Let’s talk about money, even though it’s objectively less appropriate than talking about sex. Money’s cool. I wouldn’t mind having some. I used to make a reasonable, liveable amount, actually, and then, goddammit, I quit to become a full-time writer/editor/origami enthusiast.
Now here I am at fifty-cough, calling up clients with my sweetest cheque-chasing voice once every couple of weeks, rolling over my credit card balance with the deftness of a plate-spinner at the circus, and hoarding loyalty points like rare simoleons.
I recently joined a couple of those freelance aggregate sites, where freelancers and potential clients do a tango as delicate as anything on Ok Cupid, where you coyly flash your diploma, and maybe a book cover or two, in hopes of catching their eye. And then they offer you US$2 each to write them a passel of 500-word articles. No, seriously, someone did. I didn’t even bother to give them a piece of my mind; I need it to trawl for work.
So my whine for today is, why are we writers paid so badly, especially as compared to professionals of equal intelligence, education, and general know-stuffedness? Why would clients sign away their third-born child to pay legal fees but try to beat down my hourly rate because I stopped in the middle of it for coffee?
The chances of making a good living (whatever that means to you) writing are despairingly low. And the chances of making a great, Stephen-King-pays-all-his-town’s-taxes level living? One in several octopusillion.
Look, I don’t need a vast estate surrounded by a gargoyle-topped iron gate. I don’t need to be flying off to Paris on weekends . . . okay, really, I’d kill to fly off to Paris for the weekend. But do ya get what I’m saying? Like Jabberjaw, I just want a little respect.
Even though 2.2 million new books are published every year. Even though people still think, “It won’t take long, so I don’t have to pay much.” Even though most people seem to think that a II in CXC English qualifies them to pen the world’s next breakthrough masterpiece, so why pay me to do it?
All I can say is, writer-folks, we need to stay strong. We need to remember that all authors, including the A list, have to suck up rejection at some point and persist. We need to know when to hold ‘em and when to fold ‘em. Not to leap at an offer that’s clearly wrong for us just to make a buck. And we need to stand together. If a job doesn’t suit me, I’ll give the client your name; I expect you to do the same for me. If I hear a great tip, or have a wonderful idea, I’m going to share it with you. That’s how our community gets stronger.
And I sure as hot hairy hell ain’t taking no steenking job for $2. The nerve of some people!
Thoughts? Any experiences you’d like to share? (Writing or not?)
