As a Swahili saying goes, 'mgala muue haki yake mpe; loosely translated to 'give the devil his due'. This is simply to say that as much as you may want to condemn anything or anyone, there should never be something like blanket condemnation. Not all the times that we end up getting what we wanted or even desired for.
Anyway, what am I driving to? Recently, I have noted the widespread dissatisfaction among many colleague writers who simplly feel cheated, used and dumped by Hivisasa. While some have valid concerns, others are simply 'cry babies'.
I say so with authority because I have been around long enough to understand some of these things. I started writing for Hivisasa in 2013 rising to the position of an editor. In short, I understand what it means to be a writer and an editor.
Both aren't a smooth sail. As a writer, I quit Hivisasa tens of times when I felt like the editors were taking me for granted. One day I made 10 submissions and only 3 saw the light of the day. So, infuriated I decided that I was not going to take this 'crap' lying down. I called it quit at Hivisasa.
When I finally had a chance to get an explanation from the editor who had returned my 7 stories, I never listened to him because I felt like he was just being too personal even though we had never met. Nothing could be further from the truth as I came to learn later when I became the Kiambu Editor and started being the one on the receiving end.
Why do I say so? While a writer has a right to submit any content allowable by Hivisasa, it is the editor's responsbility to ensure that what ends on the website is clear, newsworthy, non-defamatory, objective, original, verifiable among many other things that define responsible journalism.
In short, when an editor RETURNS a story for whatever reason, be keen to find out that missing link in your story to ensure you do not repeat the same in your subsequent submissions. Unfortunately, a majority of the writers rarely read through their published articles to make note of corrections made. No editor, however good, will keep on correcting you again and again.
Another thing worth noting is that editors are writers. How else do you become an editor if you can't write? The only difference is that they have grown by learning from their mistakes and more so accepting corrections from their seniors. So, if you are the kind that feels offended for being corrected, sorry, because you may have a lengthy, bumpy ride in this profession.
Still, on editors, a Hivisasa Editor does much more than just PUBLISHING or RETURNING stories. In fact, this constitutes for less than 40 percent of their total workload.
They have several other things like testing for content that works for Hivisasa writers' benefit, meeting stipulated growth targets for their respective geographies or themes among other things.
This is, however, impossible without a workpool of reliable writers. To a Hivisasa Editor, a reliable writer is worthier than gold.
That said, Hivisasa Editors also have their own sizeable chunk of weaknesses. After all, they are humans. Aren't they? To begin with, when I became the Kiambu Editor before I was 'demoted' as some writers have been putting it, I vowed to myself never to return a story on a flimsy ground.
What do I mean? Well, I find it unfair for an editor to RETURN a story under things like Capitalization of the headline, Submitting under wrong location/category, Time barred when a writer made the submission on time, Petty and correctable grammatical errors among other things that an editor can do without necessarily reaching out to the writer.
It is also equally unfair for an editor to keep a story under REVIEW for hours, sometimes even a day, then RETURN it under grounds like TOO SIMILAR. How long does it take to realize that you had published a similar story when you pick it for review?
A story under REVIEW is like someone sitting on a fence. You simply can't tell its fate. You want to be hopeful but again you do not want to be, because it can either end up GREEN or RED.
Finally, to the MANAGEMENT. Writers have overwhelmingly poured cold water on the new payment system. I also do not totally agree with it.
Why? Look here! For a story to earn the minimum payment of Sh50, it ought to have accumulated not less than 150 pageviews. Well, put! Who doesn't know how websites make their money?
The bone of contention is here. Why can't a story that doubles these 150 PVs be paid at Sh100? Or as the page views increase, they diminish in value?
Look at this unexplained disconnect again, after a story hits 400PVs to earn Sh100, the next stop is Sh150 for 5,000PVs. Really?
Is this not discouraging writers from doing content that can attract more than 400PVs? The higher you go, the cooler it becomes, we know. But as it is now, the reverse seems to apply here as there is nothing much desirable to gain after hitting 400PVs.
In short, let good work be equally rewarded and the reverse should also apply. Otherwise, the game of musical chairs between writers and editors might stay with us a bit longer.
REMEMBER there is nothing that could get worse than a FRUSTRATED WRITER and an ANGRY EDITOR.