WanderingAuthor

This is an extremely though provoking post and certainly a very welcome one here on Red Bubble. So thank you for taking the considerable time to write and post it here.

I saw something in one of the UK writing magazines a few months back that said of all the published authors in the world only 10% actually made a living from their writing alone. That’s quite a sobering thought.

I’m fortunate in that I have a decent career away from writing that I enjoy and pays the bills. Of course, like any writer, I dream of a day where earnings from my writing allowed me to quit the job (simply so I could concentrate on writing more than I am able at this time). However, my main, most realistic aim, is to earn enough from writing to at least allow me to go part-time in the day (and sometimes night) job.

However, I write because I am driven to write. I always have been since I was a child. If I wanted to get rich, then there would be other paths I’d traverse instead of writing.

We have to be pretty thick skinned as writers. We have to be able to take criticism. We have to be able to take rejection. We have to be able to let go of our written “babies” once they are out there in the real world. Not everyone is cut out for this.

Then to give ourselves a fighting chance as a writer we need to have a basic grasp of writing and the tools of grammar/punctuation. Yes, there may be exceptions to this, but they are rare. On the whole most editors won’t consider anything badly written, spelt or grammatically incorrect, even if the writing is full of heart and passion. I know this view has got me into trouble on here before, but it is a simple fact of a hard writing world.

As Nicole rightly says, there are successful writers out there, in a financial sense. Virtually all of these write to commenrcial markets and do so well and within the conformity of good grammar.

If I wanted to get rich, then there would be other paths I’d traverse instead of writing.

oh yes, there are easier ways ..

Writing is about passion. First and foremost that’s why people write .. i think you’ll find most people start writing as an escape, a coping method or for romance (those love poems we wrote when we were young and thought it was truly the love of our lives hahah) ..

The urge to make $$$ tends to fall into place later .. it really does come down to doing what you enjoy, what your are gifted or trained at .. and what is practical. Hopefully it will be all three things combined.

*what you are gifted or trained at

Nicole, I agree with you. And Lehane, most of the exceptions you concede are written by those who know the rules, and know when to break them.

What I’m interested in, though, is taking things a bit farther; as writers, thinking of innovative ways to get paid for our work, to permit more writers to make a living as writers, so they can develop their skill.

I will write, no matter what. That is not in question. But I’d prefer the chance to go further, and to give that same chance to others. Why should writers produce much of the content the Internet thrives on, while it is the businessmen who prosper from their efforts?

I will write, no matter what. That is not in question.

So will I as will any writer. I’m lucky enough to have a career that I love in a field that has nothing to do with writing. But I know, I know. . .the little niggling thoughts are always there. . .I wonder if I could make it as a writer.

One of the problems with being paid what your writing is worth is in the simple fact of the twist that the advent of the internet has brought to us all. There is just so much out there for free that most people (the numbers of actual book readers dwindles each year also) just don’t want to pay for it anymore. That and the very difficult and drawn out processes of getting any major or even minor publishing companies behind you makes it nigh on impossible for good writing to ever make it to even a small audience. I’ve done a couple of the small chap books in the past and flogged them to death on sites all over to not much success. I think my kinfolk bought about 25 or so copies.

The economy is another deterrent to being well paid for writing, when hard times kick in as they have recently here in the US, books and literature are considered luxuries that are the first thing to go out of the old budget.

Sure, Stephen King is a gazillionaire, but I think I read somewhere that only about 2% of writers in the US can currently make a living writing. And that even applies to newspapers and magazine writing too. I actually tried to make it in the newspaper writing world once and it’s a hand-to-mouth existence despite having to work very long and very irregular hours. And the writing wasn’t really satisfying for me either, it was much too dull and restrictive. Damn, I couldn’t even say fuck or anything!

So, I have no idea what the answer is. I do know that it is something that all writers think about. Please do let us know if your experiments work out though!

Jeeeeeeeze, I didn’t mean to re-write War and Peace here!!!! Sorry!

By the way, this site and sites like it are great for the community with other like-minded people and great to run short pieces on to gauge reactions ( nobody ever reads the longer ones mostly, been there tried that) and for socializing with amazing, creative people – but I don’t think anybody’s gonna get a book deal or a contract out of it.

@deliriousgirl – who said I was going to make the readers pay? If I can find any way to get paid, I don’t care who it is. And I don’t care if I’m a gazillionaire – my goal is simply to have more time to write, so I can develop my writing further.

I hope I didn’t give anyone the impression I was expecting to get any book deals out of posting here. If it ever happens to anyone, that will be the exception that proves the rule. What some writers might be able to do, if they are lucky, is build up a small readership. The more people you have who want to read you, the more potential for publicity and sales – if you land a book deal. Even then, however, as you correctly note, feedback and the chance to socialize are the only benefits you can count on.

Hey, I had a girlfriend who was actually paid for a blog she did. She had a link to click on to a paypal account and a whole lot of people regularly contributed to her because they just loved reading about her life so much. She did get a book deal and a column in Penthouse out of it too.

It does seem to be the wave of the future.

And no, I didn’t think that you said that about a book deal or anything. Was just pointing out the things that I like about this site.

