Jul 31 2008
Getting Paid to Do What You Love
Image from http://www.ardecfunding.com/images/plaintiff.jpg.
As I mentioned last week, I’ve been offered and have accepted a paid writing position. (By the way, today is the final day of the Community Experiment. Any results to report? Email or comment to let me know!) I’m extremely excited about this opportunity, and I absolutely cannot wait until the administrative boxes have all been checked and I can get started with the actual writing. It feels so good to know that I’ll be getting paid to do something I love!
Even though getting paid to write has been a goal of mine for YEARS, I might not have been as excited about this opportunity if it had arisen a year ago. As a matter of fact, I might have walked away from it. Why on earth, you may rightly ask, would I have been anything less than thrilled about a paid writing opportunity? What possible reason would I have had for ignoring it or turning it down?
To be perfectly honest, I probably wouldn’t have felt like I’d be earning “enough” money for it to be worth my while. Enough for what, I couldn’t tell you, but I’m fairly confident that I would have looked at the $2.50 per 1,000 clicks earning rate and said, “It’s not worth the effort.”
Not worth the effort.
If you believe in intention-manifestation, think about the kind of intention I would have been setting by saying, “Getting paid to write is not worth the effort.” I would have been sending out a giant metaphysical “None for me, thanks” to the Universe rather than accepting an opportunity, which—given the broad exposure—could lead to more (and possibly better paid) writing jobs.
On top of that, I’ve realized over the past year that, although I desperately want to make a living as a writer, writing is not about the money for me. I’d write even if no one ever paid me one red cent—as a matter of fact, I do.
Running and writing for this website has been a transformative experience. I’ve always loved writing for the sake of creative expression, but Semi-Charmed Wife has illustrated the value of writing as a community builder, a motivator (for me and, hopefully, for my readers), a learning tool, a catalyst for growth, and so much more. I truly believe that I had to develop personally to a stage where I appreciated writing for more than a potential source of income before it could actually become a source of income.
What about you? Have you overlooked or walked away from opportunities to earn money doing what you love because they were too small or didn’t pay enough? Or have you seized the day and jumped on them?
no way!
I have a monthly mag column which is a shitload (technical term) of work for ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS A MONTH.
I know.
but it’s doing what I love and in this economy the money may NEVER FOLLOW—-so why wait?
I know I have walked away from things. Right now though, if I love to do it (heck, even if I don’t love it but can stomach) I’ll do it anyway, with this economy…who knows!!
But I would write for free, I would pole dance instruct for free. Well, I’d be any type of dance instructor for free since I’m so passionate about it.
Oh, wow. You really just kind of hit me deep. I do love to write. Love. I have a good career, and I’m working on a business degree, and it takes massive talent to be a successful writer, plus luck and opportunity and connections, and I don’t have the time to really devote to it with work and school, blah, blah, blah.
Meanwhile, what do I when I’m sad? I write. What do I do when I’m happy? I write. Which do I take more pride in, my position or my writing? My writing! (It’s all mine, whereas my position has a significant impact on the business, but only as one piece of the puzzle.) When I get a case of the boring bean counters, how do I turn it around? Writing.
It works the other way too. If I got fired today, I would be scared, but not devastated. If I was told that I couldn’t ever write again, that would be devastating.
I can’t say that I want a career change, but I can say that I need to stop marginalizing my writing and where more effort might take me.
Congrats on getting a paid writing gig, it’s better than working for free, right?
i will say, I have turned down work because it didn’t pay enough, but only after a solid 10 years of progressing and knowing what I’m worth. I started out doing stuff for basically nothing (BTW I just read that Tim Gunn did the first season of Project Runway for free!). This all said, I do still do stuff for free/little pay if it’s an organization I love/am passionate about and I know my writing or speaking will help them out.
I’d have to say I agree with weightinggame on this one. Have I walked away from things, yes. However, if I feel passionately about something I am willing to give it a go no matter how little. Passion for something is something that doesn’t happen often for me, curiosity on the other hand, happens all the time. I become interested in something, try it out, and then move on because it doesn’t hold my interest beyond the initial. Writting, running, learning or anything else…those are the things I would gladly do for free (and do) because that is what I enjoy. I think with time and focus the rest will come.
~K
I can’t remember a specific example where I turned down money to do something I loved just because I didn’t think it was enough. But I know I’ve thought about moving overseas in the past, and the main reason I didn’t do so was because I didn’t know if I’d be able to find a job where I’d make enough to support myself. So that’s maybe a little bit of the same thing? Because I wasn’t brave enough to rely on chance?
Do you have a particular subject that you’re going to be writing about for this website, or is it DC-related stuff in general?
[…] open. Keep an open mind when it comes to new experiences and opportunities. As I wrote last week, no opportunity is too small when it comes to getting paid to do something you love. Be willing to try activities and events that […]