Words on a page

“On-spec” has to be one of the more chilling words that a professional writer can hear or read. When you do work on-spec, you’re making a gamble: you’ll only get paid if the editor or client likes the work. If not, you’ve spent a lot of time for nothing. Unfortunately, far too many writers (and other creative professionals) do spec work in the hope of snagging a new client or earning a few extra dollars.

If, like me, you’re wary of doing work on spec then you should definitely check out the site NO!SPEC. The site contains a lot of information about spec work, and why you should avoid it.