“$$$!”

Ever feel like the publishing world is just about money? I do. All the time. Every time I turn around, I’ve got another email from Writer’s Digest about some writing seminar or from a Writer’s Digest “trusted friend” that is so incredibly interested in my novels they haven’t even seen yet – “give us $$$ and we’ll make you a star!”

I’m so sick of all the dollar signs. Even traditional publishing is thinking of your career and your book in terms of how much they can make off it. Which, yeah, is understandable – they want to sell books in order to make money. They’ve got bills too, and I don’t want to know what rent is like in NYC.

But those dollar signs are why crap like 50 Shades gets published. Because they know it will sell, sell, sell.

For me, writing is about so much more than making a dollar sign. It’s about spreading that feeling of adventure a new book brings me. It’s spreading the joy. Yes, I ask for money for my completed works because I put a lot of time, money, and energy into those books. Those covers didn’t come out of the free-machine.

And on the flip side of this argument, there’s a endless wave of indie authors who want to become the next great author without putting up a dime worth of editing or cover design; they want everything to be free; they want to do nothing and get everything in return.

It’s a bit sickening. It reminds me that there’s so much greed in the world.

Are you in it for the money? Then you should probably switch to Life Insurance or Car Sales.