Quote:
Originally Posted by Hitch
I can't speak for anyone else, but I simply view the authors' jobs though the very same, cold, hard Ayn Rand view that I use on my OWN business. Anyone who thinks that self-employment or having a small business is sitting around in your jammies eating bon-bons while other folks labor hasn't tried it. It isn't. (Or, if they try it, are doomed to fairly quick failure at it.)
Capitalism is, as I have said on these forums in other posts, simply Darwinism played with money. Nobody wants to admit that, because it makes them uncomfortable, for a wide variety of reasons.
It's no different for authors who, even before, were self-employed, had they entered into contracts that gave the illusion of employment by someone else through advances and royalty checks. Like all self-employed/small businesses, they have to work hard for their ducats, budget for lean times, and have realistic expectations as to their future incomes. They have a massive advantage over we of the more plebeian working slobs; they may yet "get discovered" by the masses, sell zillions of books, and apotheose to financial freedom--unlike the rest of us who are not laboring over "creative" that may catch fire. I don't begrudge authors their monies; nor the publishers who stake them (or their own publishers' rewards if they stake themselves). I just have an issue with the tone of the article.
As I said: it's the same boat in which most of us find ourselves, and we are, generally, not so lucky as to have the luxury of doing something we love for those ducats. Everybody, generally, is having harder times. Period.
Hitch
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I think the key is budgeting for most. Not like the how-to books tell us but simply spend less than you make or make more than you spend. Sound like the same thing but not quite. One is passive and one is active. Not saying everyone can do it in all circumstances, but most of us can most of the time if we really want to
Helen