Make Money Writing (By Joining InfoBarrel.com)

When I was in middle school and adults asked me what I wanted to do for a living I told them I wanted to write books. They laughed and told me with an imagination like mine I should have no problem, but that I should have a normal job as well. All writers, or so they assured me, had to be teachers or garbage men or something until they became famous enough to live purely off their books.

This ladies and gentlemen is what we refer to as Grade-A Bullshit.

If there's one thing I know, it's bullshit.

If you want to follow in the footsteps of such luminary authors as Stephen King by becoming an English teacher and writing in the copious amounts of free time you'll have (if you aren't laughing you've clearly never seen how time-consuming teaching actually is) then by all means do so. If you think you've got the drive and sheer balls to hold down a day job and then spend hours a night banging away on a keyboard then I salute you.

This post isn't for you.

This post is for people who want to make money writing interesting articles. It's for people who want to take a chance that the fickle finger of the Internet gods will fall on them and fill their bank accounts to bursting (or failing that at least give them enough money to pay bills with a little cash left over). It's for people whose eyes light up when they hear the word royalties and who see no reason to start earning them years from now instead of right now!

Let Me Tell You About InfoBarrel

Some of you have likely looked into websites that will pay you to write before coming across my blog. HubPages is perhaps the most popular website out there, but its competitors like Triond, Xomba, and even Helium.com are all ready and willing to take your content and publish it for you. The problem with these sites is that if you don't have a Google Adsense account then there's no way you can get paid.

That's what makes InfoBarrel different from other sites.

That, and the fact that they pay you in cash instead of promises.

At a glance InfoBarrel is just like any popular site out there driven by user-created content. You set up an account, and start writing articles. InfoBarrel puts ads on your articles, and based on how well they perform you get paid. Some of the ads need to be clicked by readers, and some of the ads just need to be viewed a certain number of times, but whenever you meet the threshold you have money in the bank.

The site has two ad tiers; Tier 1 which is Google Adsense ads, and Tier 2 which is miscellaneous ads.

I Thought You Said I Didn't Need Google Adsense?

Keep your stockings straight, I'm getting to it.

In case you're not a regular reader I'll give you some background. Up until late 2014 I had a Google AdSense account of my own, and it was tied right to this blog. Then I was kicked out of Google's super-secret clubhouse, and told that I can never have an AdSense account ever again. You can get the full story on that right here. I also had over 400 articles on Yahoo! Voices when that site shuttered its doors in August 2014 (which cut another few hundred bucks out of my monthly earnings), and I needed a place to put them.

I had an InfoBarrel account from several years ago, so I fired it back up and started posting.

For the first two months I received Tier 2 earnings only, which amounted to a little over $5 or so. I went to my user account, agreed to the latest terms and conditions, and then clicked the Advertising Profile tab and enabled First Tier Ad Management.

And then money?

The way Google AdSense works is that Google tracks everything with your account number on it, tabulates your cut of the advertising money, and then kicks it to you on a monthly basis. If you don't have a Google AdSense account then you can't use any website that works with Google to pay its writers. How First Tier Ad Management works is that you are joining a collective AdSense account for all the authors on InfoBarrel that have also clicked that little box. Infobarrel manages the AdSense for all the views on all your pages, and at the end of the month you get your portion deposited into your account.

In this way you can make AdSense money without needing to have your own personal AdSense account.

What Can I Write About?

Anything you damn well please, within reason. When creating your content you need to write about something interesting, which is going to be just as relevant in five years as it is tomorrow, and which has pretty pictures in it (seriously check out the image I used for The Succubus. It's no wonder it pulled over a thousand hits). Whether you're a fan of history or celebrity trivia, cars or life hacks, you can put up articles about anything as long as it doesn't advocate violence, show people how to do something illegal, and wouldn't be considered pornography.

If you're looking for examples check out my InfoBarrel author page and read some of my posts.

How Much Can I Make?

Depends, how many page views can you get?

