writing and finance

[42]

A little late, but Scalzi posted a very good article about writing and finance earlier this week. It's much better advice than what I hear from a lot of author and would-be authors, IMO.

http://scalzi.com/whatever/?p=362

Just posting here for dicussion.

[The Lost One]

I really like the advice about getting married. Seriously, having a good spouse is worth a whole lot more than single people think. I read a few articles that says a good marriage is worth an extra $100,000-160,000 a year. Even if this money is paid out in terms of "utility", I found that because of my wife, many economic hardships were much more managable, even when neither of us had a real job.

Bad marriages are finacially devistating, particularly if it ends in divorce, but people have a lot more control over whether their marriage will be good or bad than they realize. I think this is what the article was getting to in discussing the "heavy metal bassists." It shouldn't take a genious to realize that in marriage, if you don't put a whole lot into it (which includes helping out with the finances), you will never get a whole lot out of it.

I also liked the short advice of taxes. Self-employment taxes can be a killer, although they can be mitigated through forming an S Corporation (assuming that a writer actually makes enough from writing to justify incorporating).

One final note, I liked how it pointed out that many writers would do financially better if they wrote for more then just one genre.  His slight at sci-fi writers who only look that the sci-fi market was well played.

[stacer]

Seriously, having a good spouse is worth a whole lot more than single people think.

Huh?

I think most of us single people probably do know exactly how much that is worth. We just don't happen to have one.

[The Lost One]

Oh, if most single people understood exactly how much marriage is worth, there would be fewer single people.

Now I will grant that many single women understand how much marriage is worth, it is single men that seem to not grasp the concept.  Particularly single male social workers living in Orem, UT.

[42]

Oh, if most single people understood exactly how much marriage is worth, there would be fewer single people.

Now I will grant that many single women understand how much marriage is worth, it is single men that seem to not grasp the concept.  Particularly single male social workers living in Orem, UT.

Now you're just being rude.

[The Lost One]

I can picture you rolling your eyes now, 42. I just had to get a jab in when it was presented. Sorry.

[White]

wow, yes that's an interesting and informative article indeed, thanks! 

which gave me an idea of course (apart from broadcasting to suitors...)

... perhaps we should start a thread of "How best to Mooch off other people"
or you know, just a simple mooching 101

I mean, it seems like it might be a valuable thread... 

[42]

As far as mooching goes, I think college is a great place for aspiring authors to get started. You can mooch off the government (pell grants, student loans, etc.), at least for a few years. Just don't pick a difficult major (avoid things like, pre-med, engineering, fine art, music, theater, dance, nursing, social work, education, and several business degrees) so you still have time to write (also avoid difficult class whenever possible). I figure by the time you graduate you need to have written at least 6 novels and a dozen or so short stories. You latest novel should be publishible and you probably should have published one of the short stories already.

Then when you graduate, you get a low stress-job that allows you to keep writing, but pays the bills. (Examples low-stress: accountant, computer programmer, hotel night auditor, tech-writer, etc. Examples high-stress: teacher, manager, executive, personal assistant, social worker, paralegal, nurse, rescue worker, etc.) You can also continue to mooch off the government if you go to grad. school or become disabled (I recommend the former rather than the latter). Eventually, if you continue to write, you should improve as a writer and you should continue to publish more until eventually you can make enough money to write full-time.

If you are just really strapped for cash and not a student, you can mooch for a little while from the government through TANF (welfare). However, you need be supporting kids, plus the government does expect you to get a real job eventually. (not recommended)

Also, if what you write may help the community or academia somehow, you could look at getting a government grant to help feed you.

And don't forget about plasma donations.

[White]

Oh, yes, University's *great* for mooching!

I mean, I know at my uni, the international student office, etc. always keeps a steady supply of free pens filled up in a big bowl on the desk - so after discovering that last year I now can mooch a lifetime supply of pens from the university which will certainly help with keeping the writing expenses down.

Plus, as I live in australia the Student Guild day is coming up (as it is orientation week this week) so that will also be a source of much more variety of free stuff, plus there are the semesterly career fairs where mining companies try and win over all the engineering students - but sadly can never seem to learn *not* to set up in front of the Built Environment Art & Design building, so of course all the design students always steal all the free frisbees, stress balls, candy, pens and highlighters for our own nefarious purposes. 

Last year I got a fun triangular highlighter with green, pink and yellow highlighting capability. I'm very proud of it. 

And then of course there's all the student magazines (at our uni we also get a small supply of the other 2 bugs uni's mags) which of course provided quality entertainment, the occasional word search, crossword, or other lecture distraction and of course can also be used as note books by jotting things down in the margins.

Though admittedly most of my mooching tends to occur from forgetting things when I've forgotten everything for an 8am class.


On another note, unfortunately blood donation in Australia only earns orange juice and a cookie or whatever - so on the plus side you don't get hobo blood, but on the downside I'd say mooching for O.J. is probably not worth the effort of lounging around for 11 minutes.