loved literature, especially poetry. She planted a seed deep within the fertile fields of my soul. Watered and feed by both the local librarian, who sent my first poem into the Hornbook Children’s Contest, and by several gifted educators, my love for the written word germinated and bloomed.
By the time I was in high school, I knew I was a writer. However, for a brief time, I stopped writing daily. I had shared a love poem with my boyfriend and he corrected my spelling and syntax. I was devastated. In the fog that most abuse victims live in, I thought he was “helping” me realize that I was not a poet. After all, I was not a college student. How could I hope to compete in the real world?
The Muse, however, had other ideas. I continued to have inspirational moments when entire poems came rushing out of my solar plexus onto paper, which happened when my first daughter was born. Motherhood was fertile ground - deep, dark and full of possibilities.
But it wasn’t until one morning, as I rub the pregnant bulge of my soon to be third daughter, watching my two oldest daughters play, that I truly understood my calling. On the table was the Officer’s Wives Newsletter, which I edited on a remote SAC base in the Great Lakes. If I could do that, why not write professionally?
The news of another military confrontation loomed in the media. It was fodder for my first professionally published article.
“Let There Be Peace,” appeared in the Boston Globe. The respected professionals at The Globe deemed my work worthy of print, and they paid me! I began writing in earnest.
Eventually, the local newspaper weekly newspaper offered me my own column. The column allowed me to keep honing my craft.
Once my daughters were in school, I turned my attention to inspiring others to write. The persona of “The Poetry Lady” was born. I began giving poetry readings in the local schools, at the historical society, and for fundraisers to help women’s organizations. I helped teachers become inspired to teach poetry to their classes.
Recently, I returned to school to finish a BA and M.Ed. Walking across the dais to receive my diploma, a dream was not only been realized, it was validated. My entire life had led me to this moment, to this realization, that I cannot live without writing.
Writing is the lifeblood that fuels my soul. It is the silence between the beats of my heart. It is the outstretched hand in times of need. It is the essence of this being I call, “Me.”
* * *
Linda M. Rhinehart Neas has written extensively in various venues, publishing and performing her work throughout New England.
Her first complete book of poems, Winter of the Soul, was published in February 2008. Gogo’s Dream: Discovering Swaziland, a collection of poems dedicated to those who work to aid the peoples of Swaziland was published this year. All proceeds from the sale of Gogo’s Dream go directly to Possible Dreams International.
I am so happy to welcome, Linda M. Rhinehart Neas, on her WOW! blog tour. Linda has written the amazing poetry book, Gogo’s Dream: Swaziland Discovered. This book of poetry is inspired by the people of Swaziland and the work of Dr. Maithri Goonetilleke, an Australian physician and poet who spends time working with the people of Swaziland. The poems illustrate the poverty and need in Swaziland but also the love and dignity of this family oriented culture. All of the profits of this book will go to Possible Dreams International to help the peoples of Swaziland. You can preview and purchase the book here.
***Linda has written a terrific post for my blog today. And anyone who leaves a question or comment for Linda will be entered for a chance to win a copy of her book.
Love Story: The Women of Swaziland
by Linda Rhinehart Neas
When he (Dr. Goonetilleke) met Gogo Ida, her remaining daughter had just given birth to a second child. The daughter’s first child, a three-year old is named Nothando, which means “Love.”
Love is the capital that Gogo Ida, nearly seventy, exists on daily. Love for her daughter dying, like her other children, of AIDS; love for the grandchildren, which are now in her care; love for God to whom she prays in the mud hut with holes in the walls where snakes and rats torment the children. Her prayers are simple – protection from the cold, food for the children, a better future for her grandchildren.
Love has brought Dr. Maithri Goonetilleke and the other members of Possible Dreams International (PDI) to Swaziland. Love supports the work they do to help bring the essentials to people devastated by disease and poverty. Love surrounds Gogo Ida and the thousands of Gogos (grandmothers) of Swaziland as they bury their beloved children and care for their orphaned grandchildren.
