Oof. Definitely needed to read this. I love that quote from Saunders as well. I'm currently trying to balance motherhood, the writing, and my job that actually makes money so I can support my family. It's a lot, and sometimes it makes me question whether or not I should continue doing the writing. But at this point, I don't know how NOT to do it, y'know? It is me. And it's enough in itself.
I marvel at people like you. Like, that's amazing. I have more time to write than most, I think, and I still find it hard. One zillion props to you. Keep on keeping on. Sounds like you know very well that writing offers much more than a financial payoff. Thanks for your thoughtful comment. Have a good one :) :)
I find myself in a strange part of my life. I was all set for retirement in January coming up. I've been in the same job for 45 years. I work in a sawmill just outside of Vancouver, Canada. I'm now sitting on Worker's Compensation, having been involved in a horrific accident in which there was a fatality. (No need to bering that up, you can read it on my page Scribblers.) But I've been on it since January. So, I'm getting full wages and then some. I thought with all that time off, and not having to worry about money, I'd write a shitload. It didn't happen that way. I was on Vocal.Media and getting discouraged because of the stringent rules and political correctness. Remember, I work in a sawmill, so political correctness is pretty-well non-existant.
But of course I can't write. I mean, there was that trauma issue. But then I discovered Substack and there was a freedom hinted at. I decided to look in on it. I have a few stories. I never made a dime with my writing. My stories were always too long. When a magazine's guidelines said up to 20,000 words, I let myself go and would write stories that were 10, 12, 16,000 words long. No magazine was going to buy those. But they were strories I had to write. I knew I'd never be able to sell them. I did manage to get a couple of more published, but for no pay. I didn't care.
So now, with all this FREE time on my hands, I haven't written a single story in five months. I spend my time marketing, and reading, and marketing, and getting my next story set up, and marketing again. But I HAVE made money. I have 3 PAID subscribers. When I work it all out, the money I've made comes up to about $2.80 a year over the course of my life.
Awesome little story there, Ben. Wishing you all the best. And I hope you're able to overcome your trauma, perhaps with the help of writing. Keep on keeping on.
I got to know a lot of newspaper and magazine journalists in the course of my work in business and marketing. I often hosted them at events, went up in helicopters with them, dined with them and thought they must have been wealthy. As I got to know them (a lot like our songwriters, musicians, and local TV actors) I discovered they earned very little, lived modest lives, owned 10 year old Toyotas. Sure, like me when I did some of that work on the side, there were some cool overseas trips and some articles paid pretty well, but they weren't in it for the money. Its a passion, a journey they enjoy while their creating, then its on to the next one. Sure there are exceptions, but they are the tip, and often imho there because circumstances gave them a break.
Thanks for reading, Diana! I think it's a good reminder. Rather than writing to publish? The best angle, I think, is writing stuff that happens to be publishable. Have a great Sunday :) :) It's raining here, and it's great.
It's a funny thing, writing is. I'm not a millennial, and I've been writing since I was a kid. My parents gave me a free year off after I graduated sometime in the 70s, and I actually wrote a book. It was a poem. A single poem. It was 212 pages when I finally published it, but back then there was no internet, the computer was something you saw on STAR TREK and never understood. So I did something called subsidy publishing. It was self publishing. I had to pay for it. And it was expensive. But I was young. And then I got married and had kids and put my writing life on hold. Mistake #1. But the one thing I've always done, is write what interests me. I knew I wouldn't make money doing it, and I still don't expect to become rich overnight. Those dreams vanished in my 30s. Now I'm in my 60s. But my stories are about things I'm interested in. The Mau Mau uprising in 1950s Kenya; the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1937, and on and on. I don't have a lot of followers, but then, I've only been doing this for three months and haven't figured out the marketing part yet. I know I'll get the hang of it eventually, but in the meantime, I'll keep plugging along.
I’d write and make content for free if I could, but as a typical millennial, this is a hobby I was forced to monetize. It’s either that or get a second job and have no hobbies at all.
It’s sad that everything is made for the marketplace planet, and I feel that every time I go to the bookstore. It’s why I haven’t enjoyed fiction since middle school, and it’s why art is suffering in all fields right now, because all things are made based on its ability to sell and people need to be told what’s good in order to like it (case in point, that song by Kate Bush that was always fire but everyone thinks is cool now just because it was in stranger things). Anyway, thanks for the good read, and for making this content free 😉
You're right, Kerry! It can be a bummer sometimes. I try to follow my own tastes and see where they lead. Also, of course, I try to support other artists whenever I can, popular or obscure.
It's an interesting concept you mention, the taste thing. I'm also a millennial, and like you, I loved Kate Bush for a while before the explosion. It's kind of funny when that happens. The bright side is, now more people can enjoy what we've known is great. I guess now more than ever it's important to pave your own way. If you don't, you'll be mindlessly pushed down the beaten path. This gets more interesting when you think about the sheer volume of content that's available today.
Anyway, thanks so much for reading and for your thoughtful comment. Have a great night and weekend :)
Thank you for writing this article. I think it makes a solid argument on the proper mindset to have in regards to writing. I write for fun. I appreciate the writing workshopping community. I want to grow as a writer and help other people grow. Information like this better prepares perspective creatives on the challenges they face.
Writing for fun, this is the way. And even writing with the hopes of amassing a moderate readership seems completely doable. I think the main thing? We, writers, are unlikely to become the next Hemingways (although, it all depends, so who knows).
Sounds like you have an excellent attitude towards writing. Seems like when you simply follow your passion, that's when you give yourself the best chance of success, ironically.
