You Might Get a Kick Out of This - Or Learn Something

I recently was talking to a group of people and explaining how I make money from writing.

I told them about my blog and a couple of my websites, my books and my ebooks.

They were full of questions about how much money I make and how much money it's possible to make, what brings me the most income, etc.

I was a bit put off that the questions were all about money and not about writing.

Not once was I asked about what I wrote or how I write.

Then one person said something that made me realise that I was wasting my time and that he was wasting his life.

What he said was, "What's the point of earning a lot of money anyway when you have to pay nearly half of it to the government?"

He was right about high tax percentages. The more you earn here in good ol' Australia, the more you pay in taxes and it does indeed increase up to nearly 50%.

But this question (and all the others) were being asked by people who were not making ANY money at all. That's why they wanted to know how to make money as a writer.

And yet, despite their only income coming from welfare payments, they were worried that if they earned around $200K or more, they'd have to start paying high taxes.

Seriously? That was the big issue for them?

I told them that until they were earning those high amounts of income that they didn't have anything to worry about.

Then it turned into a tirade about what a rip off taxes were (yep, those taxes that they NEVER paid and that provided their welfare money) and how could I possibly even WANT to earn a high income if I had to give half of it to the government...and on...and on... it went.

Sheesh!

They'd asked me to come and talk to them but they weren't really interest in writing at all. They just wanted easy money - and tax-free at that.

They were so concerned about how much they'd lose.

It was at that point that I made an excuse and left.

So what should you do if you live in a country with high taxes and you want to earn your living as a writer?

That's easy.

Just write.

If, like the people I was speaking to, you're focused on money (or the lack of it) and not focused on writing, you'll never get anywhere.

And as I walked home that day I thought to myself, "They should be so lucky to EVER earn so much money."

But they never will.

They're not writers at all.

Are you?