Mind on My Money, Money on My Mind
It gets me down when I see people who, by my estimate, are not great writers getting published. I'm not talking about the whole "Snooki is a New York Times bestselling author" thing, because I know better than to let that get me down since it speaks more about the people buying books than the people writing them. It's just that I look at some stuff, and I think, "Oh god, why would anyone think this was good?" Clearly something must be wrong with me, because I just don't get it.
And maybe it's partly jealousy, because I've never written a novel nor do I have a serious hope of getting one published. But when I think about it, I am a good writer. I have skill with words. I have been paid to write things. I have been paid more money than some of these esteemed novelists will ever see, when you consider the average sales numbers of most books published. So financially, I am actually doing better.
Artistically, though, maybe I'm not better off, and that's how these "real" writers elevate themselves. They write for passion! For the art! They are more qualified to speak on issues of genre and allegory and blah blah blah whatever. I disagree that having a written a work of fiction gives you any credentials to speak about anything, but so it goes.
The thing is, yeah, I write for money. I write for money because this is the skill I have been given/blessed with/developed and I need money. That's not mercenary, that's the practical root of the matter. Money pays for housing and food; these are things that everyone needs.
Athletes get paid to play sports, and many start off in the minor leagues or college level (which doesn't pay at all). Actors start off with commercials and bit parts on TV shows. In fact, we even have the concept of the "working actor." I'm not an actor, so I don't know how it feels on the inside, but from my outsider's perspective, "working for a living" is something that most actors, even the successful ones, understand, even if it's not something they have to do anymore. Michael Caine was/is a working actor. He's said that's he's done a lot of good movies and a lot of bad movies, because they had one thing in common: he got paid.
So why not the working writer? It seems like a lot of aspiring writers don't even try to do lower-level, scrubby work before they publish their great work (usually a fiction novel). They might say it's because they don't have the time, they need to focus on their novel, but that just feels like a mistake to me: getting stuff out there puts you in contact with people who might be able to help you get your big work published. I also suspect, that they're somehow afraid of tainting their career with these mercenary works. The great novelist that started off writing Ben 10 adaptations, or something. Maybe they're afraid of surrendering their creativity in a project, but from experience, I can tell you it's not that bad. You end up having to stretch your brain in interesting ways and find your own enjoyment in how you do it, and it can and will still be intellectually rewarding.
Writing is an art, but it's also a job. If you are getting paid to do it is a job. If someone doesn't care about getting paid, then they might as well put it online for free. There's nothing wrong with wanting to get paid though, and using something you are good at to make money.
So, yeah, I am a working writer. I may never write a novel but that's okay, because I'm still good at my job.
And maybe it's partly jealousy, because I've never written a novel nor do I have a serious hope of getting one published. But when I think about it, I am a good writer. I have skill with words. I have been paid to write things. I have been paid more money than some of these esteemed novelists will ever see, when you consider the average sales numbers of most books published. So financially, I am actually doing better.
Artistically, though, maybe I'm not better off, and that's how these "real" writers elevate themselves. They write for passion! For the art! They are more qualified to speak on issues of genre and allegory and blah blah blah whatever. I disagree that having a written a work of fiction gives you any credentials to speak about anything, but so it goes.
The thing is, yeah, I write for money. I write for money because this is the skill I have been given/blessed with/developed and I need money. That's not mercenary, that's the practical root of the matter. Money pays for housing and food; these are things that everyone needs.
Athletes get paid to play sports, and many start off in the minor leagues or college level (which doesn't pay at all). Actors start off with commercials and bit parts on TV shows. In fact, we even have the concept of the "working actor." I'm not an actor, so I don't know how it feels on the inside, but from my outsider's perspective, "working for a living" is something that most actors, even the successful ones, understand, even if it's not something they have to do anymore. Michael Caine was/is a working actor. He's said that's he's done a lot of good movies and a lot of bad movies, because they had one thing in common: he got paid.
So why not the working writer? It seems like a lot of aspiring writers don't even try to do lower-level, scrubby work before they publish their great work (usually a fiction novel). They might say it's because they don't have the time, they need to focus on their novel, but that just feels like a mistake to me: getting stuff out there puts you in contact with people who might be able to help you get your big work published. I also suspect, that they're somehow afraid of tainting their career with these mercenary works. The great novelist that started off writing Ben 10 adaptations, or something. Maybe they're afraid of surrendering their creativity in a project, but from experience, I can tell you it's not that bad. You end up having to stretch your brain in interesting ways and find your own enjoyment in how you do it, and it can and will still be intellectually rewarding.
Writing is an art, but it's also a job. If you are getting paid to do it is a job. If someone doesn't care about getting paid, then they might as well put it online for free. There's nothing wrong with wanting to get paid though, and using something you are good at to make money.
So, yeah, I am a working writer. I may never write a novel but that's okay, because I'm still good at my job.