Back in undergrad, I knew someone with big writing ambitions. They had already completed their first novel manuscript, was working on several other book ideas, along with the occasional short fanfiction. In their mind, it wouldn't be long until they made money as an author.
One day, an entertainment company contacted them through a fanfiction website, asking if Ambitious be interested in writing a script for their cartoon pilot. I thought the show concept was bland and derivative, but Ambitious needed little convincing. This cartoon would be their big writing break, and I was going to provide unpaid, unappreciated assistance!
Ambitious had me email the company their script. Some days later, they received a "Thanks. We'll pay you once we get funding." That was the last time the company reached out.
Years later, I stopped talking to Ambitious and persued my own writing career. I had published a few articles and short stories, giving me the experience to realize how awful that entertainment company was.
Not once, did the company offer a contract. There were no formal guidelines to what they wanted from Ambitious, nor was there any listed compensation, timeline for payment, or anything. It was also weird to ask for a script from someone who had only published prose fanfiction.
My guess is the company contacted multiple fanfiction writers, and took advantage of those naive enough to provide free, no legal strings attached labor. I'm not sure whether Ambitious ever pieced together what happened.
For me, this episode underscored the importance of contracts and negotiations.
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