August 1, 2006
Yesterday I threw out that bit about how many books are supposedly sold. Today I'm contemplating money. Part of this might be Joe Konrath's blog yesterday where he mentioned his goals and one of those was doubling his current income.

I wouldn't mind doubling my current income. Last year I made just about the amount of money I made as my goal, and for 2006 I wanted to make about $10,000 more. The irony is that as of the beginning of July 2006, I had already equaled last year's income, so not only will I meet my goal of 2006 (pretty soon), but shatter it unless all hell breaks loose in the next few months. It's possible I might actually double last year's income, but that might be gluttony.

And it's not entirely planned. I picked up two clients that paid very well this year. One's got me doing this mammoth business report. The other has me doing short news articles for their website at $100 a pop, and they typically assign me 9 or 10 of these at a time to be done in a week or two, and those really add up. The funny thing about that, besides that I like doing them, is it was supposed to originally be a temp gig, probably ending in March, but it's continued on so far. I hope it'll continue on forever, naturally, but if it doesn't, it doesn't.

Which is maybe where I'm going today.

I don't think freelancer writers should get accustomed to an always increasing income. One year you make a little more, then the next year a little more, and then more and... sort of like a regular job where, just by virtue of showing up and doing a decent job, you'll get cost of living increases and regular merit raises. But for all I know, next year I'll make less money than I did last year. I hope not, of course, but I have to be aware that like any business, income can fluctuate.

I certainly hope my income keeps going up. For that matter, I hope my income keeps going up because my novels gain an audience and the royalties and foreign rights sales etc, keep pouring in.

I can't predict where the business will come from. One thing I've figured out--and quickly--is that things change. Clients you've been working with regularly stop working with you, even if they like your work. Editors change jobs. Publications fold. Publications change their editorial focus. Publication budgets drop and they stop working with freelancers. Sometimes editors can make more money by freelancing themselves for their own publications, so they stop hiring you and start writing the articles themselves. Sometimes they're forced to do in-house writing as part of their contracts.

It's such a part of the freelancer's life that you really have to change your mindset. I freely admit that although I'm not thrilled when a market dries up, I really do just shrug and say, "Well, I'd better go find another client." With the belief that I will. And so far that's true.

The funny thing about money is that when I make more, I seem to find a way to spend it without any obvious increase in luxuries. There's a minimum amount of money I want to see in our savings account. I want to be able to shove money quarterly into my retirement account.

Aside from that, well, pay the bills and take vacations and, gee, we could use a new couch, and we need to replace our kitchen floor...

There are two ways of thinking about freelancing or running your own business. And this applies to novelists, too, because I know many of you who read this are aiming at making a living from writing fiction.

One is, there's no security in this, so I'd better have a backup in case things go to hell.

Two, your security is your skill and ability, and that, at least, can't be taken from you.

I'll let you figure out which one I think you should have to be a happy freelance writer.

Oh, and one more thought about writing and money. Many writers--just like the rest of the population apparently--don't put much value on professional writing. I suspect many people I used to work with are surprised to find that I'm making a go of it. They don't believe there's any money in writing. I'm sure they'd be shocked to find that I made the same amount of money last year that I did working at the hospital and this year I'm far exceeding what I'd ever have made working in cytogenetics. My sister was surprised, even shocked, when I told her how much one of my regular clients paid me. It never occurred to her that someone might pay $1 a word.

My point is, do you think what you do has value? Then put a value on it. Do you think that you bring skill and talent and craft to what you do? Skill and talent and craft for writing the way a chef has for cooking or an engineer has for designing or a lawyer has for the law? Are you doing something better that somebody else down the road can't do? Then put a value on it!

Best,
Mark Terry