InfoBarrel is just like any of the aforementioned sites in that you are there to get your ads seen. That means you need to have thousands of hits per month (or per day if you can swing that bat) in order to hit the $60 minimum payout (don't complain, Google AdSense's minimum payout is $100).

It also depends on how creative you get.

There are a lot of ways to start stacking greenbacks in your account. One way is to create a lot of content so that you'll get a huge amount of page views just be sheer weight of numbers (this is kind of how Dean Koontz got rich). Another method is to create very targeted content that will have a lot of appeal to a certain demographic; flower arranging, green energy home solutions, tabletop roleplaying guides, all of these are meant to pull in people who share a narrow interest. Some people just hope they become a viral sensation, bringing in a few hundred thousand hits with nothing more than luck and the power of zeitgeist.

Will you make enough to quit your job? Not for a long while, barring some stunning luck. Will you be able to create an income stream that will help support you and which can win you a bigger audience?

Yeah, you should be able to manage that.

If you'd like to join Infobarrel today just click my referral link!

If you'd like to support the Literary Mercenary then stop by my Patreon page and become a patron today! Seriously, as little as .50 per entry or $1 a month can make a big difference when everyone works together. If you want to make sure you don't miss any of my updates then make sure to follow me on Facebook and Tumblr!

Why Do People Hate Artists Who Expect To Be Paid?

Conventions are one of my favorite things. I get to meet readers and other writers, sit in the green room with guests of honor, and hold forth during panels. I also get to see friends I only see during cons, and I get to write all of it off on my taxes. This past November was my second year at Windy Con in Chicago, and overall I had a great experience. It was also the first time that I had someone decide to hold up their opinion flag and wave it vigorously at me.

Opinions are like dicks; glad you've got one, I don't need it in my face.

Generally speaking when I'm at a convention people don't decide to walk up to my table and harangue me about how I'm doing my job wrong. Part of it's because I'm affable, friendly, and there to have fun. Part of it is that I'm a white male dressed in combat boots and weighing in at about 225 pounds. Putting both halves together means that I don't have to deal with problems the way some of my fellow authors and artists do when someone decides to inform them they aren't being a proper artist/author/filmmaker/painter/etc. In this instance an individual who is a former editor of a major publisher decided to pick up the book from my table (Sidekicks by Alliteration Ink which you can check out here), then snort at my business card. He then proceeded to talk down to me about how real authors do it for the love of the craft, and about how if you're just doing it for money then you've got no business being an author.

I smiled politely, nodded in the pauses, and eventually he grew tired and moved on.

Show Me The Money

There are two reasons I bill myself as the Literary Mercenary. One, it's pretty goddamn catchy. When you make most of your connections at cons and big events you need something that's quick and easy to remember, and that handle has proven to be a great advantage for not being forgotten. The second reason is that I'm a professional, and I expect to be paid for the work that I do. I make no apologies for expecting cash on the nail if someone wants me to put words on the page for them.

Is this the emblem of someone that works for exposure?

If I was an accountant or a blacksmith no one would be surprised. In fact I doubt I'd ever have to remind people that they have to pay for my services with real money if I wasn't a creative professional. But I am, and as a result I meet a lot of people who are interested in what I do until they realize that I'm not just going to give it away willy-nilly.

And I know I'm not the only one.

Problems With Pomplamoose

Pomplamoose is an indie music duo who recently posted the breakdown of their yearly finances. The point was to illustrate where money goes, and why touring really isn't a smart move if you're not a superstar. Instead of empathy for the artists who have to stretch budgets and try to make a living on very little though, Pomplamoose was blasted. Why were they paying back up singers so much money? Shouldn't those singers have just been happy to be on stage with a successful band? Why did light designers and sound techs get paid money for a job a computer could do? And so on and so forth, essentially demanding to know why the band had chosen to pay other professionals the value of their work rather than keeping all the cash for themselves. If they'd taken advantage of other creative professionals and given them pennies on the dollar, or paid them in sandwiches and "exposure," they would make a real living. Or Pomplamoose could charge less for the overall endeavor, enabling more fans to enjoy them for less money.

