Calling All Economic and Political Writers!
We Need Your Help
El Cooperativo, a writers cooperative dedicated to economics, politics, and sustainable lifestyle, is looking to grow. I started the coop last month with the goal of creating a democratically-run organization of writers. Yesterday, we officially introduced MauraLee O’Brien to our team as our lead politics and culture writer! We could not be more excited to be embarking on this journey together. The organization now has two writers, including myself, and we are motivated to continue building the organization, but we need your help!
We are asking for input from genuine writers in our field on what they would like to see in a writers cooperative. First, let me share with you the basic framework of the coop that we have envisioned thus far:
First, El Cooperativo is a workers cooperative and will follow the seven principles that all cooperatives follow:
- Open and Voluntary Membership
- Democratic Member Control
- Members’ Economic Participation
- Autonomy and Independence
- Education, Training, and Information
- Cooperation Among Cooperatives
- Concern for Community
Second, we will focus on four key areas of journalism:
- Economic research and opinion
- Political research and opinion
- Philosophical research and opinion
- Cultural/lifestyle blogging on sustainable and eco-friendly living
Third, the cooperative will share profits, as cooperatives do, according to level of contribution, quality of writing/site traffic, and time in the organization.
Fourth, all writers will work remotely.
Now, apart from these four aspects, we are openly discussing the mission, vision, and financial and legal implications with our peers to better understand what the writing community desires.
This is where you come in.
We want to know about past writing gigs you’ve had, good and bad. What are some qualities that great publishers possess that set them apart from the rest?
What type of decision-making power do you have at your current or past firm? How would you structure decision-making differently?
How is your pay set up? What do you wish was different? What do you like about it?
What type of legal entity is your publishing company? Would you structure your business differently if you did it again?
Lastly, please take a moment to visit the site and give any feedback you think necessary. We are open to fixing what we can.
We truly appreciate your input and we look forward to thoughtful discussion in the comments below. The key to the success of El Cooperativo is cooperation, and we aim to take your opinions very seriously as we develop our firm with the writer in mind.
Gracias!