"I Write Because I Don't Know What Else I Would Do"
In this whole debate about writing for for free, getting paid in exposure, dwindling freelance rates, etc., I can't help but be reminded of the similarities between the struggling writers and amateur athletes. I think of those profiles on high school or college sports stars who have put their whole lives into playing their game without getting a diploma or thinking beyond their dreams to go pro.
There's this pall over the writing community because many of us don't know what else we would do. We have been writing (and struggling) for years and a lot of us feel too old - or perhaps, too stubborn - to consider a career change this late in the game. I certainly understand the outrage, but I also get that this issue is much more nuanced than anyone ever lets on.
In January, Bethlehem Shoals wrote I Broke Up With Writing (And It Feels OK), a piece that left me melancholy but semi-hopeful that my life would not fall apart if I were to stop writing.
I don't feel like I fell from grace, though. Anyone remotely acquainted with the realities of publishing—especially for those of us who sprung up from the muck of blogs and other online writings—can see why the wind might have blown me in this direction. When the last few rounds of meal tickets were passed out, I wasn't on the list. The phone wasn't ringing, I stink at pitching editors, and really, I was driving myself insane trying to get by on seasonal work and a slew of web pieces that, if you added them all up on a good week, might—might!—be enough to get by.
How many of us who write for a living have truly looked in the mirror lately? Are we cut out to be writers? Should we be putting all of our efforts into writing when the odds of earning a sustainable living doing it are stacked against us? Have any of us considered what we would do if we weren't writing? What other skills do we have besides putting words on a page and how can those skills be transferrable to other careers?
It is so easy to chide a young athlete for being unrealistic about his or her chances at making it to the big time. But aren't most writers doing the same? The digital medium has turned us all into writers, and this flooded market means that fewer of us are going to succeed as "real" writers, no matter how many blog posts we publish or e-books we hawk.
While we are all dreaming of that championship ring and the endorsement deals, the fact of the matter is that most of us will be lucky if we end up on the B Team. We're lucky we're being paid at all.
