Newbie writers aren't the only ones!

Michael and I are sitting at one of our favorite indie bookstores right now. I was flipping through the July/August issue of Poets & Writers, when I ran across the article "Will Write for Free" by Steve Almond. Of course, since the Great Wage Debate for Writers is one of my pet issues, I read through the entire article.

Almond's article is very similar to an article I wrote last year for WritersWeekly.com: "How Society Supports Low-Paying Writing Jobs." The major difference is that Almond does more literary writing, while my article was talking about article writing. The message is the same, though -- our society takes advantage of (and even perpetuates) the "starving artist" ideal.

I highly recommend checking out this article. I wish it was online, so that I could link to it; but since it isn't, and I can't, I'll give you a little snippet to whet your appetite:

The reality of today's literary marketplace dawned on me rather quickly: There are no big-money offers. Unless you are a former president, a pro athlete, a movie star (or someone who has had sex with one or more of the above), none will be forthcoming. Which meant I had to start insisting on getting paid.

And the beautiful, quotable statement near the end of the article:

I am suggesting that your talents are worth something, and that those who stand to gain from them owe you a share.

Amen.