Write for Nothing? Are You Crazy?I make money writing, speaking and singing. Not a ton, but it helps me buy clothes to wear to writing conferences and gas to travel to speaking engagements.
Sometimes I write for nothing. Why would I do such a thing? And why should you?
1. When we give our time and talents with no expectation of return, we’re saying “Thanks” to God for all He’s given us.
2. We gain experience when we practice our craft, whether we receive a paycheck or not.
3. Working free is a means of planting seeds for future paying jobs (see Galatians 6:7).
4. All publishing (speaking, singing, working) credits added to our resume’ count, whether we earned money for them or not.
5. We show love to others when we volunteer our services. And love is the greatest thing in the universe.
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Even if you regularly receive pay for your work, have you also found great rewards in offering your talents as a gift or favor?
Jeanette Levellie is a prolific writer, speaker, nutty preacher’s wife, and humor columnist from Paris (Illinois). She is a client of Diana Flegal, and is currently working on her third book. You can find mirthful musings at www.jeanettlevellie.com
6 comments:
AMEN! Recently, someone asked me why I write. I told them I love to write and besides, GOD told me to write! They said, "what about the money." I told them I let GOD worry about that part. They left with a strange look on their face, but it was the truth. I am thankful HE has called me to write and even more thankful HE has allowed me the privilege to write about HIM.
Hugs,
andrea
I believe in the law of sowing and reaping, and I think writing this way has its place in it. Thanks, Jen! :)
Thank you, Andrea and Karen. I've noticed that when I put my gifts in the Lord's hands, He opens doors to paying opportunities for me. It's happened too many times to be coincidence! You cannot outgive the greatest giver of history.
Luke 10:7 tells us that "the laborer is worthy of his hire," so I think it only right that people pay for the books they read, but truth be told, I've never written for money. Yeah, I sell books and make enough money at it to give Uncle Sam a little extra money every April, but I write as a means of expression. I think those in writing circles spend too much time worried about money and lose sight of what is important. But I think it is true that if someone offered me a lot of money to write something that no one would read I would turn it down, but I would gladly write something for nothing if I knew it would change someone's life.
Timothy: I don't ALWAYS write for no pay; I just don't make money the object of my writing. You make some good points here, and I agree that we can't work all the time for nothing, since we pay the same prices for gas, food and shelter that everyone else pays.
Happy Writing!
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