The Biggest Problem With Writing Is Earning Any Real Money At It

A lot of problems we see in the writing industry come down to money and we need to talk about it because problems don't go away by ignoring them.

Last night I worked until 11. Night before, too. There’s been a change in packaging legislation in my client’s industry. Which means all product images need to be changed on multiple websites by the deadline. Failure to comply results in crazy fines. Thousands, for every image not changed. I will not have that happen to them. So I’ll burn the midnight oil for a while and like all things, this, too, shall pass.

The nice part is that I like this client. They’re good people. And flexible. Don’t care if I take a 3 hour lunch at the river because it’s nice out and half the year is winter here. They know I’ll work the evening, get the work done. You don’t get that at a 9-5.

The not nice part? All the stuff I’m behind on. Writer submissions sitting unread, story drafts I haven’t finished, lawn needs mowing, not done planting the flowers, dishes waiting to be put away, laundry piling up. Burning to write.

(Side note. If you’re waiting on me, I have not forgotten you, I promise.)

Because here’s a fact. I need my clients. Not like writing pays the bills. For some writers, it does. But not for most. To be fair, I’ve had months where writing matches what I earn from clients. But it’s not reliable. Can’t count on it. And I’m crazy lucky, I get that. I work from home. My hours are flexible. I’m not blind to that.

But still. When you love writing? It sucks to know in all reality, it’s probably never going to pay a living wage. Never going to cover all the bills.

It’s not just writing essays. Most books published will never sell 5000 copies. Hell, most self published books will never sell 200 copies. That’s not a living.

Every writer starts there. Stephen King was a teacher, Elizabeth Gilbert a bartender. And for a lucky few, it’s just where they start. But for a lot of writers, it’s where they end, too. Because they never manage to turn writing into a full time gig.

A while back, Tony (CEO at Medium) said writers shouldn’t count on Medium to provide a full time income. On the surface, that made me a little grumpy. Because no one tells nurses or plumbers not to count on getting paid if they show up to work every day faithful as it gets. But he’s not wrong.

Fact of the matter is, if you’re writing on Medium, it’s not about whether you’re doing the work. It matters if it’s getting read, and by who and how many and did you get enough reads to pay the bills. Or did Obama post that day, get all the clicks?

Lots of writers get mad at Medium, stomp over to Substack. Find out it’s not a ton easier. Now you need people to pay just you, not for site-wide reading. Roughly 5% of readers sign up for paid and 95% will read as long as it’s free. Takes a lot of readers at five or seven bucks a month to pay the bills.

But here’s the thing. Start talking about money, a lot of writers get weird. Some get defensive, say they “should” be able to earn from writing, not like anyone ever said otherwise. Others are quick to say it’s not about the money, it’s about loving what they do. Making friends, finding readers, etc. To which I say great, if you don’t need the money, how lovely for you. But some people do.

Also? Funny how money isn’t an issue in non-creative industries. There are no surgeons saying it’s not about the money they just love doing surgery. No plumbers saying they’re just happy to fix your toilet, ain’t about the money.

But throw creativity into the pool, talk to artists and writers, it gets weird real fast. I could talk about the trope of the tortured artist, but that’s not my point so I’ll save it.

Here’s another one. A lot of writers complain about all the “make money” crap flooding everywhere words get published. But why do you think that is? Take that person writing “how I made xx dollars on Medium” posts five days a week, do you think they’d get paid the same to write poetry or personal essays? Hell no. Not unless they have a big following and some real chops to keep people reading.

Once you know that, it’s like a crossroads for writers. The minute you realize you could get more reads and follows if you write about money, you have a decision to make. And it’s not just writing about money. Hate is another hot button. Start screaming about republicans or abusive narcissists or any other cultural hot button, same thing. People sure do love someone who hates the same people they do.

Same thing applies to people who churn out formulaic posts twice a day every day, sometimes use ChatGPT to help them, edit that puppy hope to get it past the AI filters so they can keep churning. Thinking they can somehow beat the algorithm with frequency. Saw one guy say he’s striving for five posts a day, can’t even wrap my head around that. I muted him, but here’s what I know. He has bills, too.

Sometimes I want to ask those people, is that who you want to be as a writer? But at the same time, I know we all have bills to pay. Who am I to judge? Move on, read what I want. But for a lot of people? What they want to read is how to make money. Because they have bills to pay, too.

I wish I was coming here with answers. There is an answer. All jobs should pay a living wage. I suspect if everyone could pay their bills and have cash left at the end of the bills, instead of bills left at the end of the cash, there’d be less crap on the internet. Less people typing for cash. Because a lot of that stuff? It’s not writing. It’s just content. Make money writing. But we don’t live in a world that pays a living wage.

Here’s what it makes me think about. What’s my endgame? What do I want to achieve as a writer? And will it pay the bills? Some people don’t have an endgame. They’re not writing because they are compelled to. They weren’t born with their fingers wrapped around a pencil. They’re just writing to supplement their income. And again. Whatever. We all need to eat and pay our bills.

But some of us? We are compelled to write. And I think there’s some merit in looking at how money factors into doing what we love. I’d love to know what you think, how you’re making ends meet and if you have a long term plan. Your turn. :)

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