Glad to meet you. Thank you for your thoughtful comment. Have a great weekend :) :)
Oof. Definitely needed to read this. I love that quote from Saunders as well. I'm currently trying to balance motherhood, the writing, and my job that actually makes money so I can support my family. It's a lot, and sometimes it makes me question whether or not I should continue doing the writing. But at this point, I don't know how NOT to do it, y'know? It is me. And it's enough in itself.
I marvel at people like you. Like, that's amazing. I have more time to write than most, I think, and I still find it hard. One zillion props to you. Keep on keeping on. Sounds like you know very well that writing offers much more than a financial payoff. Thanks for your thoughtful comment. Have a good one :) :)
I find myself in a strange part of my life. I was all set for retirement in January coming up. I've been in the same job for 45 years. I work in a sawmill just outside of Vancouver, Canada. I'm now sitting on Worker's Compensation, having been involved in a horrific accident in which there was a fatality. (No need to bering that up, you can read it on my page Scribblers.) But I've been on it since January. So, I'm getting full wages and then some. I thought with all that time off, and not having to worry about money, I'd write a shitload. It didn't happen that way. I was on Vocal.Media and getting discouraged because of the stringent rules and political correctness. Remember, I work in a sawmill, so political correctness is pretty-well non-existant.
But of course I can't write. I mean, there was that trauma issue. But then I discovered Substack and there was a freedom hinted at. I decided to look in on it. I have a few stories. I never made a dime with my writing. My stories were always too long. When a magazine's guidelines said up to 20,000 words, I let myself go and would write stories that were 10, 12, 16,000 words long. No magazine was going to buy those. But they were strories I had to write. I knew I'd never be able to sell them. I did manage to get a couple of more published, but for no pay. I didn't care.
So now, with all this FREE time on my hands, I haven't written a single story in five months. I spend my time marketing, and reading, and marketing, and getting my next story set up, and marketing again. But I HAVE made money. I have 3 PAID subscribers. When I work it all out, the money I've made comes up to about $2.80 a year over the course of my life.
Damn, I woulda done it for nothin'!
Awesome little story there, Ben. Wishing you all the best. And I hope you're able to overcome your trauma, perhaps with the help of writing. Keep on keeping on.
I got to know a lot of newspaper and magazine journalists in the course of my work in business and marketing. I often hosted them at events, went up in helicopters with them, dined with them and thought they must have been wealthy. As I got to know them (a lot like our songwriters, musicians, and local TV actors) I discovered they earned very little, lived modest lives, owned 10 year old Toyotas. Sure, like me when I did some of that work on the side, there were some cool overseas trips and some articles paid pretty well, but they weren't in it for the money. Its a passion, a journey they enjoy while their creating, then its on to the next one. Sure there are exceptions, but they are the tip, and often imho there because circumstances gave them a break.
A good read. I've been wrestling with very similar thoughts and reality checks, so thank you for this!
Thanks for reading, Diana! I think it's a good reminder. Rather than writing to publish? The best angle, I think, is writing stuff that happens to be publishable. Have a great Sunday :) :) It's raining here, and it's great.
It's a funny thing, writing is. I'm not a millennial, and I've been writing since I was a kid. My parents gave me a free year off after I graduated sometime in the 70s, and I actually wrote a book. It was a poem. A single poem. It was 212 pages when I finally published it, but back then there was no internet, the computer was something you saw on STAR TREK and never understood. So I did something called subsidy publishing. It was self publishing. I had to pay for it. And it was expensive. But I was young. And then I got married and had kids and put my writing life on hold. Mistake #1. But the one thing I've always done, is write what interests me. I knew I wouldn't make money doing it, and I still don't expect to become rich overnight. Those dreams vanished in my 30s. Now I'm in my 60s. But my stories are about things I'm interested in. The Mau Mau uprising in 1950s Kenya; the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1937, and on and on. I don't have a lot of followers, but then, I've only been doing this for three months and haven't figured out the marketing part yet. I know I'll get the hang of it eventually, but in the meantime, I'll keep plugging along.
I’d write and make content for free if I could, but as a typical millennial, this is a hobby I was forced to monetize. It’s either that or get a second job and have no hobbies at all.
It’s sad that everything is made for the marketplace planet, and I feel that every time I go to the bookstore. It’s why I haven’t enjoyed fiction since middle school, and it’s why art is suffering in all fields right now, because all things are made based on its ability to sell and people need to be told what’s good in order to like it (case in point, that song by Kate Bush that was always fire but everyone thinks is cool now just because it was in stranger things). Anyway, thanks for the good read, and for making this content free 😉
You're right, Kerry! It can be a bummer sometimes. I try to follow my own tastes and see where they lead. Also, of course, I try to support other artists whenever I can, popular or obscure.
It's an interesting concept you mention, the taste thing. I'm also a millennial, and like you, I loved Kate Bush for a while before the explosion. It's kind of funny when that happens. The bright side is, now more people can enjoy what we've known is great. I guess now more than ever it's important to pave your own way. If you don't, you'll be mindlessly pushed down the beaten path. This gets more interesting when you think about the sheer volume of content that's available today.
Anyway, thanks so much for reading and for your thoughtful comment. Have a great night and weekend :)
Thank you for writing this article. I think it makes a solid argument on the proper mindset to have in regards to writing. I write for fun. I appreciate the writing workshopping community. I want to grow as a writer and help other people grow. Information like this better prepares perspective creatives on the challenges they face.
Writing for fun, this is the way. And even writing with the hopes of amassing a moderate readership seems completely doable. I think the main thing? We, writers, are unlikely to become the next Hemingways (although, it all depends, so who knows).
Sounds like you have an excellent attitude towards writing. Seems like when you simply follow your passion, that's when you give yourself the best chance of success, ironically.
Glad to meet you. Thank you for your thoughtful comment. Have a great weekend :) :)