
An Open Letter from Freelancers at Nautilus Magazine - danso
https://nwu.org/an-open-letter-from-freelancers-at-nautilus-magazine/
======
9oliYQjP
As a subscriber, I find it unfortunate that this issue has been dragging along
for the past year or more. This is not the first time we're hearing about it.
But it doesn't appear that there has been any material change in the
situation.

I've stopped receiving my print copies of the magazine. I mind, but I haven't
raised the issue because I want the publication to survive and assumed they
might be focussing their efforts on more existential threats. As an otherwise
happy subscriber, I'd rather miss a couple of paper copies now and let some
sort of fundamental business restructuring happen in order to allow for the
publication to survive. But I suspect this isn't happening now, at least in an
effective way.

I have first-hand knowledge of how similar publications operate. They're kept
alive by a publisher who lacks the business expertise needed to do more than
keep their baby on chronic life support. It will never thrive on its own, and
consequently, never realizes its full potential either.

As a publisher, if it gets to the point where you're so in debt to people who
have otherwise contributed in good faith to the business, your livelihood and
baby, you owe it to them to admit that you need help. Not help in the sense of
asking customers for donations or by having fire sales on subscriptions, as
Nautilus has. This is just a way of chasing future debt obligations. Rather,
you owe it to them to get help with fundamentally restructuring the business
itself.

I'd prefer to avoid speculating too much on why that hasn't happened yet. But
I suspect this all boils down to good old publisher control and/or equity. For
the publication to have a future, all options should be on the table no matter
how undesirable they might be for the publisher.

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anarbadalov
Update and additional context:

[https://undark.org/article/freelance-writers-nautilus-
paymen...](https://undark.org/article/freelance-writers-nautilus-payment/)

full disclosure: I work at Undark. We interviewed John Steele, the publisher
of Nautilus, this morning, and there are quotes here — from both Steele and
unpaid contributors.

~~~
bovermyer
This is my first time hearing of Undark. It has my attention now.

~~~
scott_s
I've listened to their podcast. It is quite good.

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cs702
The magazine is great as a "New Yorker for Sience," but its non-payment of
writers is a shame. Moreover, as Jeremy Kun out points below, quality is bound
to suffer for it.

I, along with others here on HN, subscribed earlier this year to help Nautilus
with its financial difficulties, so it could pay writers. And yet, many
writers are still unpaid.

Is there anyone here from Nautilus who can explain what the heck is going on?

~~~
modzu
I subscribed for the same reason 4 months ago and actually have yet to receive
anything. Their support advised me they are experiencing "delays" :(

wtf nautilus

~~~
jontayesp
I’ve experienced the same problem, for about six months I never received any
issues. The entire time I thought there was a mail delivery issue or some
other anomaly. It’s a shame because it’s a great publication.

------
j2kun
The more I read Nautilus the less I like it. It seemed good initially, and now
it feels like bad pop science. Maybe that has something to do with paying
writers. I prefer Quanta Magazine.

~~~
chollida1
Second the recommendation for Quanta magazine.

[https://www.quantamagazine.org](https://www.quantamagazine.org)

And Quanta is well backed. They aren't going away anytime soon. And unlike
Nautilus, they probably won't run thinly veiled submarine pieces for Two
Sigma:)

------
imagetic
I have been fearing that this would happen. I subscribed around 6 months ago,
but have yet to receive a print issue in the mail to date. After contacting
support they gave me the runaround claiming delays. Over the last few months
the number of clickbait articles and blog posts increased and the hard
reporting / science in the main publication has reduced.

Nautilus has been an amazing publication over the years though. My household
has subscribed since its launch. It's a shame to see it suffering. The writing
staff deserves better. The brand deserves better.

------
dalanmiller
I subscribed to the print Nautilus magazine and was supposed to receive my
first copy 1.5 months ago. Something is up.

Me - Oct 28:

> have yet to receive my first issue of Nautilus after signing up for Prime.
> When can I expect it?

Nautilus - Oct 30:

> Your first issue in our next shipment, which should be mailed out in early
> November. Please let me know if you have any other questions. Thanks for
> subcribing!

Me - Dec 2:

> I never received my first issue this month. Is it possible that it is still
> on the way?

Nautilus - Dec 5:

> We're sorry for the wait, but we are working on our Sept/Oct issue shipment
> (the digital version is already available on Prime if you'd like to start
> reading it now). Thanks for your patience.

~~~
jesperlang
I still haven't received the last three issues. Seems like support is
responding at least... I should contact them!

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sedtrader
I saw the writing on the wall when Nautilus had a promotional piece for the
multibillion dollar hedge fund Two Sigma as their leading article a couple
weeks ago. While at the same time asking for donations to help them remain
independent. They apparently are desperate for funds at this point and cant
even afford to pay their staff.

