I received a schedule change notice from Delta regarding my flights. I can’t tell a difference in my flight info from when they changed it last time, except that it’s still a crappy three connection flight. There’s something to be said for paying a bit more for direct flights. It’s a universal truth that the poor will do anything to save money. Since I am, for all intents and purposes, “the poor”, the rule applies. It’s all good, though, because I’m building to something a little less intense than bankruptcy. Maybe a new job selling magazines or making widgets. Though I’m not totally opposed to the nine-to-five solution if it comes down to it, I’d really rather maintain my current working schedule that freelancing enables me to have. I realized the other day that I have quite a voluminous output in terms of creative projects (writing, filmmaking, the blog, etc). That doesn’t happen in between my working hours. More like the other way around, for the most part. Which totally explains my financial state.
What I need is a sponsor. A patron. Someone who will pay for me to play in my own backyard. In other words, a sucker. If only there was some way I could sell my blog writings to a publisher who would find in it some kind of cultural piquancy that resonated with readers. Alas, I’m no barometer of what sells and what doesn’t. Makes me rather a liability in my own craft, ironically. The stuff I love to write seems relegated to the edges of the market, rather than the center. Hence the name of the blog. That’s one thing I did foresee. That, and the death of Tamagotchis. Rumours of their return are greatly exaggerated, and that, my friends, is no small thing to celebrate.
Moving on,* I can’t help but think that someone with moderate writing abilities is bound to suffer the pangs of what I like to call “There’s Too Many Of Them Out There” syndrome, also known as “100/50/3″. It’s when one views the girth and depth of the market and realizes…there are tons of writers out there, so many, in fact, that the market has no room for all of them. 100% of them are trying to publish. 50% of them are better than you. 3% will actually make it. Whilst I just made up those numbers for illustration, it is no secret that most writers, even writers of talent, don’t “make it”.
You can’t ignore the numbers and facts, and they’re the kind of numbers that make me wish I had tried harder at math when I was in school. As a writer, one must be prepared to eke out a subtle and humble existence, without hope of achieving the heights to which one aspires. Getting and keeping readers’ attentions in this day and age is tough enough. To do so consistently, and without losing your self-respect, is damn near impossible (see King, Steven). So am I sometimes worried that I’m going to end up working an office to supplement my *laugh* income? The thought’s crossed my mind.
God forbid it come to that.
* I’m trying out this new segue phrase, after Piper pointed out I use “At any rate” to excess.
UPDATE: Then again, maybe I don’t have it so bad. As Josh says, it’s snakes on a plane.