The time thing, I have no idea how to solve, as I too am really really crunched for time and sometimes go for long periods just carrying various ideas around in my head, no real time to sit down and pound them out.

Hey, we should all be looking for a grant, I know they have them here. Now I’m gonna have to research that, but I remember reading about several well known authors who got their start with grants from Arts organizations. Jacqueline Mitchard was one and I think Joyce Carol Oates did too.

Grants are another possibility. I think it is a shame that only 2% of writers in the US can make a living at it. Go into any bookstore, buy a handful of books by American authors, then read them. You may find some junk, but I’m sure you’d find more than 2% whose writing ought to be worth at least a living wage.

I might not be quite so worked up on this, if I hadn’t read several bragging postings by guys who make $100,000 a month or more – for throwing up spam pages all over the Internet. And scrapers make fortunes, too, stealing other people’s stuff. If jerks like that can rake in that much cash, writers ought to be able to pull in a living wage.

Yes, I dream about striking it rich, and if I ever did, up to a point, I’d hang onto the money. I’d hang onto enough to build a good house, one with a great place to write. And I’d buy a truckload of fountain pens. And I’d keep enough to live through a few lean times. But you know what? If I made $100,000 a month, I’d unload a lot of it. Why? Because having too much money will eat up your time, just dealing with it. So I’d keep what I needed to make my writing life better, and pour the rest into grants for other writers or something. That way I’d have more time to write.

Because having too much money will eat up your time, just dealing with it. So I’d keep what I needed to make my writing life better, and pour the rest into grants for other writers or something.

Brilliant! Yes, I have a pretty great life now, don’t know that a big bunch of money would change anything, at least right now at the present. Do you actually write with pens and paper these days? Just curious. I do everything from making a grocery list to paying all bills to jotting down ideas to writing sweeping epic historical pieces (99999999999999999999999999 words of crap, in other words) on a computer these days.

I do some of my writing on a computer, but I also like to write with pen and paper. First, it lets me write in situations where I have no access to a computer. Second, writing with a Pelikan fountain pen filled with Noodlers ink is, to me, the one method that creates the least barrier between my mind and the paper. (Yes, the brand of ink makes a difference; it writes very smoothly and won’t clog my pen.)

HAAAAAAA!!! So funny! I used to be just that way and it took me forever to get used to thinking and typing, for a couple of years I would write it all out on yellow legal pads and a #3 cedar pencil and then had to prop it up secretary style and type it in. I did all my papers for school that way. Now my brain is directly hardwired to the fingertips. And yes, you’re absolutely correct, the tools make a difference.

Hi WA
I have been involved in the underground / d.i.y. music scene for the last 25 years. I have put out my own bands records and other people have put out my bands records; we have toured and gigged as much as our jobs and other commitments would allow; yet I can garentee that there is probably no one here on Red Bubble who will ever have even heard of one of my bands.

I do it because I enjoy it, I accept that at best I can only break even; but then again the music I play is a niche market within punk hardcore and extreme metal that doesn’t fall neatly into any pigeon holes. If I wanted to make some money out of it I’d really have compromise the type of music I played.

Writing is the same; Bukowski said that he just kept writing the same stuff all the time, but it took him almost a life time for the rest of the world to catch up with him!

I’m not sure how you can make money out of it; but if you do find out: please let me know!

Cheers

Micky

Yes, that is the problem. How to make money without making compromises. What really sets me off is this: authors who keep getting contracts from publishers can’t even make a living. And scrapers and spammers can? You read “Content is King” of the Internet, but money types who use content collect the taxes.

I’m just hoping we can put our heads together and figure something out. I do this because I love it, and I’ll do it if I never make a penny from it. For years, I’ve ignored that aspect altogether. But suddenly, I realised that I can become a better writer faster if I can do it all the time. If I work out a way, I’ll let you know. :-)

I’m considering several options. Giving away e-books seems to work for established authors – I wonder if it would help build visibility? (I don’t advise trying that one without thinking over your options very carefully, though.) Whatever marketing avenues the Internet offers, of course, for sales and publicity. And I’m toying with ideas for getting paid to write that will leave me free to write the things I want. The last is the least likely to work, but has the most potential if I can make it work.

have a look at this ...

I think that is very courageous; best of luck : O )

I don’t know about courage; I don’t really have a choice. I am a writer. No matter what society does or says, that truth won’t change. Thanks for the best wishes, though. Best of luck to you, as well. You’ve got talent enough, if life was “fair”, to make a go of it.

Thanks WA. It’s just scary to try and make a living from writing alone.
Hope the T-shirts take off… I have only sold one of mine… so I’m sure be able to better that ; )

that should be “so I’m sure you’ll be able to better that ; )”

Hi WA
Having a young family and a reasonably paid job; I’m never going to be in the position to make money out of the band.
Also the type of music isn’t in any way commercial:

If you want to know what we sound like; click this pic

As for the writing: I live in hope ; )

Cheers

Micky

It does have a certain raw power, though. And I wasn’t thinking you’d make a living at it, but every bit of exposure helps out, doesn’t it? Since a lot of social media marketing is stuff that doesn’t cost anything (and you’re doing some of it already, like having a MySpace page) if you’re ever looking for tips, let me know.