The Trireme -
Polyester - but it may be complicated...

The Trireme is awarded for what one freelance called the "worst terms since I was last chained to the oars".

We were about to award this issue’s nomination Polyester magazine, offering £45 per 1000 words for features.

As one news editor of an august weekly responded when this was aired online: "Taking into account freelance expenses, this is about 4 hours of work at minimum wage.

"I could probably write 1000 words in 4 hours but they wouldn't be good. I don't understand how anyone can make rates like this work." Exactly what the Freelance would have said, and sometimes has.

But then the person who'd issued the pitch came back: "Polyester is an independent publication that is reader-funded and all those funds go straight back into our rates, which we have raised each year since launching digital. We also value transparency so by sharing the rate on Twitter, people know immediately what we can offer."

Very soon the online discussion degenerated. How very dare the person who had originally complained about the rate? She had written for the Daily Mail! Journalists are evil money-grubbers! That sort of thing. The Freelance commends to these people that editor's expert view on what you're actually likely to get for £45 per 1000 words.

And we would humbly suggest to Polyester that they more prominently mention the nature of their enterprise when calling for pitches.

© Mike Holderness