A couple of days ago someone posted a blog on MyT in which it was claimed that only fools write without being paid. As a compulsive writer for many years, I had to confess to foolery. I was firsts published in 1959, an article in ‘The Miner’, but it was in the seventies that I really caught the bug. From 1976 I had about three articles a year published in various management and academic journals, for the next twenty-odd years. After retirement, I turned my hand to journalism and fiction, short stories mainly. Over all those years I believe I received no more than two, small cheques (The journalism apart). Foolish? Well, that is a matter of opinion, but the blog set me thinking in broader terms.
Throughout my career I cannot remember ever being motivated by money. What drove me was a sense of achievement, and new challenges. I tended to change employers as soon as my job became simply routine. I worked in management and organisational development, establishing the policy and framework, and operating it for a while once in place, but moving on fairly quickly.
My reward now is not financial, although I was not impoverished, but in memories of things done and people worked with. A few months ago I received an e-mail from someone I had not seen for twenty-five years. A mutual acquaintance gave her my address. In the e-mail, she said: “…I can still remember parts of the training course you ran at ——-, decades ago. You were instrumental in enabling me to have enough confidence to have a career that has taken me all over the place”. “The impressions and impact you made led me onto being a Local Government Chief Officer, then going into freelance consultancy….” I have received similar remarks from a man whom I influenced in the same period. They are rewards that I value more than a few extra quid on my pension.
In this respect, I don’t believe that I am at all unusual. Most people, in my experience are motivated principally by non-financial rewards. Or am I out of date?
Boadicea's Chariot 
There are three reasons people write; money, fame, or pleasure, possibly a combination of all three. I always wished I could throw a book together, even tried a couple of times, but could never get going somehow. I’d have repeated returns to what I’d started, then gave up.
Whilst I admire people who can, and do write, I don’t hold with celebs writing their biographies at 25 years old. I can only assume it’s for fame, or continued fame through insecurity.
Hello, Val. Publishing firms today are interested in ‘best sellesr’ only, and a celebs name on the cover sells books (sometimes).
“A couple of days ago someone posted a blog on MyT in which it was claimed that only fools write without being paid.”
Who said that?
I am a fool.
“Recognition” definitely involves more than money.
Tom, I “sell” rights to use my photographs for contributions by the applicant to favourite charities, and in the case of a new coffee bar in Glasgow which wanted to use one of my images on their website, I charged them a dozen double expressos! I get a far greater kick out of wandering in for my free coffee (when inevitably I wind up buying a meal to go with it!) that than having someone send me a cheque…
Tom, I am old enough in years yet new enough to ‘creative writing’ still to be childishly excited by each and any positive comment I might receive on The Chariot in response to my literary scrabbling. The thought of financial reward in the real world remains a distant dream, so you must mark me down as a fool too.
OZ
Nice one Tom
If I had 5c from everyone who followed advice that I’d given over the years I’d be a wealthy man.
I couldn’t care less, I walked into two different bars today (with a guest) and wasn’t allowed to buy a drink in either, that’s me, been there done that if I can help why not?
It delights me to know that I am not the only ‘fool’ around here. Thanks, everyone.
No you’re not alone. Some many years ago I gave up ‘work’ to complete three volumes of work that I researched for my Ph.D. It cost a fortune in fares to the UK and hours in the NLA. I think I have, to date, received the princely sum of around £250 in royalties! A labour of love or foolishness? Well I enjoyed doing it, and it has given me sense of acheivement. 🙂
Nice one Tom,
I detest the relentless pursuit of profit which seems to have infested every aspect of modern life. The question used to be “How can I help?” now it is “What’s it worth?”.
I sell my pens it’s true, but I work out the price based on the cost of the raw materials and them add my hourly rate for making it. I pay myself 50p per hour. 🙂 The only reason I sell them at all is so I can afford to buy more raw materials.
To quote the great Mr Don Hendley in his most excellent “Month of Sundays” ballad:
“Folks these days just don’t do nothin’, simply for the love of it.”
Cash is a necessary evil to me, I much prefer to barter for what I can. A far more civilised and social means of getting by.
Oops forgot the bottom line.
I would say to the poster on MyT, that while I am happy to be a fool in their eyes, they are little more than greedy and selfish. Carried along by the very addiction to wealth which has recently brought our nation to its knees. I know which one I would rather be.
Thank you for that. I for one appreciate it and would indeed be prepared to pay for it. 🙂
I blog for the Glory.
OMG,
And glory you shall receive chum. All hail OMG Blog God!
Bearsy,
I appreciate your efforts more than you imagine. I am trying to set up a WordPress site on my domain. They say it’s easy, but I have come to realise, it just isn’t. Kudos to the Bear.
I blog to win friends and influence people.
Sipu, how’s it going, dya think? 🙂
No so good Janus, but I’m working on it, I’m working on it.
I watched The Apprentice last night.
I was dumbstruck by the attitude of the applicants. Each one of them had the chance to sum themselves up, CV stylee and each one was so far up themselves they had nearly disappeared.
“I will stop at nothing to get what I want.” etc.
One described himself as an “Unemployed Head of Finance”. Forgive my small furry arse but surely he is just “Unemployed”.
It seemed perfectly natural and right to each of them that the only point of existence, their motivation was making as much money as possible and damn the customer.
Did we learn nothing from the economic crisis?