SECTION TWO
lesson for my students, it changed my view of the busi-
ness. I’ve updated some of the numbers here.
The U.S. Census Bureau says that in 2017, median in-
dividual annual income in the U.S. was about $46,000.
To make the math easy, let’s bump it to $50,000, and
figure we’re worth it.
Year in and year out, my schedule C (Profit
or Loss from Business or Profession) shows
my profit at about one-half of my sales,
after deducting the expenses of running my
business and producing stories. (I keep clean
books, and passed a four-hour IRS audit-
from-hell.)
If my net income target is $50,000, that means selling
$100,000 worth of work. Five days a week, 50 weeks
a year. That’s 250 work days, and each needs $400 in
sales. Plan, research, travel, draft, refine, sell, file and
collect. Do it again tomorrow, and the next day. Not all
those steps on a single article in a single day, of course,
but at year’s end, have done it all.
Taking on a $200 magazine story? If you’re
aiming to net $50,000 a year, you’d better
be able to write it and another today -- and
do it again tomorrow, and the day after. It
could take four or more newspaper stories
per day to hit the mark.
Maybe you can do it. I can’t.
Frankly, I adjusted my expectations, lowering my in-
come aim in exchange for a lifestyle I love.
I’m fairly skeptical of far-flung adventures. I can
almost always sell more stories – and inevitably net
more money -- by staying home.
Yes, I do take some trips because they sound
like fun, and take on a few g igs below my
self-assig ned hourly rate just because they
appeal to me. Some for free, even -- like this
one.
I’ve also found some other sources of writing work for
which I bill an hourly amount, which is very comfort-
able
And to be frank, my energy and interest levels are de-
clining gracefully, in an arc similar to that of the print
media industry.
But a funny thing happened as I turned
down some work that didn’t clear the bar:
My overall sales didn’t sag much. Instead,
I’ve found myself more refreshed, better able
to propose, undertake and complete my ‘good
work,’ and maybe even explore some new
areas for sales.
Larry Kirwan, founder of the recently disbanded Celtic
rock band Black 47, was asked what advice he would
offer someone aiming to get into the music business.
“The very first thing is find a trade or a job that will
pay you $300 a day,” said the New Yorker. “Then, use
whatever time you have left in the day and weekends to
work on music.”
That’s probably not bad advice for a writer, either.
At the same time, I’m no longer bot-
tom-feeding. I’ve established reasonable
income standards, a daily production num-
ber, and I honor it as best I can. I plot a
proposed project against that number and, if
it doesn’t measure up, I take a nap, play the
tuba, or go fishing.
Otherwise, fulltime or part-time, set your income goal.
Double it for a sales target. Divide it by days or hours,
and test projects against it. Turn down bad assign-
ments. And get to work.
HORIZONS | 15