Quote:
Originally Posted by mr ploppy
Anyone who writes specifically to make money will a: confine their writing to topics that they *think* will be popular and therefore make the most profit; and b: will almost certainly end up disappointed when they find out that even fairly well known established writers are barely above minimum wage level anyway.
There are lots of reasons for wanting to write, financial gain will be very low for most people. Just as it is for musicians, artists, etc.
|
It's certainly not something you should expect to become wealthy doing, but by the same token, if you actually
get to the point where your book or books are being marketed, you should be able to expect your work isn't being stolen. Especially if you have to
invest in the book (hiring your own editor, spending time doing your own marketing, etc). The whole "be your own publisher" thing means you've got to do a lot of that work yourself, doesn't it?
And I do think there's something to be said for the fame and fortune myth. The more writers you have, the more
good writers you'll end up with, and one way to get more of anything is to dangle the idea of some kind of gain in front of people. Even if hardly anyone makes it to Stephen King heights, doesn't the
idea that you can make a living doing writing encourage more people to produce work?