Introduction

As someone who has been writing/blogging for over a decade now, I have heard a lot of opinions about writers over the years. Most are positive or neutral, but one negative you sometimes hear is: “It’s sad when you find out a writer is just in it for the money.” It’s hard for me to wrap my head around this mindset. I truly can’t imagine anyone writing for money – for one thing, it’s not a lucrative career and it’s pretty famous for being low paying. People who value money above all else aren’t usually drawn to writing. When it comes to writing, it can sometimes be a polarized topic – people either think you’re a well-paid bestseller or you’re just a hobbyist who shouldn’t expect to be paid. I’d like to preface this post by saying I don’t make any significant money from my books and I make 0 dollars from blogging.

So, why exactly do some people think authors should write without ever getting paid for their work? I will explore some possible reasons.

Some People See The Arts As Mere Hobbies

For some reason, creativity and the arts are often deemed as “hobbies” rather than work. They think it’s nice people have a little talent, but they don’t like the idea of them making money off something they love. Perhaps due their own dissatisfaction with their own career, they don’t want to think of people who have it “too easy”. Maybe they always wanted to write a book, but never made the time, so they loathe the idea of someone making a viable income from one. They believe the arts should be for fun and expression only – never mind the time, work, and effort that goes into it. You can see this bias when you change “author” to “dentist”. If you have 5 cavities, most people aren’t going to say “You’re just in it for the money!” Of course, a lot of people choose healthcare professions for the stable income, but you’d have to be a special kind of person to work on people’s teeth all day, and I know most dentists aren’t in it just for the money – cavities need to be filled if you’re a dentist and inspiration needs to be written if you’re a writer.

Authors can get enough imposter syndrome as it is without having the negative voices accusing them of writing for bad reasons like MONEY. We all deserve to be paid for our work – whether that comes right away or years down the line.

They Have Something Against Self-Promotion

This is where the indie authors can feel a little stress at times. Traditionally published authors have a marketing and distribution team who advertise, promote, and send the copies to book stores. Some traditionally published authors are expected to promote their work, too, but a lot of the burden is on the publisher rather than on the creator. People can clap for these authors louder, because the sales aren’t their problem. Someone else will buy their new release at the book store.

With indie authors, all of the book promotion is on them, so they usually work harder posting about their book on social media to get a few sales. I think some viewers feel a little guilty knowing they can’t or don’t want to buy their book, so seeing this indie author promoting their work is annoying. As indie authors can seem to be a little more “in your face” than authors represented by a publisher, they might seem self-absorbed if people don’t know why they’re promoting. I mean, to me it’s simple. If someone has a small business, they market their products. If you’re a self-published author, you market your books. Some people just see a person wanting attention online without realizing that marketing needs to be done when one is an author – and they are not trying to get rich but would be happy with a sale or two that month.

They Think Writing Quality Goes Down When Money Is Involved

Many see making money off art as dirty or evil – they don’t see any art as real if the artist has to promote and sell it. They think people should invest years in their art without making a dime. When we all start out, our work is raw and we don’t know how well it’s going to do. As time goes on, we get better and learn more, and we might start to think our work deserves to make an income. I don’t think it’s wrong when people write work to be seen – isn’t that the point of telling a story – to entertain other people? Of course, write for yourself first so you’ll enjoy the process, but it amazes me that there’s such a stigma to sharing work that was literally created to be shared.

I realize there’s also a stigma for represented authors to be pressured into writing 4 books per year – you can tell their work is a little rushed and it can sometimes kill their original enthusiasm for writing. This is why I personally chose not to get a literary agent, because I wanted all hands off my work. That said, if someone wants to see their book represented, there’s nothing wrong with that – they should just be careful that their publisher isn’t pushing them to produce too quickly. For the publishing business it’s all about the money, but for the author it’s certainly about so much more than that.

They Think Paid Writers Are Rich

Another common misconception is that paid authors are rich or making more money than the average person. Even some traditionally published authors have to work a day job until their book gains popularity. You have to sell a LOT of books to make a living income. (For example, your average e-book will give you a $3 royalty. If you sold 50 of those in a week, that’s $150. That’s a nice little extra money, but you won’t be buying a new car with it). In reality, most authors make a supplementary income from their writing. On the lower end, you’ll make pocket change every month ($2-$40). Mid-range successful authors might make a few hundred dollars per month that helps pay some of their bills. The rare highly paid authors might make anywhere from $20K-$100K per year. Less than 1% of authors will be rich.

If you see an author promoting their work or celebrating a sale, please know they aren’t bragging, they’re genuinely happy that their work is being read. Most indie authors aren’t in it for the money; they promote to be read.

They Think Making Money From Writing Is Too Easy

Some people hate the idea of others making money doing something they love. I get it – life is hard. It’s not always fair, but sometimes it’s nice when we get a break – shouldn’t we be happy when others get their break, too? If you meet someone who is one of the few authors who makes $80K+ per year off their writing alone, know that they are a unicorn in the literary world. The book market is saturated and few people are able to quit their day jobs to write.

Even if someone was making a good yearly wage off their books, they deserve it. If someone makes an extra $400/month from their writing, they deserve that. All work is deserving of being paid if it’s good quality. And if someone loves creating even if they’re never paid, that’s wonderful, too. As long as they’re happy, that’s what matters. I think a lot of writers are fine to write for decades until their work “makes it”, believing one day it could pay off. It’s totally okay to have that mindset. If you do good work, it does deserve to be bought. So, if you see a writer growing their following or boosting their marketing efforts, please don’t be harsh with them – chances are they just want to get their work out there more and potentially make a second stream of income. The chances of them getting rich or famous are quite low no matter how hard they’re working.

Conclusion

People will say all manner of things – perhaps out of envy, bias, or misinformation. Others simply have a moral issue with any work of art making money. In the end, you as an author need to define yourself and your own values. Objectively, it’s not wrong to want to make a supplementary income off your work. A modest income is very different from becoming rich. Many bloggers make a few dollars per month (It’s harder to make money blogging than it seems). Experienced professional bloggers can make great extra money to help pay the bills. It’s no one’s right to tell them it’s wrong for them to write for money. I believe no one ever writes “just for the money” as there are far more lucrative ventures one would get into if that was all they cared about. Writing takes a lot of time and emotional energy so you couldn’t do it if you didn’t love it.

As an indie author and blogger with a small following, it’s definitely creativity and people first for me. If it were able to make me a supplementary income down the line, that’s an added bonus. For the past ten years I’ve gotten used to working at a day job and creating on the side and it’s a balance that has worked well for me. I know my reasons for writing and I’m aware of my values – any assumptions that I’m in this just for money are false. Sometimes as we grow, others might feel some competition with us and snide comments can happen. That’s okay. Just keep being you and doing what you love – then the rest will follow. ❤

Thank you so much for stopping by today! ❤ Happy writing.