August 13, 2005
Once upon a time...

There was a boy who with all his heart and mind wished to grow up and someday be an accountant. The numbers danced in his head, made his heart sing. He wished to become an accountant with a need so strong it bordered on desperation. He spent every free moment of his days making up rows of numbers to collate and practice performing tax valuations on. His notebook was filled with 1040 Forms.

Yet this boy's parent really had something else in mind for their son. More than anything they wished him to become a painter, an artist. Not some reliable, steadfast, wageslave with a 401K, full-paid health insurance and paid vacation time. No, not for their little Johnny! So in every way they could they encouraged Johnny to paint, to draw, to turn away from the numbers he so loved. And finally, while at the Chicago Institute of Art copying...

Hmmm... so here's my question, no moral available, at least not today. If a writer has a good--even excellent-- career writing nonfiction, and a yearly income in the $40,000 to $80,000 range, as much work as he can handle, loves his job, loves the lifestyle, is increasingly bringing on more and more better paying clients in the $1 to $1.50 per word range, why is so much time and energy spent on writing and marketing fiction, which takes up anywhere from 1/8 to 1/4 of his writing time and provides less than 10% of his writing income? Do we always wish for things we don't have? Is that the very nature of fairy tales?

Best,
Mark Terry