If you wrote purely for financial gain and not pleasure would it be worth it?

1. 76

   ThoughtMonkeyposted 12 years ago

   If you wrote purely for financial gain and not pleasure would it be worth it?
   
   If you were purely writing for the financial gain and not for pleasure, would it be worth the effort or would your time be better served working minimum wage jobs? I write for pleasure but hubpages has an element that suggests some are here purely for financial gain. Not that I judge them in anyway for doing so. If I thought I could do well I expect I would do the same.

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2. 72

   debbie robertsposted 12 years ago

   I cannot see how people can make money from writing if they do not genuinely enjoy writing. They may have an off day now and again, but would have to enjoy it most of the time. Writing on the whole is a labour of love and I think the quality of writing would be lower for someone writing purely for financial gain than for someone who was writing because they enjoy writing.
   So to answer your question I don't think it's worth writing purely for financial gain if you do not enjoy writing.

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3. 61

   T. R. Brownposted 12 years ago

   This is an interesting question.  Most people work every day in jobs that they don't like.  Yet they continue to go in every day, do their work (wash, rinse, repeat).  So in purely pragmatic terms, I guess people could very well write only for financial gain.  That said, I think writers for the most part aren't concerned with the process of writing per se, but the joy they get from expressing their thoughts and ideas.  As a result, the best writing will generally be that of someone who is genuinely interested in expressing themselves.

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4. 68

   jdflomposted 12 years ago

   Interesting question....
   
   If I could write for a living and profit from it, I'd do it in a heartbeat and write even more often than I already do. If I wasn't interested in writing, than I probably wouldn't purposely pursue writing for financial gain, but if I fell into it and made good money -- I might.

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5. 60

   cheaptoysposted 12 years ago

   everybody has their own objectives. as long as you are happy doing what u are doing i say go for it

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6. 76

   Dog Advisorposted 12 years ago

   Oh my, my dear ThoughtMonkey, what an interesting question.  A question which may spark a new hub off of my main topic.  Look for something later about the down fall of buying a car from an independent used car dealer.  In answer to your question, I began my journey trying to make money.  It was my motivation and I believed everything that the 'experts' told me.  Let's see, how many people out there heard the same thing..."If you have 10 hours a week to devote to developing a home business you could make thousands of dollars a month!"   I had just been in a terrible car accident, totaled my car, insurance paid me a third of what I was expecting for my car...details will come in my new off subject hub to come...and I said to myself 'I have 10 hours a week!'
   
   I have always enjoyed the process of writing.  Through my years, just sitting down and letting my thoughts, fears, dreams, etc..flow through my pen and onto paper was therapeutic.  The beginning development stages of my website were a struggle.  Then another traumatic experience came my way.  My best friend of 20 years, and the love of my life for the last 3, suddenly left me for a 22 year old child.  Now, although making a little money would not upset me, I write to heal.  I let the pen and paper(yes I still first use pen and paper when research is involved) channel my emotions, hopes, and dreams into my other passion which is the adoption of dogs, or any animal that may have been discarded but has so much love to give.  I started this journey already with this knowledge.  Without my dog, Daisy, The last few months would have been unbearable.  It is amazing how your pet can become so in tune with your emotions and connect with you, cheer you up, allow you to be happy again.

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7. 76

   ThoughtMonkeyposted 12 years ago

   Thanks for all the answers, I have read them with great interest.

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