A few writers have been getting into a tangle about how writers should
generate income in this new fluid world of publishing. It started with
a quasi-gentlemanly spat between David Hewson and Cory Doctorow. Hewson
launched with this blog post to which Doctorow took to Twitter here to
respond. Others chimed in--most defending Doctorow. I have to admit,
the conversations and comments first baffled me, occasionally irritated
me and finally just saddened me when I realized what the conversation
was really about: most writers get paid crap.

Hewson and Doctorow discussing what path to success works best is a bit
like Bruce Springsteen and Lady Gaga arguing over the way to run a
music career. One cultivated his audience over time. The author made a
nice big splash. They both ended up behind desks with enough to live
off their writing. Lost in their discussion is that both their
positions beg the question of publishing success: "I am successful
because I am successful." That's not a luxury 90% of writers can argue
from.

Let me address this whole "multi-stream income" issue. It sounds hip
and sexy and new. It speaks to innovation and bold ventures. It's none
of those things. It is, quite frankly, a tarted-up way of saying you
freelance or have a day job and write on the side. That's it. Nothing
new. It's new economy jargon applied to the same old realities.

Some will say I'm missing the point of the discussion, that juggling
multiple jobs is a necessity if you want to write. But, I would posit
that isn't the real point. The point is writing isn't a live-on career
for most people--not because they don't want it to be, but because it
simply doesn't pay enough. It hasn't since its inception as a career
choice and all this "multi-stream" talk is not about a writing career
at all. It's about paying the bills any way you can. If, in fact, you
have to work other jobs and those other jobs make up more than half
your income, you do not have a writing career. You have a vocation that
occasionally pays you some money to redo your kitchen.

Calling it "multi-stream income" may sound sophisticated, but I can't
help but feel it's snake-oil talk. You're not struggling to make ends
meet because you work in an exploitative industry that doesn't value
its main source of material--you're multi-streaming your income!
Please, spare me the smoke and mirrors.