Well, hi there!
I normally thank people who read my writing, but thanks doesn’t apply here. If you’re reading this message, it means you’ve asked me to work for free. That’s a shame.
If I had infinite time to waste, I’d perhaps tell you about my decade plus of professional writing experience, the book manuscripts I’ve edited, the workshops I’ve taught, and the dozens of publications in which my byline has appeared. However, because you’ve asked me to work for free, it’s apparent that you don’t value the work creatives produce, so I doubt you care about my credentials.
I understand being a small business on a tight budget because I run two small businesses myself. I also understand that it’s insulting to ask people to work for free. That’s why I do everything in my businesses myself until I can afford help at a fair market rate.
Your budget is just that––your budget. Your inability to pay for my creative labor has no bearing on the quality of my work nor does it in any way determine what I’m actually worth.
If you are unable to pay the people upon whose labor your business relies, you don’t have a viable business model.
If you are simply unwilling to pay the people upon whose labor your business relies, you’re a charlatan and a con artist who would do well to remember that karma is a bitch.
Sincerely,
An actual businesswoman
Mandy