The Love that fuels Gogo Ida’s (pictured here) hope for a better future for her grandchildren, the dream of all Gogos in Swaziland, which has the highest percentage of HIV infected population in the world, has brought her a new home, built by members of her community with the aid of PDI. The home has the luxury of strong walls, a corrugated roof, a door and windows. It will protect her grandchildren from the varmints that sneak in at night trying to rob her of what little food she has and threatening her grandchildren.
Just before Dr. Maithri leaves Gogo Ida’s home, she receives the first parcel of her supplemental food – Mealie meal, a porridge-based product that is the staple of the Swazi diet, 60 eggs, sugar and beans. Gogo Ida was elated, singing and dancing for joy. “Last night, every morsel of food that we have was gone. Now the children can eat!”
Dr. Maithri lowered his head as tears ran down his face. Love wrapped its arms around Gogo Ida and her family, bringing Light into her humble home.
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Being a woman in Swaziland isn’t necessarily a death sentence, but it might as well be. In 2009, the average life expectancy in Swaziland was 37. Approximately 42% of the pregnant women in the country were HIV positive. Nearly 185,000 of the one million people living there are infected. However, AIDS is not the only disease ravaging the lives of women in Swaziland.
Struggling in a country where poverty is the norm, infectious diseases run rampant. W
& Book Giveaway Comments Contest!
Linda Rhinehart Neas self-published her first written work at the age of seven on the cardboard she gathered from her dad's shirts after they came back from the laundry. Since then, she has written extensively in various venues. She holds an M. Ed. from the University of Massachusetts in Reading and Writing. Her work has been published and performed throughout New England. Gaining inspiration from her four daughters and three granddaughters, she has calculated that she will run dry of ideas for writing sometime in the next millennium. Her first full collection of poems, Winter of the Soul, was published in 2008. Next to writing, teaching is her second passion. Presently, she is working on a book of poetry, essays and memoirs on teaching and two children's books.
Linda is also an ambassador for Possible Dreams International, which is a non-profit grass roots organization that helps communities and families in poverty.
Find out more about Linda by visiting her websites:
Website: www.holisticwritings.com
Blog: Words from the Heart: http://contemplativeed.blogspot.com/
Gogo's Dream: Swaziland Discovered By Linda M. Rhinehart Neas
Gogo's Dream: Swaziland Discovered is the culmination of a month long challenge to write a poem a day. When the author took the challenge, she was determined to write about the people and land that had touched her so deeply.
This book of poetry is inspired by the people of Swaziland and the work of Dr. Maithri Goonetilleke, an Australian physician and poet who spends time working with the people of Swaziland. The poems illustrate the poverty and need in Swaziland but also the love and dignity of this family oriented culture.
All of the profits of this book will go to Possible Dreams International to help the peoples of Swaziland. You can preview and purchase the book here: http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/1321608 (Genre: Poetry)
Swaziland has the highest prevalence of HIV infection in the world--42% of the population are infected with HIV. 70% of the population live on less than one dollar a day. 10% of the population are orphaned children trying to survive without food, shelter or guidance.
Through community and homestead/family based projects Possible Dreams International, Inc aims to bring concrete change into those lives affected by the HIV pandemic, extreme poverty, malnutrition and endemic disease. You can find out more about the non-profit organization here: http://possibledreamsinternational.org/
Book Giveaway Comments Contest!
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As a freelance writer, I read this article with great interest. I am now involved with my second magazine who refuses to respond to my inquiries about contracts or payment owed. It's frustrating.
I've also noticed the sites that increasingly rely on unpaid bloggers for their content. I imagine there are two sides of this coin, and while I'm happy to contribute, because it also helps me build my platform and clips, I will have to closely monitor how much I do without pay. I will check out your site. Thank you.
I think it's important that editors and publishers realize that writers are not going to take this kind of treatment and that we can join together and fight! We are professionals. We work hard, and we deserve to be paid. Thanks for this great and important interview!