Writing careers have a reputation for being financially unstable. Many new writers are told to expect not to make money (perhaps ever) from their work - the old nugget “don’t quit your day job” is a mantra. The recent #publishingpaidme Twitter flurry, while it may have started to highlight racial inequalities in payment, also had a side bar for Australian writers: expect to be paid a lot less here.

This reality of writing pay (I personally feel) often gets used to put aspiring writers down / in ...