Making Writing Pay by Leanne Dyck

(me and my friends playing 'row, row the boat' photo by a co-worker, circa the 1990s)

That day's guest lecturer had been in the field of child day care for many years. No doubt, she shared a lot--the highs, the lows. But what hit me was:  "After graduation, as a child care worker, you'll earn less than a general laborer."

I pipped up with, "Money doesn't matter to me. I want to give quality care to the children who need me. I want to support families."

Early Childhood Educators 'work is undervalued and they in effect subsidize the service they provide through their low pay.' (Beach, Costigliola, 2004)

'Across all national surveys, low wages have been consistently identified as the primary reason for leaving the field.' (Halfon, 2014)

'The high turnover rate in child care creates instability and negatively affects the quality of child care.' (Beach, Costigliola, 2004)

I graduated from the University of Winnipeg's eighteen-month program and sought work in rural Manitoba--because I thought that was where I was most needed. I quickly became aware that many people viewed me as nothing more than a glorified babysitter. Because I focused on intangible rewards, I had a fourteen-year career--only retiring when a family tragedy forced me to make lifestyle changes. 

And now I write...

'Don't write to become famous or to make a lot of money. Write because you love it.'

-Joe Beernink

Wait a second. What's wrong with writing for money? Love--money, can't you have both? Most writers start with at least one (love). Why can't you dream of attaining the other (money)? What's wrong with dreaming. Sometimes it makes for an excellent motivator. 

Some may say, "But what if you don't achieve the type of success that you dream of?"

What if you do?

And we're all grown-ups. We've had our dreams dashed before. We've learned how to pick ourselves up and dust ourselves off.

Dreaming of success shouldn't stop us from celebrating the small successes we make daily. Turning on the computer... Picking up that pen... Writing that sentence, paragraph, chapter, book.

Yes, I'm writing to build my readership. Yes, I hope my books sell. No, this doesn't make me a sell-out.

'Real art has positive value, which means it has Commercial value. We perversely define artists as those who Don't create for money (as opposed to nearly every other vocation, where skill, experience and quality for a craft would boost your income), based on the idea that great work transcends commercialism.' -Derek Murphy 

More...

In 1985, broke and depressed, Jim Carrey wrote himself a cheque for 10 million dollars for "acting services rendered". The cheque deteriorated but Carrey eventually made it. 

Read the entire story here.

(me completing my studies, circa the 1980s)

Next Post:   Sunday, September 9th
(at approximately 5 PM PST)
To honour those who have returned to their studies, I wrote Magdalene College's bell tower--a short story. I hope you enjoy reading it.

(my husband and me waiting for a parade, our dog wondering, what? photo by T Hobley 2018)

Sharing my author journey...

I know it looks like I have a demanding workload, and I do--especially this summer. But I do aim for a balance between work 

Guest Post: Writing for a Paycheck by Dede Perkins

You've written your novel, and either it's hiding in a drawer or hopefully, it's making the query rounds. The trouble is, your novel isn't earning you money - yet. So what can you do if you need to earn money while you wait for your novel's royalties to roll in? In between writing your next novel, you can write for the corporate and/or non-profit world.

I hear you groan, but as a paid business writer and an as-of-yet unpaid fiction writer, I can tell you, it's nice when a client thanks me for my work and as part of the deal, hands over a not-too-shabby check as payment.

The good news is this is a terrific time to be a business writer. In the age of information, every business and non-profit needs a website, social media profile, advertisement or old-fashioned printed brochure. And most need writers to produce the copy for them.

So, from one writer to another, here are 4 strategies that will jumpstart your paid writing career.

#1. Research work that's being done in a couple of industries that interest you. Read websites, white papers, ad copy, articles, and write a couple of your own. Use them as writing samples and give them to anyone who is interested.

#2. Figure out your market and start with an unpaid first assignment. For instance, if you'd like to write for the non-profit world, call a couple of the smaller organizations in your area, say you're a new writer who wants to write for their industry and offer to write an ad, a brochure, a tag line, a page of website content - whatever they need - for free, no strings attached. Once people see you can write, the projects and paychecks will follow.

#3. Tell everyone you know that you're taking on clients for business writing projects. If they send someone your way, be sure to thank them and then do your very best work.

#4. When that first "real" client calls, don't be shy. Ask everything you need to understand the message you are being hired to write. Tell the client you will send copy in about a week. Write the first draft and as you would with a piece of fiction, set it aside for a day or two. Reread and revise. Repeat the process until you are 100% satisfied with the piece. Send it to the client and be open to feedback and revision requests. Rework the piece until the client is 100% satisfied.

Business writing may not be the stuff of your dreams, but getting paid for writing is better than getting paid for doing almost anything else. And if all goes well, your novel will be wildly successful and soon you'll be able to devote your creative energies to more interesting pursuits - like writing your next wildly successful novel.

Dede Perkins, business writer by day and fiction writer by night, owns A Few Good Words, an outsourced business writing company based in Maine.