During my first internship at a newspaper, an editor asked me, "Would you walk into a butcher shop and ask the butcher for free meat?"

"No, I don't think so," I replied, confused by his question.

"So who in their right mind would think it's okay to ask a writer for free words?"

Although the paper had a small budget, he gave me a modest stipend for each article. It wasn't about the money; it was about what the money represented: respect for a person's time and energy.

I took his career advice to heart and never worked for a company that didn't value its employees enough to pay them.