Paying for it or getting it for free

[Guy_Incognito]

I even get some of this from my own wife, who was with me as I killed myself in college and then some more during my career. For some reason it's difficult for people outside of the industry to understand that no matter how seasoned you are as a writer, there's still often a ton of work, mental strength and real effort that goes into any worthwhile piece of writing. For those seasons, I wouldn't do it for free, either.

How much do you charge your wife? Is there a price for shopping lists?

 

[CD Boogie]

Nope, but it separates the wheat from the chaff. I don't want to do this stuff, which is why I put such a high price on it.

Believe me, I understand it. Just in the last week alone, I've edited and largely re-written a death notice about an acquaintance who died suddenly; helped place a business story about a friend's gym that has just opened, then when the friend was unhappy with the story, ghost wrote the appeal to the writer on my friend's behalf that said, in essence, "thanks for the great story, was hoping you could also list the gym's address and embed a link so people could sign up," which ultimately happened; and gave advice on my nephew's college essay, which I will inevitably soon be editing or rewriting completely. For all this, I got paid nothing. If I were hard up for cash, I might have turned it down or wanted some compensation. All depends on the circumstances.

 

[Tweener]

How much do you charge your wife? Is there a price for shopping lists?

Ha. She doesn't ask me to write anything, just doesn't quite understand, after all these years, that I don't just plop down in front of a computer and type up pure gold in 15 minutes. There's this notion from my family that because I studied writing at a good school and have years of experience as a professional it's all so super easy now. Sometimes it is, but there's often still real time and work involved.

 

[Doc Holliday]

Ha. She doesn't ask me to write anything, just doesn't quite understand, after all these years, that I don't just plop down in front of a computer and type up pure gold in 15 minutes. There's this notion from my family that because I studied writing at a good school and have years of experience as a professional it's all so super easy now. Sometimes it is, but there's often still real time and work involved.

It's a compliment. They must believe you're pretty damn good to have such confidence in you.

 

[swingline]

The best conversations are when you tell someone you're a writer, and they come back with something like, *Oh, I'm a writer, too. I just love to write. My writing always gets tons of likes on Facebook.*

Writing is hard. Good writing is harder.

 

[Tweener]

It's a compliment. They must believe you're pretty damn good to have such confidence in you.

Fair enough. I'll keep that in mind next time.