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"I hate to say it, but I feel thoroughly unappreciated for my efforts"
Steve, writers are no different than anybody else in that. I work for a smaller company and get paid about 10K less than I could be working for a unionized one. But the jobs in my field are tight right now and I am lucky to have what I have.
As to your 'what's the point' question, this goes back to what I said before about the difference between writing as an art and writing as a business. I myself made the decision, in terms of writing as a business, that I was NOT making enough money for it to be my job, and for me, it remains a hobby, and truthfully, I enjoy it more that way. If I do publish a novel, it will probably be as an independent author. I am quite sure I will not make much money at it barring a stroke of luck, but I would rather have complete control and just out it out there for the fun of it, come what will.
If you are looking at this as a 'business' with the goal of earning a living at it, well, a lot of us have said we would, and have, and do pay for what we buy so I'm not sure why you're so angry at us. But you know, there are a lot of things which people enjoy doing which just don't pay enough to live on, and that's just the way it is sometimes. You have to decide, I guess, whether you are in this solely for the bucks or whether you have other motivations. And if you do have other motivations, perhaps there are ways you can supplement the writing with related gigs, be it business/corporate writing, teaching, or the many other ways a lot of non-Stephen King authors do.
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