Write Good or Die

arise. It sounds tricky, and it is. It makes me tired just thinking about it and very glad my job is mostly to write the book and chat with readers like you. Being with readers is high on my list of favorite things to do.
    By the time The Book of Spies is in your hands, hundreds of people have worked on it in various capacities. And that's why the nine months will evaporate for the publisher. For you and me, it can seem an eternity.

    Gayle Lynds— http://www.gaylelynds.com
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28. GET IT IN WRITING
    By Elizabeth Massie
    http://www.elizabethmassie.com

    We’re writers. We work with words. Words are our tools, along with our imaginations, out knowledge of the craft, our reference books, and our pens, papers, and computers. You’d think that because words are so important to us, we’d be sure that not only did we work with words but also that words worked for us.
    You think by now, after 25 years in the writing biz, I’d know better.
    When I consider contributing a story to an anthology, one of the first questions I have, besides what is the word length limit, when would it be due, and what other guidelines might be in place, is “What does this pay?” That’s not being mercenary, it’s dealing with business.
    Now, I understand that some brand-new writers aren’t as concerned about what a publisher pays as much as they hope their work will be deemed publishable.
    That’s understandable. My first two years “breaking into the biz” had me sell stories for contributors’ copies or 1/4 cents a word at times. I was just thrilled to see my name, and my words, in print. Now this isn’t to say I didn’t want more money for my efforts, but I didn’t avoid a magazine (some were, almost literally, “rags”) because the pay sucked. However, I always knew what I was getting into when I submitted. It was there in writing, in the guidelines. Nowadays, I not only want to know what the pay is going to be, I have to know what the pay is going to be. I need to know how much is coming in when. I need to know that the bills will be paid, I can put gas in the car, eat, and go to conventions.
    Now, a public library isn’t a publisher. A public library is our friend, full of books we can’t afford to buy or have no room for in our homes, a place where we can go to research, can relax with a magazine, and pick up some good reads. I’m all for supporting the library.
    Last spring, I got asked to be the keynote speaker at our public library’s annual “Friends of the Library” dinner. Cool, sounds like fun. A chance to chat to people who love books, to do a little promotion myself. To talk about the craft of writing. And, the guy told me on the phone when he invited me, “There is a $100 honorarium.” Not a windfall but a nice offer, and I’m always calculating how each bit of income will be used for the aforementioned bills, gas, etc. (Cue little toy cash register: cha-ching!)
    So I prepare my talk. I focus on my historical fiction. I bring props from different time periods to add some nice visuals. The talk runs about 45 minutes. I even do a sample activity with the group to show how ideas are generated. Everyone has a good time and say so after the talk. Then the president of the Friends of the Library gives me a card and a medium-sized, nicely wrapped box.
    I go home and open the box. Inside is a lovely hand-carved wooden bowl from the local Artisan Shop. Nice, an extra goodie! Then I open the card. Inside is a note saying “Thanks for being our speaker!” and signed by all the FOL members. Hey…wait a minute. Where’s my check?
    Maybe they plan on mailing it, I think. I wait a week. No check. I send a polite e-mail to the FOL president noting that the bowl was lovely, thank you for the gift, but the check wasn’t in the card. Was it going to be mailed at the end of the month, perhaps?
    I get an e-mail back almost immediately, that tells me, “The bowl was the gift we selected for you. It is worth approximately $100. We do hope you enjoy it.”
    WHAT???
    I calm myself, get a Pepsi, pace around thinking this through, and then compose another polite e-mail: “ The bowl is lovely. However, it would have been good to know ahead of time that it would be a gift instead of the cash. As a full-time freelance writer, I keep track each month as to what events I have scheduled and what income will be generated from each. Not that I'm trying to sound mercenary, but it just wasn't clear from your invitation that