There you go, I said it.
Gasp.
The periphery of being a writer is more profitable than being a writer.
The thing that annoyed me the most about this was some social media advertisement for a SPECIALIST writers notebook for $60 or something (naturally, discounted from $90). I don’t even know what currency it was but at that point, does it matter? I have no idea what made it so damn special for writers. The ad didn’t cover that. It certainly didn’t look hand made, it looked mass produced. It was THE MAGIC of it that apparently justified the cost.
That’s a worst case example, of course.
But a writers career is a portfolio career. This is often shown best when generous writers share their income breakdowns, or through research on the topic.
Now, because I started out shitting on an overpriced notebook, please make sure you understand that I’m not shitting on writers who have income streams other than “pure” publishing. I mean, my books make a few bucks a year right now (they’re old, I haven’t published in ages, and I rarely remember to market them), so I make 95% of my income in ways that aren’t publishing (in mid 2025 as I’m writing this, that’s mostly my day job and very occasional freelance work).
It’s just sometimes a thing that makes me a bit sad, that most of us who are writers would love to just write, but it’s not always a reality. That doesn’t mean our jobs, our workshops, our other income streams are meaningless or scams. It’s just part of being an adult in a reality where you need to pay the bills.
If you like my posts, consider supporting me.
