As a writer, the promise of "exposure" is the equivalent, and often people profit from work done for free, with the understanding that somehow it will lead to something else, that it rarely does. When young writers finally begin to put a value on their time, that is when people finally begin to take them seriously. Fortunately, in writing there are more lower paying gigs available to cut ones teeth on, so free work is mostly unnecessary, but entire sites like Huffington Post are making millions off of free labor. There is an entire slave class of creatives in this world and I think you nailed it! Don't stay there any longer than you have to, and work not to take advantage of any other artist, give fair exchange. Nicely put.
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@markrmorrisjr I definitely considered that this philosophy applies to many professions and areas of life. Thank you for the insight in the writing category, as I myself and spending more and more time in that field working on comics, graphic novels and short films. Thanks for the feedback and upvote!
Here's a tip from an old warhorse who has earned his living in the arts for over 25 years, don't work for free. Ever. Set a price, and then donate it. But make sure they know it's charity. If you don't set a value on your work, someone else will and it will be lower, almost always.