Just a quick update that I am now back in the office in San Francisco after quite an incredible week in New York. The meetings! The weather! The food! The general sense of panic in the Financial District!
But as much as I fell in love with New York all over again, man oh man is it good to be back in the land of cool nights and driving to the grocery store. Ah, San Francisco, I thank you.
My Inbox could probably compete with Ben Bernake’s at this point for sheer madness, so I’m afraid the query moratorium is still in effect. And yes, You Tell Me on a Tuesday – I’m going to go Coffee Talk on you and ask that you “talk amongst yourselves.”
I’ll give you a topic. Would you still write if you knew you’d never make a cent doing it? Would it change what you write and how you write?
JimCripps says
Over 100 comments, so why should I bother? Because, I write to entertain myself. For that, I receive no pay, and it may go like that till the end.
jnantz says
Yes, but I bet I’d focus more on Short Stories, simply because that rush of “the end” would come so much more often. And since it’s just for me, I’d rather have that quick “fix” a LOT of the time.
But that’s just me…
Beth Terrell says
Yes, I would still write. I wouldn’t change how or what I write, but I would be immensely sad.
LeeAnn Flowers says
Absolutely. Since I have yet to sell a book, all my writing is done without knowing whether I’d make a cent. It does nothing to slow down any of my writing and really changes nothing.
the cardboard writings says
As I’ve been writing for the past twenty years with absolutely ZERO publishing credits to my name, I’d have to say that I’m under no illusion as to whether I’ll make any money off this gig. Yet, still I go on; I can’t stop. I’ve tried, three or four times, to just give up; to not write at all and I just can’t do it. So obviously, my answer is yes.
Kim Stagliano says
Checking wallet. Empty. Yes.
J.P. Kurzitza says
Of course I would. I started writing for my three boys. I wanted them to grow up with some cool stories that dad wrote. If I get picked up one day, great. If I don’t, great. I’ve got many ideas, so “at worst”, my boys will have plenty to read when they’re older.
😀
Erik says
I don’t make a cent off my blog, but I keep it up 3 times a week.
I have something to say that you don’t hear other places, and I have a large base of loyal readers. I write for them and for the ideas.
I think our world demands that people with something to say have a place to say it – regardless of this social thing called “money”
Websinthe says
I’d write and make money off the public appearances.
I don’t write for money, I write for meaning.
Jen Turner says
Welcome back, Nathan. 🙂
Yes, I would keep writing. And under no circumstances would I change the way/or what I write.
Anonymous says
So are we supposed to keep caving in to Islamic extremists? Stop writing and publishing and living and breathing for these nuts? Why? The more we cave, the sooner Shyria law comes calling.
I say write what you want. Political correctness and FEAR are what’s ruining the publishing industry.(and the country.)
T.A. Northburg says
Yes. I would still write because it is a part of me. If I never sell a single thing I at least will have something to pass on to my kids so they remember who I am and what I think about things. It would not change how I write. I wite to perfect my craft, whatever the outcome. I know I will be successful–my goal is to write.
The Crystal Faerie says
Oh most definitely, I would continue writing.I don’t write because I want money. I write because I need to write. Just as much as other people need to eat or to sleep or to breathe, I MUST write. It’s part of my blood, part of who I am.
I do hope to be published and I would love to be on the shelves at Borders, but if I don’t, I’ll just copy my stuff into leather-bound journals and pass it to my kids…and keep on writing.
It’s not about the money. It’s about the intense need to write.
Anonymous says
This question comes up a lot in writing groups. Usually the overwhelming majority admit writing for the sake of getting out all the niggly, irritating, “got to be written” ideas that float around creative minds.
Would I still write? I’ve been writing since I was a child — a time when the idea of earning money for penning ideas wasn’t even something to be considered. I write what I want to and don’t stress about the market until the product is finished. While the challenge of writing specifically for an eye to publication is fun, it never calms the inner voice that nags about ideas that need to be delivered.
Anonymous says
Yes, I would write if I never made any money. To be honest, my only fear is that my work would be discovered in a box and the next generation would make money.
Kimber An says
Absolutely!
Money would be nice, but I’m used to not getting paid money for doing what I love. I’m a mommy.
Sempiternal says
Right now I mostly write just for the fun of it. Most of my stories, which will probably never be finished, I wrote as a stress reliever of sorts. There is only one story that I am working on that I actually want to eventually try to get it published (key word is eventually).
No I wouldn’t change how or what I write. As it is, even with the story I want to get published, I write because that is what I like to write about. Yeah, I’m stubborn.
