My Debut on the Radio

Wonder what this crazy person sounds like? I'll be reading one of my blogs will be aired on local public radio on Thursday, June 22 at around 6:30 a.m. and again at 8:35 a.m. You can listen online by going to http://www.wfpl.org/listen.htm#AAC and click on either Windows Media Player or Real Player, depending on which one you have. If you live in or around Louisville, the station is WFPL, 89.3 FM.

It was an interesting experience, and now, I can consider myself a paid author. That's right, you get paid to be a commentator - $25. Considering that I thought when I was recording that I was doing it gratis or to feed my ego, I was pleased to get the email telling me to fill out the invoice for my fee.

Immediately, I thought back to my Compuserve Writer's Forum Days. After quitting my job to be a SAHM, I thought my time had come to fulfill my dream of being an author. I'd always wanted to write - just thought that I'd do it in my spare time. Hah! Life seems to fill in all the empty spaces. On Compuserve, I remember vividly the angry discussions about what constituted an "author". Those online that got paid to write or had actually published a book were offended when meeting someone who also claimed to be an "author" or "writer" because they were working on a book in their spare time. Authors were only people, they claimed, that had gotten paid. (BTW, I believe that Diana Gabaldon, one of my favorite authors, was and remains on this list. I wish I had saved printouts!)

The world of Blogging has somewhat blown this concept out of the water. I am often amazed at the quality and quantity of reading material on the web. (There's also a lot of hubris.) A good number of blogs have loads of readers and commentors, people that are regulars. Some have little ads on their blogs, getting paid a small amount for clicks on them. Some have none. But what makes a writer? Getting paid? Getting readers? Or, just writing?