fees, artists & women in sport

why bst requires a paid subscription

why do i have to pay to read? 

I know the exact amount of money I made from six years in professional basketball as a female athlete. I share it publicly in this essay, along with a slew of other intimate details I will continue to disclose about myself for the sake of story. 

I could, if necessary, calculate the total number of hours I ‘worked’ in those six years and consequently the precise amount of cents I was paid for each hour. I also could calculate the length of time I have spent writing each bysaraidtaylor essay, most over at least half a decade, without being paid at all.

It is not viable, as a career, to not make any money, but as a young athlete and then like any artist it is often difficult to advocate for your own wage. Art is considered a crucial pillar of humanity, but it is still usually expected to be free. 

on audacity

This project is a challenge for me. It is discomforting. I feel presumptuous and entitled requiring a fee to subscribe.

But I believe my work, and that of all writers, deserves to be compensated. If you do not feel the writing is worth paying for, you are under no obligation to read. But if you want to read, you have to pay.

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on the fee

$150, as a lump fee for a year, might seem expensive but becomes more reasonable when it is broken down to $12.50, the price of two to three coffees, a month.

This financial support goes an enormous way to enabling me to create more work. 

read for free!

You can access the entire bst archive without paying anything.

The referral system allows you to still support my writing and “pay” me even if you are currently unable to afford $12.50 a month. By sending essays to friends, sharing on social media platforms, via email or in internet threads, you are able to earn a full subscription without financial charge.

It similarly aids the growth of this community. 

on plagiarism

I have no choice but to trust and rely on the integrity of my readers.

1. If you have paid for a subscription, and I sincerely thank you, please do not give my paywalled writing to anybody who has not yet signed up. I appreciate the enthusiasm to send work onto a friend who might enjoy the topic — and you are encouraged to share through the buttons provided on the bst site — but please do not extract text and send it illegally to others.  

2. If you have not paid for a subscription, I ask that you please do not read any of my paywalled content you might come across without signing up first.

There are options provided if you do not have the financial means for a traditional subscription.

Besides the referral system, there are group discounts, yearly sales, promotional codes and gifts. Conversely, drop me a line at saraidtaylor@substack.com and I will comp you one, no questions asked.

If you choose to not use any of these options, you are stealing — and not from a rich corporation with a vast profit margin, but from a single puny person.

It is also not only stealing once — taking articles and distributing them to non-subscribers steals from me over and over again. It kills my community and market, it negates my ability to charge for my work, and it makes any of my intellectual property and emotional labour completely redundant.

Your support, as always, in any and every way, is so appreciated.

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Saraid Taylor trains and writes on sacred Wurundjeri country. She acknowledges Elders, past and present, and extends that respect to all First Nations peoples around the world. Ten percent of all profit made from bysaraidtaylor subscriptions will be donated to Sisters Inside.