As far as how much time I spend on my writing…well that would depend on my school and work schedule (as it does now) since that is a little more important at the moment ($40,000 a year…makes me not want to slack off).
Lauren says
Yeah, well so far, it’s all volunteer work. Not a penny in it yet. But I can’t stop – so, yeah – I’d definitely still write even if I knew I’d never make a cent. I write for my friends, I write for myself… I write to learn what I think and feel about things… I write. Regardless.
oscar bermeo says
I’m a poet and that means I know that poetry, even when put out by the big publishing houses, doesn’t sell. I still write it, read it with gusto, and try to get it in as many hands as I can.
Violet says
I am sure anyone interested enough in the creative process will answer yes to the question. However,there is a sense of needing to be heard, to have your work read and in earning we are validated ie. we know someone is curious, interetsed enough to cough up some money to see what we have produced.
Anonymous says
Big yawn on this topic, man.
Mark J Daniels says
I write every day and never make a penny. So I guess the answer is yes. I would love to make a living out of writing but either don’t have the tenacity to get my work published in a paid-for way or am clearly not good enough at it; still, some editors allow me to have a blog-style column on their websites, which does allow me to get my writing in view of a larger audience.
And, at the end of the day, I enjoy it. If it ever turns in to a way of making a living, however, I shall be ecstatic!
Jane Turley says
Hmm…on consideration money is pretty useful stuff but to be a true thespian one must do it for “The Art”! Oh.. “To be or not to be”….
Lauri Shaw says
Of course!
I’m doing it right now at http://www.laurishaw.com with my novel, Servicing the Pole.
I’m actually getting a lot more hits than I expected. 🙂
Keith Sheppard says
In most cases, hitherto unpublished writers who write believing they are going to make a cent are sadly deluded.
If you do succeed in getting published and achieve modest sales then I doubt that your hourly rate will come to much when you divide the money received by the time you devoted to the project. It probably wouldn’t even clear the (UK) national minimum wage.
I wrote my first book because I wanted to write it. Only when it was finished did I think “hey, maybe I could get this published”.
Even then, the purpose of publishing for writers like me (and I’m guessing there are thousands of us) is not to make money but pure egotism. You want your work to be read. You want to say to friends and acquaintances “look, here’s the book I wrote”. Perhaps most importantly you want to see your name on the spine in your local book store.
Money doesn’t come into the equation.
Maris Bosquet says
I think Margaret Yang called this one! 🙂
Sometimes I wonder if writing for the sake of writing is not unlike singing or playing an instrument, though you know you’ll never have an audience and never make a cent doing that, either.
Is it egotism, as Keith Sheppard says? I’m not sure. But there’s certainly an odd joy about it.
Joseph says
Yes, I would definitely continue to write, just as much as I do now (daily). To entertain myself, and to challenge my myself, and to avoid hobbies that require money.
Ulysses says
Heck, I’m not making a cent now and it hasn’t stopped me.
Heidi the Hick says
Yeah, I’d still write. It’s the only way to quiet the storm in the head.
However if I knew I’d never ever make any money off of it, I’d lay off the whole query craziness. I’d just write for fun and then pass the pile of paper to my friends, who would then fawn and gasp and gush about what a greeeaaaaaaat writer I aaaaaam.
In any case, I’ve been writing since I learned how to hold a pencil, so there’ll be no stopping any time soon.
juvuly says
Oh my gosh, have you never been to Fanfiction.net to see the billions of reams of stories that will never ever make a cent EVER? Of course people would still write!
Teri says
Of course we would. The sheer pleasure of creating something, of putting thoughts down on paper in a semi-coherent form is worth it, even if it never makes a penny.
Victoria says
I might actually write more if I weren’t always thinking about readership and marketing and plotting to make agents and editors drool over my query. But I certainly wouldn’t stop writing. And I have to agree: writing isn’t a source of income a the moment. After all, blogging and grad school aren’t exactly great ways to get paid =)
Caitlin says
Always. It’s the freedom and escape which come with words that keep me writing.
That and the hope that someone, somewhere is reading it.
Victoria: I’m on your alley. Blogging and school definitely keep the words going but not the income.
Anonymous says
“You Tell Me”,
Yes, I would continue to write as I have for years without receiving a cent. Why? I love to write.
I am currently writing short stories for the amazon short program and receiving a huge 25 cents per sale, not the greatest golden parachute, but that does not matter to me.
Give me a topic and I will run with it.
