Sometimes it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that you should get paid for writing. First let me make it clear that I’m not saying you shouldn’t get paid for writing – I’m just saying that, as writers, we shouldn’t start to think that payment is why we write.
As a college student, I’ve done a lot of work for free, and it always seems like the hardest work is what you get paid the least for. I’ve interned at big companies, ghost-written blog posts, and edited or even rewritten articles for little-to-no recognition. But I have clips, and references, and most importantly, experience. And I’ve worked my way up to bylines and small checks, but I know that those things are in no way guaranteed.
Money is important, yes, but it’s not everything. And since I know myself, I know that I’m not happy when I’m writing on a regular basis. I know that I need to keep writing – stories, blogs, anything – to be the person I truly want to be. And this is because no amount of money can equal happiness. Even if I’m tired because I had to stay up late to get that story out, I know that it was worth it.
I write because I need to, and any payment is just a bonus.