Essays

Gram Chart taught English in the public schools for many years, and

upon retiring he became especially interested in mini-essays like the

one below, for which he received no compensation.

Why I Don’t Write for Money

I don=t write for money. Samuel Johnson wrote only for money and thought

that anyone who didn=t was a fool. I confess to being a fool, for this and a

variety of other reasons, but I don=t write for money.

When editors offer me money for my work, of course, I take it. It doesn=t

happen all that often, and it=s rarely a significant amount. I couldn=t live above

the poverty level from my earnings as a writer. Money has nothing to do with

why or what I write.

I teach for money. I don=t get rich, but I live comfortably and exercise

considerable control over my working life, which is the very best one can hope

for when hiring out to others. Yet as much as I love to teach, I wouldn=t think of

doing it without compensation. Even in the best of teaching assignments, one

has to deal with enough vexation to make compensation imperative.

I write for the joy of making something out of nothing and making it in a way

that no one else can. I love the process of creation--the weeks or months of

mental pre-writing, the inevitable war with rough drafts, and the endless tinkering

that transforms the early drafts into polished creatures, however flawed. Nothing

about this process would be improved by money; and money might make it seem

all too much like work.

Peddling one=s wares to editors is an aspect of the writing business that I find

particularly trying. It=s expensive, time-consuming, and almost always disappointing,

whether it results in publication or not. When I don=t clearly understand what something

means, I=m vexed, and I seldom know exactly why I have been rejected or accepted.

When I do publish a piece, I seldom get any feedback from readers and thus find it

difficult to understand how publishing differs from not publishing in terms of knowing

what readers think. And I want to know what readers think.

In contrast to publishing, I find that reading my material to a live audience can be

a singular pleasure. It offers a concrete, extraordinary opportunity to witness the

listener’s response. I can learn more about my piece than I could from any publication.

I=m next to my reader, observing every nuance of her reaction to my material, a joy that

publication almost never affords. I’ll gladly take money for this pleasure

.

© 2003 Gram Chart

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Last Updated October 20, 2005 by the Writing North staff.