Did You Get Paid?

For a struggling artist, this is probably the most insulting question a person can ask, and yet, everybody does it.  Even other artists do it … at least they are calling themselves artists.  Personally, I think that a fellow artist would understand that a monetary pay cheque is just one of the many rewards available to an artist.

Sometimes I contribute to someone else’s work and after that novel gets published, I confess that it was a project I worked on and then I get asked, “Did you get paid?”  Did I get paid?  A pay cheque?  No.  Do I care?  I’m annoyed that anyone thinks I should care.  I believe helping someone with their project is like this:

Your friend phones you up and says that her house is being shown to a prospective buyer and she only has four hours to pretty the whole place up.  Obviously, she needs help, so you head over and give her a hand.  Later, when the house sells does anyone ask you if you made any money off the sale?  Such an idea is unthinkable.  What?  Do they think you deserve a percentage of the profit?  Sweeping the floor should entitle you to five percent.  Don’t you think?  Ridiculous!

If I’m a writer for the money, then I’m in the wrong field.  Psychological romances (my genre of choice) rarely make any money.  These days it’s all about erotica.  All the same, if I wanted money, I could probably make a lot more of it working an ordinary day job.  Here’s a list some of the rewards that come from being a novelist that have nothing to do with money.

1.      The joy of creation.  Making something is fun.  It’s fun to make cupcakes.  Does anyone ever ask me if I got paid for making cupcakes? 

2.      Exercising your brain.  I love getting a good cerebral workout.  Don’t you? 

3.      Reviews from fans.  You only get this if you are willing to put up your writing for free.  I’ve done that for many years because I’m of the belief that if no one is willing to read your writing when it’s free then they are certainly not going to pay for it.  I’ve really enjoyed this.  I’ve had forums with hundreds of posts from readers requesting to know more about my story because they couldn’t wait for my Thursday update.

4.      Exchanging ideas.  That’s why occasionally I help people with their work.  It’s just exciting to see what other people are doing at a point when your input could improve a story.  Not that you want to change it in a big way.  If you want to change everything about a novel, then it’s probably not a project you should be working on.

So, don’t ask, ‘Did you get paid?’  The backlash may make you wish you had bitten your tongue instead.