I’ve been thinking some more about the ‘author income’ crisis Paul wrote about earlier this week. I typically find Teleread’s Canadian news first because I am local so I see it sooner, but Paul beat me to it this time because I saw it and was still mulling over what to say when he posted. And three days later, I am still mulling.

Here is my issue. I have always found it to be a flawed assumption that ‘writing’ is, firstly, a clearly defined occupation, and secondly, one which should assure its practitioners a solid career path, per se. This might sound like a convoluted statement. Am I saying authors should not get paid for their work? No, of course not. Am I saying that NO authors will earn a living solely by their pen? No, not that either. Let me back up and explain this clearly.

Let us begin with the assumption that there are two kinds of jobs in the world. The first kind of job is the kind where you are an employee working under a contract which guarantees you certain terms and conditions. Many of us have these sorts of jobs. A boss hires you and gives you a contract which sets out the hours, the compensation, the vacation time and so on. And that is the job.

The second kind of job is self-employment. You set your own hours. You do your own work. Some people are cut out for this sort of job and others are not; some succeed at it and others do not. The important distinction is that there is no contract, per se. Nobody has made you sign a piece of paper promising you a monthly cheque.

Many people these days have a new kind of job, a sort of hybrid of the two. I have a contract position for my main job, and earn a little money with side projects too. If the side projects ever grew to a point where they could equal my ‘main job’ then that would be fantastic. But in the meantime, I have to grow that one step at a time. I am about to get my first eBook royalty payment, for instance, and it’s going to be 29 cents. There are reasons for that. It was the wrong time of year to start selling teaching materials since the school year is shutting down. I’m not on Twitter the way I should be yet. I have had a learning curve to a certain extent in getting my website set up…

I do expect to see improvements down the road, mind you. Indeed, I have already. A ‘fan’ of my page reached out to me and invited me to join a private message board he runs for teachers in my area. I have almost a dozen Facebook followers. But I have to understand that these things take time, and as I have no intention of living in a shoebox during that time, I have to have a more viable job too.

I have seen this hybrid model with other creative types I know too. My cousin is a musician and started out with the ‘teaching plus gigs’ approach. Over time, the balance shifted to more gigs and less teaching. Another cousin of mine is an aspiring film-maker. After several years working retail part-time and making short films to gain some street cred, he is now getting into festivals and doing less of the supplemental work.

My point is, you can’t look at any of our Day 1 stats as proof of anything. And I think authors—or aspiring authors—would be well-served to keep that in mind. Nobody is guaranteed that what they love to do will make them money. That’s why they have to start by doing it solely for the love. That love is what will motivate them to grow their sideline in stages and maybe make it an actual, viable thing someday.

I think we also need to give up on this idea that expecting an author to promote, to market and so on is some kind of abuse. Every job has parts of it that people like to do. Every job has drudge parts. Might an author write more books if they never had to do anything but sit there and create? Of course. And my musician cousin would never teach again if he could get a paying gig anytime he wanted it. And I would be able to fit more classes into my schedule if I didn’t have to do recess duty. And the Beloved could do more graphic design stuff if he didn’t have to man the desk when someone was on their lunch break. Every job has that. Why do writers still think they must be specially immune?

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"I’m a journalist, a teacher and an e-book fiend. I work as a French teacher at a K-3 private school. I use drama, music, puppets, props and all manner of tech in my job, and I love it. I enjoy moving between all the classes and having a relationship with each child in the school. Kids are hilarious, and I enjoy watching them grow and learn. My current device of choice for reading is my Amazon Kindle Touch, but I have owned or used devices by Sony, Kobo, Aluratek and others. I also read on my tablet devices using the Kindle app, and I enjoy synching between them, so that I’m always up to date no matter where I am or what I have with me."

1 COMMENT

  1. Writers who want to have regular paychecks, 401k accounts, paid time off, etc. can work for corporations writing training and documentation manuals.

    Another option – over time, many people can develop their day job to the point that it is not too time-demanding and still earns them plenty to live on. Then they can devote their leisure to writing and not have to worry with all the social media and self-promotion.

    T.S. Eliot wrote “The Waste Land” while working on foreign accounts for Lloyds Bank.

    The bane of the professional has always been the amateur, and that covers everything from prostitution to creative writing. I wonder if the profession of writing can survive in a modern leisure society.

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