Beating Words into Plowshares

[shanmonster]

I don't make very much as a writer. I'm incredibly lucky that I don't have to rely on these paltry earnings to stay alive. Much of my payment comes to me through PayPal. PayPal is not a bank. Money sitting in there can vanish for arbitrary reasons. And since I don't have my PayPal account attached to a bank account, that means I have to use it right away.

I've been sending that money off to folks in dire situations. My writing literally helps feed starving people. It's wholly unfair that the greatest harms are caused by the richest people in the world. It's wholly unfair that the poorest of us are left taking care of one another.

My poem "The Selkie" just sold. It will be published in Gwyllion Magazine this spring. The tiny bit of money made from it may have helped keep a starving family in Gaza alive for another day.

In less distressing news, my reading on Friday went over very well. Fifty people showed up and heard my story "The Last Trench." It went over very well. The next day, its publisher, Horns and Rattle Press, told me that they've nominated it as one of the best speculative eco-fiction stories of the year.

A recording of my reading will be going up on the Strong Women Strange World's YouTube channel in a week or so.

I have another reading coming up. I've graduated from GrubStreet's Novel Immersive for LGBTQ+ Writers, and we will be reading from our works on Tuesday, March 18 at 6:00 pm Eastern time. Won't you come check us out? I'm reading a chapter from The Everwhen: a scene featuring Enki, a mergoat fertility god who creates rivers via ejaculation. It's a funny scene, and topical. You can register here.

Comments

[dark_phoenix54]

I think it's marvelous that you're able to use your writing money for charitable things. And it enrages me how a fraction of some people's wealth (looking your way, Elon Musk our new emperor) would eliminate homelessness, but they won't even vote for other people's taxes to be put to good use.

[valkryor]

Someone noted that the saddest part of Alcott's Little Women is the scene where Jo gets a story published and is paid $100 in 1868 because NOTHING HAS CHANGED. Writers are still being paid peanuts.