Essays and Authors

A couple months ago I had to write an essay for a writing class I was taking. I don't enjoy writing essays at all, but I was able to choose the topic so it made it a little better.

I decided to share it with you guys today. I hope you enjoy it.

Author Money

“Don't be silly!” said Mr. Jones. “You can't make a living as an author.” Mr. Jones had asked Peter the common and annoying question every senior gets asked, “What do you want to do after you graduate.” Peter answered with an uncommon career choice. “I want to be a writer,” the senior said with confidence. The adult scoffed at the young man's answer and informed him that authors don't make a living as their full time job. Now, Peter could have walked away rethinking his career path, but he had done his research. This was what he found.

First, there are hundreds of authors that are making a living by writing. But some of them aren't all traditionally published. According to authorearnings.com, there are authors that are making $50,000 to $60,000 a year. That is a pretty good living. That's not all though. There are self-published authors that are making six figures.

Second, not everyone writes novels to make money. There are people who write trade books. TV shows have several writers. People even write storylines for video games! The average earnings for a video game writer is $50,868 a year. If writing a novel isn't your thing, there is still a wide range of things to write.

Third, you don't have to be famous to be making six figures. Nathan Barry (who lives in Boise, Idaho) self-published three computer programming books in one calendar year. He has made over 200,000 dollars. You don't have to be a New York Times bestseller. You just have to know how to market your book.

In conclusion, you don't have to be published by a traditional publishing house to earn a living. Not everyone writes novels either. You don't have to be a New York Times bestselling author to make money. (It doesn't hurt though.) You just need quality work and the knowledge of how to market your book. In the end, Peter walked away from his conversation with Mr. Jones knowing that he could make his dream a reality if he worked hard enough.

Until next time,

Jonathan