Martial artists are never asked for freebies because they may just oblige you.

Everyone who is trying to make a living as a creative professional has heard these arguments before, and they're like trickle-down economics. You know, if you just give all the money to rich people then eventually it will work its way down to the poor. The difference is in this case we're being told to just keep making art and giving it away for free because eventually people will come to value what we make and money will mystically come our way.

Neither circumstance works. In the former all the rich people hoard the money for themselves, and in the latter art isn't valued because it's been free for so long that the very idea of paying for it will stop occurring to people.

So what's the problem? Is it that artists are greedy? Is it that people are shitheads? Is it that the marketplace is flooded with so much creativity that the supply far exceeds the demand? Well according to this article it might be a lack of empathy between artists and fans.

What is Art Worth?

It's no secret that art is typically seen as a feast or famine career choice. The maxim is that with dedication and hard work you'll eventually rise to the top of your field and become rich and famous, but that's no more true with writing books and making movies than it is with working in an auto garage or building rocket ships. No one can download car repairs or make photo copies of a NASA satellite though, which presents authors with a unique challenge: Convincing culture that art doesn't grow on trees, and that you can't just pluck it off a branch as you walk by.

If it was that easy there would be no problem.

Art is a necessity. People want to read books, admire paintings, watch movies, and listen to music. But the idea of paying for these products is something people instinctively resist when all it takes is a right click to download the product for free. If an artist is famous then they can obviously afford to cover one little pirating, and if an artist isn't famous then they should be glad that someone as discerning as you wants to read their work.

Stop and ask yourself what you would say if you got your dream job, but were told that you'd be working without pay until after your review. You'd say no, particularly if you still had to work a day job to cover your expenses waiting for the day that your dream job paid you enough to stay afloat. Now imagine if the hiring rep's response was, "Come on, everyone's going to see what a great job you did. Think of the exposure this will grant you! I'm sure that someone who can pay you will see this on your resume and snap you up immediately." Your reaction would likely be to slap this person, or at the very least to say something rude at a very high volume.

This is the reality that artists deal with every single day. Now imagine if artists were treated with respect, paid a fair price for their work, and given bonuses instead of pats on the head. Would that make them sell-outs? Or would it make them just another part of the workforce creating things that we desperately need?

Something else you might not know about Pomplamoose is that they created Patreon, a system for fans to support the artists they love. If you'd like to see more from the Literary Mercenary then check out my Patreon page and become a patron today! If you want to get the latest updates with no extra work just plug your email address into the box on your right hand side, or follow me on Facebook and Tumblr.

Deals With The Devil: What To Look For In Your Publishing Contract

You've finally done it. You finished your manuscript, sent it off to the publisher, waited week upon nerve-wracking week, and you were rewarded with that one, special email. The one that always seems to begin, "We are pleased to inform you that your story has been selected for publication." Then, flush with your accomplishment, you click the attached contract to print it out and put your name on the dotted line as soon as you possibly can.

Just step into my office, and we'll take care of these last little details...

Hold up.

That contract in your hand might be your meal ticket, but it might also be full of razor blades and piss. So before you take a big, hearty bite out of it you should know just what it is you're signing away when you prick your finger.

Rights

The first thing most authors look for (after how fat their checks are going to be) are the rights they give away. For instance, most publishers ask for "first print rights," which means you are promising they will be the first company to ever publish your work. That's par for the course, but chances are good your contract is asking for more than a single run of your story.

There are all kinds of rights you have to your work. There are foreign rights for when your story is printed overseas, there are film rights in case it's ever made into a movie, there are re-print rights, serial rights, anthology rights, and the list goes on and on. You need to check and see which rights you're giving away to your publisher, and whether or not you're giving away anything permanently.

All righty, this should do it. When do I get my check?

That's right, some companies don't just buy a right to your work; they buy all of them. Period. The end. Game over. If you sign one of those contracts then the company can do whatever they want with your story because you've essentially sold it into slavery. The Anarchist Cookbook is perhaps the most infamous case of this happening, especially since the author has fought for years to get the book taken off the shelves because it contains dangerously inaccurate information. Since he has no rights to the book though, his actions have thus far been largely in vain.

