the math of writing

have you ever tried being a freelance writer? ok, me neither. but it's not a pretty world out there. ever heard anyone say "oh, a writer eh? that must be very lucrative!" nobody says that because writing's not lucrative -- freelance or otherwise. barring great skill, luck, or both, a budding writer is looking at minimum wage or less. many successful writers/poets subsist on grants and awards -- meaning free money -- or teaching. writers love to teach; or they have to teach.

i read that back in the day, $1 a word was customary for a professional writer. maybe not customary, but not unusual for a reputable magazine or newspaper. that rate now? still a dollar a word -- or less, nevermind inflation. actually, to get to the $1 per word mark you'd have to be an experienced writer working for a well established entity. otherwise $1 would be your pipedream. your community newspaper probably pays ten cents a word. newspapers? 35-cents or so. glossy magazines? maybe 50-cents a word. when they say "don't quit your day job," they're probably talking to writers.

of course, fifty-cents a word could seem pretty good. i mean, words are cheap; a few extra "an's" or "the's" here and there and you've made a few bucks. but no. usually a normal sized article is what? a thousand words? that's five hundred dollars for one article. not bad until you consider how much effort might go into researching, writing, and polishing that piece. i have friends who make more than $500 during a lunch break.

that's not to mention actually getting someone to offer you an article to write. heck, i'd probably pay companies to let me write for them. so, even at one article per week at market rates, you're barely making any gravy; nevermind putting dinner on the table.

am i complaining? no. i'm just in awe of people who hustle and have enough persistence, talent, and know-how to make a living as a freelance writer (freelance anything really). it's amazing to me because the math just doesn't seem to add up. actually, i don't get how some people support a family, have kids, a car, a house and all that while making $12/hour. so really, i'm easily befuddled by the world of personal finance.

for the record, on my book, i made maybe about 20-cents a word. i feel like that's kind of high. so really i've already been overpaid. great, i've already peaked as a writer. perhaps i should consider blogging for three-cents a word?

a piece of universal advice when writing is: "don't use a ten-dollar word when the fifty-cent one will do." that should be changed to "charge at least fifty-cents a word, or starve."