Writing (and other forms of "art") has rarely been a sustainable means of making a living for most mortals. At least the gender gap in pay is now being resolved: the male writers are paid crap too! 😖
For a long time, I've relied on the support of patrons/subscribers to help me maintain my writing career, and I treasure that support ... more recently, I've been working hard to try to secure grants, and I would love to find a patron or two who have the kind of income that can really support someone else. Mostly I've combined writing I believe in with a lot of paid content writing that helps cover the bills.
I’m primarily an artist, although being a capable writer has been valuable in my career. But yeah, there was never enough income to support my making art full time. And now that my writing is inspirational or fiction, that is, what I want to write, there’s not much hope it will generate any funds.
This parallels the demise of many traditional means of living. Family farms, watermen and local fishing, boatbuilding, etc, once necessary and hands-on respectable careers, have become rich people’s hobbies. Hell, when I was teaching elementary school in the 80s I worked as a bartender at night to make up the missing income. The caring professions of child and elder care, even nursing is becoming something we’re expected to do “for love.”
What we’re allowed to do for a living is shrinking into grim depersonalized roles.
Writing (and other forms of "art") has rarely been a sustainable means of making a living for most mortals. At least the gender gap in pay is now being resolved: the male writers are paid crap too! 😖
Thanks, Baird!
For a long time, I've relied on the support of patrons/subscribers to help me maintain my writing career, and I treasure that support ... more recently, I've been working hard to try to secure grants, and I would love to find a patron or two who have the kind of income that can really support someone else. Mostly I've combined writing I believe in with a lot of paid content writing that helps cover the bills.
I think many writers and artists’ have to either rely on the less than satisfying writing work to make ends meet or a job in another industry.
I have gone back and forth over the years whether it would be better for my own writing for my income job to not be a content writing job.
In this economy, nobody can sustain with just writing. Sigh* every writer I know, who belong from lower middle class families have a full time job.
I think so too; my work role is not connected to my writing at all.
So true. You see, and hear about so many authors who make a living outside of writing. This still resonates even today.
Thanks for reading!
I’m primarily an artist, although being a capable writer has been valuable in my career. But yeah, there was never enough income to support my making art full time. And now that my writing is inspirational or fiction, that is, what I want to write, there’s not much hope it will generate any funds.
This parallels the demise of many traditional means of living. Family farms, watermen and local fishing, boatbuilding, etc, once necessary and hands-on respectable careers, have become rich people’s hobbies. Hell, when I was teaching elementary school in the 80s I worked as a bartender at night to make up the missing income. The caring professions of child and elder care, even nursing is becoming something we’re expected to do “for love.”
What we’re allowed to do for a living is shrinking into grim depersonalized roles.
It is sad that many professions do not receive the respect or financial rewards they often deserve.