I was thinking about the writers strike when I went to a writers conference this past weekend.  According to Saturday Night Live’s weekend update, the average pay for a regularly employed writers guild member is about $200K a year…

Now, unlike most authors, I would rather watch a good movie or tv show than read a book. AND in my mind the Rod Serling’s and Carl Reiner’s of the non-print-writers-world deserve that kind of money.  Of course, except for maybe Joss Whedon-ites(Buffy), Amy Sherman-Palladino-ans (Gillmore Girls), and Aaron Sorkin-ians (Studio 60)  I’m not sure anyone out there today is worth $200K a year.  

On the other hand maybe if the studios had paid for the aforementioned quality, these folks would still be working and I would have something to watch.

With this as back drop, I walked in to “New Trends in publishing” at the local writers conference.  There I learned that a woman who had commercially published 3 books in the last 2 years, got her first royalty check and realized she’d have to go out and find a regular job.  Another successful author flat out told the audience, “don’t quit your day job”.  Another warned of the perils of contracts that sign away the rights to YOUR story.

Apparently, IF you want to make a living at this craft, you can either try to become one of the hundred or so regularly employed non-print writers OR one of the hundred or so aggressively marketed Authors deemed worthy by commerical publishing.

OR maybe, we can grab some New Media tools and eliminate all the middle men and women who play a lesser role in crafting and presenting our stories to those who yearn for something thoughtful, compelling, and original.