Alright y’all, I gotta vent for a minute.

I follow a lot of writing groups on Facebook where a lot of self-published authors can give advice, ask for help, share their successes, etc. etc. For the most part, I find these groups to be helpful and I’ve learned quite a bit from a lot of the people in the groups. However, lately I’ve noticed the number of entitled people in this group has really gone up. I’ve seen a lot of people complaining that their books aren’t best sellers yet, even though it’s only been a week since they published, or maybe they only put in the bare minimum effort and are now mad no one likes their book. Then there’s people basically asking someone else to do all the work for them, but they still want the credit for it. The list goes on.

There was one post I saw this week where I almost laughed out loud when I read it, because I just couldn’t wrap my head around why someone would think this way. Someone had posted to the group that they were getting into a copy editing career, and they had done quite a bit of freelance work, but they were now trying to apply to work for an actual publishing agency. She said she had an interview at a very reputable company, things were going well in the process, and then the company asked for a writing sample from her. One that she had to create based on a prompt that they gave her, meaning she couldn’t pull a writing sample she had already done in the past.

And this pissed that woman off! She wrote in her post that she emailed the company back and basically said she doesn’t do any work for free, and they can either accept a writing prompt from the portfolio of work she had already sent them, or they can pay her a minimum of $150 to complete the writing prompt. The writing prompt was a requirement for the hiring process, so she really expected THEM to pay HER to apply for a job. Reading through the comments on the post, there were quite a few people who had the same thoughts as me and thought this woman was off her rocker.

First of all, anyone could pull any kind of writing prompt off the internet and claim it as their own. This company wanted to make sure this person was actually good at what she claimed to be good at. Second of all, you know how many interviews have really long, lengthy processes that you don’t get paid to do? Honestly, that’s just how it goes sometimes, people.

But there was also a decent amount of people commenting on the post that actually agreed with the poster and said she shouldn’t have to do anything for free – know your worth! Maybe if this wasn’t a job interview!!!

I just found it funny, because there are so many people nowadays that think they are entitled to stuff like this. And it’s a bit alarming the amount of people I’ve come across – especially working at a college – that think the world owes them everything and they don’t have to work for it. Or if they do put in the work, there better be something in it for them.

I’ll be the first to admit that working isn’t always fun, but believe it or not, YOU HAVE TO DO IT. Nothing in life is free, SOMEONE is paying for it. Do you think I wouldn’t love to sit at home and do nothing all day every day? Heck yeah I would! But then how would I have food to eat? How would I afford to have a home in the first place? No one is going to give me these things because I don’t feel like I should have to work for it. Obviously, shit happens and I know sometimes people really do need help getting those things, but that’s an entirely different story.

So, before I go, I want to say this: the world owes you nothing. You want something bad enough then you better be prepared to put the work in, because it’s not going to be free or easy. And sometimes, you have to do hard things and you may not get anything back in return. That’s life! I doubt there’s a single person on this planet that hasn’t been in that position before. Feel free to complain about it, but then get your butt back out there and do something about it.

Life is hard for everyone, not just a select few.

Alright, I’ll get off my soapbox now. 🙂

Until next time! 🙂

Megan Reiffenberger