And now this one, announcing a no-cost teleclass next week.

With the Heart of Money Transformational Journey coming up there is a flurry. It will all die down in a couple of weeks, and we’ll go back to normal.

No-Cost Teleclass Wednesday 1 p.m. Pacific

If you’re needing a divinely-inspired relationship with your money and finances, if money issues are working you, please join me. Yes, it is a call to introduce you to the teachings of the Heart of Money course. And yes it will be full to the brim with teachings.

To find out more, and to register go here:

3 a.m. Money Worry Attack No-cost Teleclass

And I hope you have a nourishing weekend.

Mark Silver

The basic issue is that many people love to write and want to be writers, and so they start a blog. And they also want to make a living at it, basically because it’s easier to love writing when you’re good at it, and it’s easier to get good at it when you do it a LOT. And it’s easier to do it a lot when it’s your main gig. Especially when you love it.

Some really smart people have weighed in on the issue of making money while writing— all of whom are making money, good money, on the strength of their writing.

Three of the most recent are:

Recently my Portland neighbor and international writing travel star Chris Guillebeau posted this fantastic article about how to make it as a freelance writer: The Writer’s Guide to Money and Passion.

Then I saw another friend and colleague, the Launch Coach Dave Navarro, write this powerful ranty post: The Dark Side of Ugly: When Free Gets Ugly

And then a new friend, Career Renegade Jonathan Fields wrote this one: Someone always Pays: The Truth About Blogging and Money

I’d like to add to the discussion, and it has nothing to do with being upset about folks who don’t want to pay for content.

Are You “In Writing”?

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to be a writer and enjoy it. There’s nothing particularly wrong with wanting to be paid for it, either.

Back in 2005 I wrote this article about artists, and received some very upset emails back from said artists. But I stand behind it 100%: Do You Have the Right Focus to Make Your Dream a Business Instead of a Hobby?

I have a simple question I want to ask: are you “in writing” or “in business”? If you’re “in writing” then enjoy it. But if you only see yourself as a “blogger” or a “writer” then I’m thinking you may have some challenges with this whole money-making thing.

If you’re not ready to embrace the “being in business” thing, I have another question for you.

When Did You Last Hire A Writer?

I don’t hire writers. Very few people do. But I’m in relationship, financial and otherwise, with businesses all the time. If you’re a writer, the vast majority of your audience may be happy to support you in a variety of ways, but we don’t have experience with hiring a writer.

Sure we buy books from writers, but those cost $5-$15 each. And how many books do I buy from a single writer? One a year? Two? Usually I get it from the library first, and then if I think it’s a keeper, I buy it.

But if someone is in business, it’s a whole different relationship. I know how to relate to a business. If they put samples out on the counter, they know and I know that they are selling larger portions of the same thing.

Two Sets of Expectations

I want to challenge you to open your heart to the thought that you are “in business” and not just “in writing.” By doing this you’ve changed two sets of expectations.

The first set of expectations is in your audience. If they see you as “in business” then there’s no upset or outrage about charging for something. They may or may not want to buy, but they don’t get upset. I’ve been writing prolifically for my business for over ten years, and I’ve never gotten any upset or outraged emails from people offended that I dare charge for something.

The second set of expectations is in you. You can realize that no matter how good a writer you may be, your business needs you to learn more than just writing.

Five years ago I was a darn good writer, and yet our online sales weren’t so great. I needed to learn copywriting. I humbled myself, let go of my self-image as an experienced writer, then did I what I needed to do as a responsible, open-hearted business owner: learn copywriting. The result was a dramatic increase in my ability to connect with people willing to pay for our products and services online.

That’s just one skill out of dozens that I’ve learned in order to have a successful business.

If you are “in business” Instead of expecting people to pay you for your writing, you will see that your writing is just one skill. To properly serve your audience with what they need, and to take care of yourself, you’ll need to learn things. About business. About money. About sales and marketing.

You can be upset about this if you like. There’s room to kick and scream and complain. It’s okay to grieve that things aren’t as easy or simple as you thought. And once you have received the support to move through those emotions, take a deep breath. Drop into your heart.

See your business, yes your business, through the eyes of your heart. See the beauty and possibility there. See what it needs to grow and flourish. Then get it what it needs. Give yourself two to three years to develop your business. And it will take care of you for a long time.

If you want to write, write. I think it’s fantastic. My life has been made amazingly better through all the writing I’ve read. Just don’t expect me to pay for your blog post.

Because I’ll be over there, hiring someone who is in business to help me apply whatever it is I’ve learned through writing.

Are you going to be that someone?

These are people who I’ve seen, and they’ve seen me, as complete messes, in all of our vulnerability, and also in our brilliance. I love them like family, and I have the highest regard for the work they do in the world, which is why I let them mess with me compassionately every two weeks.

Here’s two of them and current things they have going that I’d love for you to know about.

Molly Gordon’s Goldilocks program
For Getting Clients That Fit Just Right

Molly and I could be called “competitors” in that we teach similar things in a similar space and to similar people. But we’re not. She’s fantastic at what she does- helping the “accidental entrepreneur” get a working business going, authentically.

We have a six-week marketing program ourself, but it doesn’t happen until the fall. If you need support now, don’t wait for ours, go take Molly’s course. You won’t be sorry. And even if you fall in love with her and her work and don’t come back, I’ll still be happy, because I’ll know you are getting real help. And that’s a real possibility, because it’s so easy to fall in love with her.

Molly’s been doing this work for years and years, and has seen thousands of clients. She’s been an artist- and made a living doing that. She’s also a master certified coach, someone who helps the International Coach Federation certify coaches. She’s very, very good.

Take a look for yourself:

The Goldilocks Strategy for Getting Clients That Fit Just Right (Not an affiliate link)

There are four short audios on that page worth listening to, to hear Molly for yourself.

Here’s Molly’s blog, and her newsletter sign-up.

Michael Bungay-Stanier’s Do More Great Work

One of the benefits of knowing cool people is that you get pre-release versions of books the come in important-looking envelopes directly from the publishing. Yesterday, I got my copy of this:

The premise of the book is deceptively simple: all of your work goes into one of three buckets: bad work, good work, and great work. The bad work you try to get rid of. The good work is the work you have to do to just get things done, but it takes up all of your time. The Great Work is when you are totally flying, in flow, doing what you are meant to be doing. If you did more Great Work, life would be better and you would have more impact.

This book helps you do just that.

Michael’s book is beautiful, to the point, easy to read, and it works. Lots of cool people like it, like Marshall Goldsmith, Steven Pressfield (author of the War of Art), Michael Neill, Maynard Webb (former COO of ebay), among others.

I should say, having experienced Michael in person and on the phone for several years now, that he has this amazing skill of making the complicated simple, cutting through the cr@p, and getting to the heart of the matter.

Here’s his blog, you don’t want to miss his Great Work interview series. You can order the book here. And I suggest you do.

So go check out his video and have tea with the two of us. And, in case you were wondering, he’s a big-hearted, sincere, lovable, non-nonsense, goofball marketing genius, too.