Should I Work For Free?

There's been a lot of talk this month about whether  -- and under what circumstances -- a freelancer should agree to work for free. The online debate was sparked by journalist Nate Thayer's blog post about being asked to repurpose a previously-published article for use by the Atlantic... without any compensation. It seemed as though everyone was talking about freelancers' paycheques for a few days. And there was no shortage of opinions.

Last week we tweeted about this handy flow chart by San Francisco freelance letterer and illustrator Jessica Hische. It's called "Should I Work For Free?" and you can buy yourself a beautiful 5-colour, 25" by 15" letterpress print of it to hang above your desk. It's pretty funny. And it's a useful reminder that, unless it's your mom asking, you should give the matter some serious consideration before agreeing to give away your valuable time and talents.