Getting Paid in Chocolate


        
            
            May 23, 2024
            
        
        Getting Paid in Chocolate
        
        
            Writers let themselves get paid in exposure, and now we seem ungrateful when our work only results in treats. 
        
        

        

        
            to be fair, this is part of a cupcake I paid for myself, but you get the idea 
I was telling a friend about someone who offered to “hire” me to work an entire Sunday afternoon with no compensation apart from free publicity and free drinks. She then told me about a similar situation about someone who offered her a writing gig, but the pay would only be in restaurant gift certificates. 
She said that her husband refers to this practice as, “getting paid in chocolate”. 
It’s when your only compensation for your skills and expertise is paid in treats that don’t help cover rent or bills of any kind. Maybe with a little, oh, and I despise this word—here I’m going to say it—exposure—the person feels like they’ve done you a favor. Ummmm, yummy! Chocolate! Free drinks! Maybe dinner! Then you go home knowing you still have to find a way to pay the rent, or that Con Ed bill that got jacked up in a month you didn’t even turn on the air conditioner (surprise!). 
        

        
        
        
            
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The Schudown

Getting Paid in Chocolate

Writers let themselves get paid in exposure, and now we seem ungrateful when our work only results in treats.