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xbryanx
If you can't run a business successfully* for a year after spending through a
$5M grant, then your entire idea might be deeply flawed.

* - Honoring your debts.

~~~
mcguire
A magazine in the process of failing that hasn't paid it's writers and editors
isn't really news. It is a very difficult business.

I think the only surprise is that it's still going. Didn't problems start
almost immediately?

------
jatsign
I subscribed to the print version about 6 months ago and I think I've received
one issue. I like the articles, but something is rotten in the state of
Denmark.

~~~
bbarn
I was a subscriber for the last two years, and about 5-6 months ago issues
stopped coming. I emailed them a few times and got replacements sent but
finally just stopped bothering. Content's gone downhill anyway and it's worth
less than my time to track down a partial refund at this point.

------
ucaetano
Nautilus started well, but now it's just another clickbaity content mill.
Fancy-looking, polished and with more intricate language, but still clickbait.

------
anon1094
As a remote front-end freelancer I absolutely always charge my clients at
least 30% and usually 50% up front for the job that I'm doing.

When you charge client a percentage up front it's beneficial for both parties.
We both get invested in the work we're doing and look forward to it getting
completed.

~~~
devindotcom
Most writers aren't in a position to dictate terms, unfortunately. All the
freelance work I've done over the years was payable on delivery.

~~~
bovermyer
As art director at Silver Gryphon Games, I made it a point to pay artists in
full after they had completed the work, but before they'd delivered the final
full-size version. That way, both sides had some protection.

That's harder to do with writing; you can't really peer at a thumbnail of a
manuscript and say "yeah, that looks good, here's your payment." I'd be
amenable to a 50 up front, 50 on delivery split for writers, though, if I ever
got back into the game publishing business. Just seems sensible.

------
jihadjihad
The early releases of Nautilus as a quarterly back in 2014 were the best. I
stopped subscribing in 2015 and have since gotten my fix by seeing Nautilus
articles here on HN. I remember BJ Novak had a fiction piece [1] in one issue,
might have been the same one with the excellent "Bridge From Nowhere" [2]
piece by Amanda Gefter. If they can get back to that quality, I'll be re-sold!

[1]
[http://nautil.us/issue/9/time/kelloggs](http://nautil.us/issue/9/time/kelloggs)
[2] [http://nautil.us/issue/16/nothingness/the-bridge-from-
nowher...](http://nautil.us/issue/16/nothingness/the-bridge-from-nowhere)

~~~
mar77i
Not sure when the article about butcher Ding came out, but it's absolutely my
favorite whenever I feel like digging it up again. Of course the original
story was great in and on itself, but the article really managed to bring the
story into today's pace of storytelling.

~~~
mcguire
This?

[http://m.nautil.us/issue/10/mergers--acquisitions/trying-
not...](http://m.nautil.us/issue/10/mergers--acquisitions/trying-not-to-try)

------
at-fates-hands
I really hope the majority of these writers are working somewhere else and are
just waiting to get paid for their work. Once you reach to a certain point
with these startups, you'll never see any of that money, even if you win a
court case or small claims court.

If the money is gone, you just have to live and learn and move on.

source: I've been apart of many startups that went tits up. As someone who got
burned really bad in the mid aughts, I've always had my radar up for red flags
and troubling signs in subsequent situations with other startups.

------
desireco42
Nautilus has fine writing and I enjoyed both print and online editions. I
assume it is not easy to run magazine like that. So I hope they will resolve
this to everyone satisfaction.

------
jey
Why can’t I set up a monthly donation to Nautilus like I can for my local PBS
station?

(No, I’m not looking forward to “we need your support” interstitials either.)

~~~
TimJRobinson
I'm surprised there's no monthly donation option, I'd also like to do the
same. I don't need the magazine but would happily donate to see it available
in more schools and libraries because I want more quality science education in
the world.

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intrasight
I am dismayed to hear this. I was an early subscriber and the print
quarterlies were the best magazines I've ever received. I subscribed for 2 or
3 years but did not renew because live intervened. Now I'm feeling guilty.

------
tirab18
The concept is great. Perhaps new management is what's needed?

~~~
tc313
Perhaps more customers willing to pay for content is what's needed.

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prepend
“Our numbers span many time zones, from London to New York, Colorado, Utah,
California and Alaska.”

Aren’t Colorado and Utah in the same time zone? This is a minor bug, but it
stuck in my mind and I thought about it through the whole piece.

------
JustAnotherPat
How is the Writer's Union a subset of the UAW? At what point do we consider
this Union a monopoly itself. I am sick of their tactics.

~~~
smacktoward
These writers never got paid for their work, and your complaint is that they
have _too much power?_

~~~
JustAnotherPat
I'm talking about the UAW. Yes they have too much power. It's only a matter of
time before they run Tesla out of this country.

As for the writers, I would love to see their contracts. An open letter
doesn't mean much to me without any facts to back it up.

