Let’s Make Some Money, Honey
True admission: the amount of money I’ve made as a writer over the last decade is probably enough to buy a couch and a love seat. Or maybe one of those cool Rainbow swing sets. (But not one of the SUPER cool ones. One of the medium cool ones.) Just last night my husband and I went out to dinner with a bunch of couples in our neighborhood and the whole “So how much money do you make on that novel thing?” came up (and it comes up surprisingly often–just about as often as people who tell me they’ve also written a novel and would like me to read it) and when the meagerness of my vague, nonspecific answer was revealed, one woman said:
“Well why in the world would anybody write a novel then?”
(Don’t get me going on the reaction I get when people find out I edit Irreantum for free!)
When I started out as a fiction writer, I honestly had no intention or expectation of making ANY money. I wrote for the love of it, and the idea of getting published in a magazine someday–even without payment, even if only thirteen people ever read the dang thing–seemed to me to be wholly adequate. Well, even more than wholly adequate. It seemed to me to be absolutely thrilling. I’ve been surprised over and over again when people seem so disappointed for me over my lack of writing-generated income. (Sometimes I feel like saying, “Hey, congrats on finishing the Salt Lake Marathon. How much money did they give you when you crossed the finish line? None? Seriously? So why d’ya do it then?” But that would be seriously catty and unbecoming, and I’m all about being uncatty and becoming.)
So my question for you: How do you approach writing and earning a living? Given the gender definitions in Mormon culture, is the expectation to earn a living with your writing–or at least buy a swing set–even more weighty for men? (I’m guessing yes.) In what ways have you managed to turn your experiences as a writer into cold hard cash, either directly or indirectly?
And speaking of cold hard cash: Enter the Irreantum Fiction Contest and/or the Charlotte and Eugene England Personal Essay Contest. The deadline is May 30th. You could win some money, honey!
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May 16th, 2009 at 10:57 am
I write or work towards writing as in reading and research with near all my freetime outside of regular paying the bills work and spending time with the kids. The other life ended at 30.
There are no illusions of writing for the LDS market making it so I won’t have to do %@#$! other work though. I have a book coming out this fall. I want it to be successful of course but is it going to take care of all my monetary responsibilites? Probably not, even if its an LDS bestseller. Which I’m not fooling myself over being a newly published author about either.
I write because I have to write. The stories have to get out. Hoping people will enjoy them and learn something, for perhaps years to come, comes next. Making money is the dead last, near non-existant reason to write. To do it to get rich is (politcally uncorrect) logic. Nor would I believe that person has the artist’s soul to write anything worthwhile that could potentially last the ages. Milton didn’t write for money.
Not that I would turn down a royalty check, you gotta eat.
My original first goal when thinking of turning my action oriented Book of Mormon stories into the market was perhaps they could become an LDS cult favorite, if such a thing even exists.
Congrats on your Whitney win and I will absolutely be entering the Irreantum contest.
May 17th, 2009 at 10:02 pm
There was a gal in my ward in Indiana who made a little money writing. Not a lot, but real part-time job money. More than couch money. She was doing the query thing and writing magazine articles. Not literary.
I think Carolyn See nailed it in her book “Making a Literary Life.” The only money in writing is the tax deductions you can take.
May 19th, 2009 at 8:51 pm
Bah humbug. I want to make money. I’m tired of not making money. Milton Schmilton. Steinbeck made money. I choose him as a role model. (Not that its helped me.)
Angela asked if the pressure to make money is lessened for LDS women. I sure think that was the case for me. But not anymore. Egad, my husband has produced for our family for twenty years. I’d like to give something back to him. So I’m shifting mental gears. Sure, I’ll keep at the artistic stuff because I like it, but I’m thinking commercial these days. That’s as much a virtue as a sin.
May 19th, 2009 at 11:40 pm
.
I would much rather make money than not. If it’s all the same to everyone else.
(I might be able to buy a swingset on craigslist, if I keep my eyes open.)
May 20th, 2009 at 8:29 am
I will say that my experiences as a writer have helped me make money in other ways, most notably as a teacher. Many writers teach to pay the bills, of course. Interestingly, though, I considered myself a teacher (well, WAS a teacher, a high school English teacher) long before I considered myself a writer, and I really enjoy it. I don’t see it as something I *must* do in order to support my writing habit. I’m mostly grateful that my writing has enabled me to get the teaching job I’ve always wanted–teaching creative writing part time to college students.
Lisa makes a good point about contributing to the family income in more than a nominal way, though, and at some point (my youngest is only two) I’d like to be able to do more.
May 20th, 2009 at 8:43 am
This is why my output, although prodigious some ways, is fairly shallow. For those of us who work full-time, there’s not only the issue of making money, but also of finding the energy and time to write after. Certainly some of the same issues arise for stay at home moms who live a life of constant interruptions and constant to-do lists. I suppose I need to learn to write 10 minutes here and 20 minutes there, but I find that in order for me to realistically get in the flow and put out decent fiction or higher order criticism, I need at least 45 minutes of uninterrupted time.
So yeah, I wish I had the luxury of even getting to the point of worrying about making money off of my writing.
On the other hand, I’m quite confident that except for the occasional odd hit, the market I’m most interested in writing for isn’t going to be paying anything anytime soon (if ever) so I have the luxury of confining myself to rank amateurism.
May 20th, 2009 at 9:49 am
Thanks for the great comparison between running a marathon and writing. I’ve done both and haven’t gotten a cent for either (Ok, it was a half marathon). Good thing my husband has a good job. How looney was he to marry me, unproductive sloth that I am?
March 4th, 2010 at 11:53 pm
I really enjoyed that post.I will be reading a lot more of this blog.But I am a little puzzled, and have a tiny question. May I send you an email?