Say What You Pay
#SayWhatYouPay
#SayWhatYouPay is a new initiative seeking pay transparency for writers. In September 2022, Match in the Dark contacted all Arts Council funded literature organisations asking if they would consider posting their standard fees and terms of work on a page on their websites. Pay transparency helps writers know how much they are likely to earn in advance of pitching texts or ideas, and also allows for better financial planning. It empowers writers and reduces awkward communications with employers. Match in the Dark launched the initiative on 15 November 2022. The various 'pay and conditions' pages of literature organisations are listed below. We’re aware others intend to publish similar pages soon. We applaud all organisations who support writers though pay transparency. We believe all publicly funded arts organisations should consider being open about what and how they pay artists, and would like to see pay transparency become common practice across the arts.
Cyphers (coming soon)
Ennis Book Club Festival (coming soon)
Illustrators Ireland (coming soon)
West Cork Literary Festival (coming soon)
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Match in the Dark's Policy on Pay and Treatment of Writers
Match in the Dark is an Arts Council funded initiative and commits to upholding the Arts Council's 'Paying the Artist' policy.
- We pay writers between €200 online or in-person panel discussion contributions.
- We pay writers €250 per day for consultancy work on Match in the Dark policy documents.
- We paid €200 to writers who contributed Case Studies to our Writer's Pay document, which were between 300–600 words long.
- In certain circumstances, where a panelist is appearing in the capacity of their full-time permanent job, (such as an organisation Director appearing on a panel), we do not pay an appearance fee.
We respect every writer's right to negotiate upwards on any of the fees we offer.
All payments are made within 14 days of receipt of an invoice that can be emailed with the submission of commissioned or requested work.
We cover the cost of travel where the writer is travelling outside their county of residence. We also cover accommodation where the length of travel involved and/or the start time of the event necessitates it.
We are upfront about the fees from the first email or phone call re. an offer of work.
We ensure that the initial communication reflects the full scope of what an artist is expected and required to deliver, including details of any video or audio recordings that will be made of the event. Fees are adjusted upwards if additional work is added to the brief at a later stage.
We aim to anticipate and accommodate VAT charged by writers.
We ensure writers fees are ring-fenced within our budget so that fees are protected if overruns occur in other areas of our operations.
We ensure that writers copyright is respected, both in terms of moral and economic rights.
We believe in the importance of transparency on matters of pay and working conditions, and that sharing this information publicly is to the benefit of all writers.
Much of the language in the above is borrowed from the Arts Council’s Paying the Artist Policy document whose principles we align ourselves with.
