Very few writers believe they can earn a living wage from their books. So deeply ingrained is the belief that the artistic life is a life of poverty, that even the writers who believe they can eek out a moderate income rarely voice such opinions.
Most writers won’t even talk about money. In fact, there’s an idea that to earn money is to sell out; that poverty is somehow a sign of true talent. For years, Michelangelo was considered the epitome of the starving artist. Now of course, we know that he amassed the modern day equivalent of $47,000,000 for his work.
When we buy into the idea that we won’t earn any money from our books, then we won’t earn any money from our books. Wouldn’t it be better to believe that we can prosper?
