image from tallchicktales.files.wordpress.comI suggested an online kids' magazine.
Her response: "But they don't pay, do they?"
My fingers stopped dead in their tracks. Pay? Well, no, but...but...
But if they publish it, you'll see your name in print. You'll be able to blog about your article just like this. You'll have clips to send, credits to mention. In short, lots of bragging to do. Seeing my name in print means everything to me.
But not, apparently, to several people in my (I sooo love you guys) phenomenal critique group. The crux of the issue seems to be this:
If you don't get paid for a piece of writing, is it still a validation of you as a writer?
If you don't get paid for a piece, does it demean the piece itself?
Few magazines can pay big bucks for articles or stories. Outside the Highlights / Bug Mags market, the potential payment lies in double digits. Is $10 that much different than $0?
What are your thoughts? What makes you feel validated as a writer?
I think there are a lot of ways to get validation aside from money. I got into the Rutgers writing conference with a sample PB manuscript. For me, that acceptance was validation for that piece of writing.
ReplyDeleteI think it depends more on how selective a magazine is than whether to not it pays.
I feel validated as a writer when my work is read. =]
ReplyDeleteIf I cared about getting paid for what I wrote, I wouldn't spend time blogging. I agree with L.T., being read and appreciated is what counts.
ReplyDeleteHeck yeah, bring on the publishing credit. :-) The more proof I have that someone besides my mother likes my writing, the better my chances are of publishing something that WILL make money.
ReplyDeleteI think it's funny that there are writers that are willing pay thousands of dollars to be "published", and writers who'd rather not be published if they won't get paid.
I'm sure there's a happy medium somewhere in there... :-)
Corey -- that's awesome about Rutgers! I've heard that's very competitive! :)
ReplyDeletePaul & LT, I would have said I needed publication to feel validated, but I do get a lot of satisfaction from my 31 blog readers. I hadn't considered that before.
Miriam--you just highlighted both ends of the spectrum. And I think most of us writers fall somewhere in the middle.
When someone whose opinion I respect admires my writing, I feel validated. When I am able to have something I've written included in a publication, for payment or not, where a larger group of readers will have the opportunity to read (and hopefully like) what I've written, that sense of validation grows. When a publication (or contest judge) feels my writing worth paying for, I feel an even greater validation. I've worked at jobs I haven't particularly liked since I was 11 years old. To be actually paid for something I truly enjoy doing is like the happy ending to a fairy tale for me. It's not the only way I feel validated, but it sure feels good.
ReplyDeleteI have to say publication even non-paying is validation my writing is out there for the world to read and I'm a true writer. But of course, getting paid for it is the icing on the cake. I started out with a non-paying market and it has opened several doors for me.
ReplyDeleteKeep writing and best wishes for your continued success,
Donna