It's not as easy to sell stories to newspapers and magazines as it used to be. I've sold stories to web sites on occasion, too, but I don't know what's normal. There are too many writers out there willing to be a "professional" by writing for $1 a story.
Me? I need to write. I'm kinda like the woman in the Louis L'Amour book Conagher. The woman would write poetry or something short on a piece of paper or petticoat and tie it to a tumbleweed. Conagher or one of the other cowboys might find it miles away.
She needed to talk to someone, but there was no one. Only the wind on the grass.
I prefer to be paid for writing, but I've enjoyed my three blogs. They've kept me sharp as a writer, and they've forced me to edit my own copy. Hey, if you write about being a professional editor/proofreader/writer, you're going to be treated as such. Nearly every time I make a mistake, someone tells me about it. So I need to be careful.
Who knows? I may be able to rewrite, consolidate or morph some of this into a magazine article or even a book. Or, if I can get enough readers, I can make money off the blog directly.
To me, a writer/editor/proofreader gets paid for his work. It's not good enough to be published or praised. Payment makes all the difference.
And I do write and edit for a living. But sometimes I need to be heard, too. That's why I'm here.
Write on.
EMAIL: tgilli52@gmail.com TWITTER: EDITORatWORK
MORE EDITOR@WORK BLOG ENTRIES
BLOG ENTRIES BY TOM GILLISPIE
ANECDOTES BY TOM GILLISPIE
ENTRIES FROM THE DOG BLOG
(a book of great stories about the Intimidator)
(the book of great NASCAR stories)
I agree that it's better to be paid for writing, but writing for nothing is better than not writing. Writing for my own blog, as well as the Chicago Moms Blog, gives me regular deadline, encourages me to try new things technologically, and gives me feedback from commenters. It's also immediate gratification, something that writers rarely experience.
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