Work: Paying Authors?

I’ve added a page called “Writings” which is where I will link out anything I publish. I might try to shift all my short stories and such that I’ve posted on my blog somehow, but I’m not sure how I want to do that yet.

I say something important there. Ironically, right after I wrote up this page, I attended a work-centric call with an “expert” in the field who on almost every slide of his presentation showed his book off. Told us over and over “you can go to Amazon and buy my book for more detail on this” (granted, he was covering a topic in an hour which he did write an entire book on). On my Writings page, I tell people that if they can’t afford (or just don’t want to pay for) my works, all they have to do is ask and I will send it to them.

I think authors should get paid. I think it is a massive boon when creatives (which includes any artistic expression) can support themselves. You know, I like eating. I bet other creative people like things like clothes and homes and food… maybe an occassional vacation. All things that take money.

With that said, I also (in complete contridiction) never, ever want knowledge trapped behind a paywall. Knowledge is too precious for a dollar’s price.

Fiction isn’t necessarily knowledge. I do think it can be. Fiction is valuable because it lets us into others’ minds and souls. It can be a form of self-reflection, or an exploration of emotion, or just understanding of another’s perspective and all of those are worth more than any amount of money I could name.

The publishing industry has, in my humble opinion, been a mess. I think it’s true of many artistic expressions, but I know books best. Maybe this will change in future years. I certainly hope it gets better and the way people make a living on writing makes sense again.

Instead of trying to find any kind of compromise on my value that knowledge should be available versus writers deserve to get paid… I am just setting my line down. Ask and you can read. Period.