What (And When) Are You Getting Paid?

Whether you're getting a contract for a short story that's part of an anthology or your big, breakout novel, visions of sugarplums are likely doing the can-can in your mind's eye. There's a pre-conceived notion that book contract = big $, and that's hard to shake. Even if you've got experience to the contrary.

For that reason you need to take a long, hard look at what the contract is actually offering you.

I would happily accept this as an advance on a novel.

For starters, let's talk about your advance. An advance is a payment given to the author with the understanding that the book is going to earn more money. So if you're given a $2,000 advance you won't receive any more money until the book has been published, and your cut of the royalties goes over $2,000. If you never sell more than your initial advance, then the advance is all you're going to get.

This is when we get into royalties.

When your work is published you, as the creator, may be awarded royalties (if they're in your contract). A royalty might be 10% of physical sales, and 30% of digital sales, for instance. Sales will be tracked, calculated, and paid out to you as the author on a certain schedule. Some publishers will pay monthly royalties, others will pay quarterly royalties, and still others will only pay annually. Your contract will tell you what percentage you get, and when you'll receive it along with when you'll be entitled to updates on your sales.

What Can Be Changed?

We're all mortal (well, most of us), and we make mistakes. Authors by and large assume there will be spelling mistakes that need correcting, grammar that could be stripped out or re-arranged, and even some adverbs that could be set aside. What we do not expect is our main character's name being changed from Raziel to Jake, the plot-setting fight scene in chapter three being stripped out completely, or the explanation for what the Well of Souls does being deleted.

Depending on your contract though, that could very well happen.

Chapter One: Edited

There's typically a section in your contract regarding what changes an editor can and can't make to your manuscript. A good contract will state that only minor changes can be made without the author's permission, but other contracts may very well state that changes will be made without consulting the author at all. These tend to be paired with the "we now own your entire work" style of rights buying, so if you see one you're likely to see the other.

Just because a company has to consult you on changes doesn't necessarily mean you've got smooth sailing ahead. Creative differences and head-butting with a publisher happens, and you may need to make changes or concede to a company's wants in order to keep your contract; but you won't get a copy of what you thought was Ghosts of The Painted Desert and instead see a cover reading Colored Desert Spirits.

That could be awkward.

Always Read The Fine Print

The devil's in the details, and so are most of the traps in a book contract (even if they aren't expressly meant to be traps). The whole purpose of the contract is to tie you (the talent) to the publisher (the business) so that you can make them money. They want to keep both you and your work tied as closely to them as possible. You're a show pony, and you had better get used to the idea.

Now wave your plumage and sell some copies.

For instance, you need to see if the characters and the world of your story are part of the contract deal, because if they are that could make writing a sequel a bit of a problem. Some publishers want the right of first refusal (no one else can buy your new story unless they've seen it and said no) on any additional works with your published characters or settings. Some publishers will buy that world and only let you publish more stories set in that world with them for a given amount of time.

The fine print is also where details like your recourse in the event the publisher doesn't hold up its end of the contract are kept. It will also explain what happens in the event your book is cancelled from publication (and whether or not you get a "kill fee" as compensation for your time), and what you can and can't say about the book before its release. There will also be details about what promotions, if any, the publisher will do and how your image and words may be used by the company. There will often be a section stating what expenses the company has to recoup before you start accruing royalties as well.

Yes this is all going to make your head hurt. No you can't skip it.

Ask Questions

You're not a lawyer (I'm assuming), so you shouldn't be expected to speak legal-ese. However this is your contract, so if you don't understand something ask to have it explained (with sock puppets and a jingle if necessary). The point is you should never, ever sign something you don't understand because once your name is on that dotted line you're putting your bouncing baby book into the white gloved hands of a publisher who assures you the little one is going to be famous.

It's still a good idea to get a "we aren't going to cut him into little pieces and then not compensate you" assurance in writing. Just to be safe.

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