Robert Meacham
Deborah K. White says
Yes, I’d still write. I love writing and telling stories.
It wouldn’t change what I write because I only write stories that I think are worth telling. I don’t think it’d change how I write. I’d still want to write the best story I could and, once I get started writing a story, it’s often hard for me to stop to do things like, you know, eat.
Abi says
Absolutely without question or hesitation, I would write even if I never made a cent!!!
Abi
https://bloggingexperiments.wordpress.com
gabriel simple says
I´m writing you from spain, following your blog since september, and the question you made is relevant. I think -as a great writer said – that if you have got something to say, you must say it.It´s indiferent the way you write, or your audience, sometimes the audiences lost the writer. The writer must write for him, not for his audience.
Katie Killary says
I would absolutely still write! money needs to compete with importance for writing, not the other way around :o)
Anonymous says
Right now, I really don’t give much thought to “earning” anything. I write for the sheer pleasure of it.
Anonymous says
Abso-freakin-lutely!
Kristan says
I think that yes, I would still write, and I know that no, I wouldn’t change anything about how I wrote.
Honestly, it may be even more frustrating to write and NOT know whether or not you’ll ever make a cent. At least if you knew you wouldn’t, you could arrange other means of survival and just enjoy writing as your hobby. Right now I’m barely subsisting on a part-time job so I can focus on writing. The fear and stress of poverty? Yeah, that’s snapping at my ankles. But I have faith in myself — both in my innate talent and in my ability to improve — so I have to do this.
Whether or not I’ll “make it”… well, I suppose we’ll see.
Leis says
Poetry and short stories, definitely. But novels? No.
I don’t know if others feel this way, but writing a proper novel is one of the most difficult, challenging, maddening projects I’ve ever gotten myself into. Ever.
If NOBODY but me would ever read it, I’d prefer to save my sanity and do a little gardening instead.
The Writers' Group says
Yes, I would still write. I have always written, for free and for pay. Thank goodness growing as a writer makes it all the more interesting and enjoyable. That said, however, I cannot wait to read the words, “Well, everyone, the query moratorium is no longer in effect!”
Hannah Roveto
Wanda B. Ontheshelves says
I am “making a cent” already from my writing! It’s not much, but hey, if it puts gas in the tank, who’s to complain!
Yes, it’s poetry, but also little snippets of my novel sold in the context of crafts. Text + crafts = gas in the tank. Also it’s market research to see how my target audience reacts to certain (I like to think) witty sayings, as well as made-up objects, from my novel.
It’s amazing how a little cash crossing your palm can ease the pain of query rejection! I guess I get my inspiration from, gulp, Project Runway – concepts like “the designer’s vision,” “overall statement,” whether something feels “cohesive” – I mean, you can think of a piece of writing like that – a whole novel – as just one part of an overall “design challenge” or “collection.” So it’s the biggest piece in that particular creative collection – but if you can make $10 selling an “accessory” to it – why not?
Lovely words when selling an item, and they ask where you got the idea for it: “It’s from my novel…”
(Quotation mark overload, I know)
spinregina says
Do I breathe?
Brian says
Nathan
You have a great blog. To answer your question, yes I would cause i don’t get paid now to write.
On a different note. I was wondering if you would agree to an interview with me for my blog? It’s for new writers and I think they would enjoy information from an agent. My blog is https://www.the-new-author.blogspot.com/
Thanks.
S. Boyd Taylor says
I’m writing now and I’m not making a cent. Making the jump to a paid short story market would be a nice milestone. So would selling a novel. If I can ever finish a decent one.
Anonymous says
Yes! I love writing and would do it for free, but it sure would be nice to sell a book, as well.
K says
Nathan, I’m glad you asked. I’ve been writing without making a cent years. For me this is a calling and a calling is something you do that is simply a part of your person, like walking, and talking.
Once you embrace your calling,you can’t control the journey it’s beginning , middle or end. Or, how much money you will make. The jouney is part of the joy and the things experienced feed the writing.
Kay Hall
Miriam S.Forster says
Pah. I’ve had moments and days and seasons when I’ve tried not to write, tried to do something else. (I haven’t made any money yet.) I probably could resist the urge to put pen to paper and record my stories, but the constant flow of dream and imagination and what if? in my head will never stop.
Would I write differently? Well I primarily write for children and YA, and again the answer is nah. I write how I think and try to capture the stories that present themselves as fully as possible.
Besides, it’s a lot of fun.
Oddly enough, I was planning a “why I write” blog on Saturday. Stop by and check it out, if you want.