#mondaymusings

Peggy Jaeger

Nov 13

I could actually write this blog any day of the week but since I like the alliteration of Monday musings, today seems worthy.

I'm at the point in my writing career - if you could call it that - where I thought I would be seeing a return on all the hard word I've been doing for the past 8 years. I'm not.

Let me e'splain.

Yesterday I put together all my receipts for the year so far because my hubby will be wanting to start our taxes soon. I have an entire folder of everything I've paid for regarding my writing this year - advertising, conferences, buying books from Amazon ( author copies), all things related to the fact I can have WRITER written on my occupation line on the tax form.

Then I went through my income for the year. Sales, royalties from publishers, KDP royalties, VEllA income.

Income vs expenses for the year? Not even close.

In fact, so disparate, it's laughable. Or in my case, cryable.

If I weren't married I wouldn't be able to support myself on what I write. The national poverty level for a single income in 2023 is $14,580. This number is so much closer to my expenses than my income that - again - cryable.

I don't think I'm the only writer experiencing this disparity in finances. In fact, most of the people I know who write are in a fairly similar boat to me.

So, why do we do it? Why do we take a loss year after year? Why do we bang our heads against our laptops when advertising dollars go up but the reward of those spent dollars goes down?

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

Okay, maybe writers are a little insane. But aren't most creatives? LOL

For me, writing is a luxury I am afforded because I have a husband who can support the two of us, so I devote my entire workday to writing. That's not the case with most writers. They have jobs outside the home in order to pay for an existence that will allow them to do what they truly want to: write.

If I were forced to support myself I would. No debate about it. And I would still write. Long into the night, early into the morning, on work breaks, whatever, simply because I must.

That's the answer to the above questions. Why do we do what we do? Because we must.