The discussion yesterday of what writers are worth begs another question after seeing the responses and comments. Why write?
I have to be REALLY honest here (aren't I always?). I write to earn a living. Yes, I can be completely lofty and craft-driven. It can be my passion. I would write even if I didn't publish, but it would be in a different form, I think. I might blog about my kids, or about life, or about philosophy, or physics, or the universe. I might blog about God or gardening or knitting or my prayer and spiritual life. I would always write because it's who I am.
But I write, very specifically, to earn a living. I don't write to be known or have my book on a cover. The fact that it is on a cover earns me money. I write because I am not particularly qualified to do anything else. I can run a small newspaper, I can write for magazines, I can be a ghostwriter or book editor, but I can't usually get to the office on time, and I don't particularly like having a boss. I don't want someone to tell me what time I get to eat lunch. I don't like the way an office full of people can come to near-blows over issues pertaining to making the coffee or how to label personal items in the fridge. I don't want Big Brother reading my email or looking at what sites I visit. If I feel like wasting time, I want that perogative. Because given my work ethic, if I waste time now, trust me, I'll be working hours and hours unseen and still doing the work of two or three people because, as Demon Baby says, "That's how I roll, Baby." (He also is fond of, as we walk out the door now, saying, "Let's rock and roll, Mama." I am doomed. The kid is eccentric.)
But in the end, I write to make a living. So that entails writing things that are publishable. Watching the market, watching trends, thinking and plotting career strategies. And lots of writing.
I meet people all the time who are "thinking about" writing a book. I can meet them ten years later and they will STILL be "thinking about" it. I meet people whose books are so far from marketable that I don't quite know what to say. There's writing for friends and family and yourself, and there's writing to sell. They are two different animals. There's thinking about it, and doing it.
So when I think about what my time is worth, what I am worth as a writer, it is predicated on my being absolutely CRYSTAL clear about why I write. I really and totally do not write because I would just die without it. It's not how I breathe. It's important to me, it's part of me. But no, I write to earn a living. I would die without my children and without prayer, not without writing. I write because I like the lifestyle. I write because I don't particularly work and play well with others. I get frustrated by stupidity really fast, which pretty much precludes me working in most corporations. I write to earn a living and it's what I do, I think well. And that means I need to be razor sharp about what's selling, what's dead in the water, and how I spend my time.
This is what I do. And if I seem . . . steely-eyed about it, I am. Writing keeps a roof over my head, food on the table, and a violin in a case for Oldest Daughter. I don't have time to craft a novel no one will buy. I don't have time to "think about" it. I have to DO IT, every day, ass in this chair. FOCUS.
So why do you write?
Labels: authors' careers, market, motivation
