--- In
rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com, "Dave Zeltserman"
<dz@...> wrote:
> Being a bit of a smart aleck, I'd like to ask some
of the nonwriters
> here to guess what the above magazines would pay for
a longish story
> (say 6000 words). I think the answer might be a bit
shocking,
> especially since there was a time during the early
pulps when writers
> could sustain themselves with short
stories.
>
I would guess $500 tops. A guy who writes good advertising or
marketing copy can make that in a day. Short stories (a high
art form) have not paid diddly for decades. And with 5,000
copies sold being considered a success, I can understand why
so many writers consider their writing as a mere supplement
to their other activities, not viceversa. And it's not just
the US. In Spain, for example, where a huge number of books
are published each year, sales tend to be pitiful
(5,000 sold is a success, same benchmark!). It's sad to see
great books, highly acclaimed by the critics, and so few
people read them... In some cases it is the translations that
allow the writer to make some money.
Best,
mrt
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