"Mr. Stratman, how much money do writers make?"

            I started making writer visits to middle-grade classrooms in the early ’80s. I was a Cricket magazine author in my spare time, writing and selling short stories. I’d made several cash sales by then and seen my first story actually published by Cricket the year before. Getting to visit kids and their teachers to read my stuff and to talk about writing, felt—still feels—like a bonus.

            The ‘money question’ surprised me, but probably shouldn’t have. It’s a way of asking, “How successful are you? How important?” And we all do it, though not usually so directly. An adult will always ask: “Are you published?” which is a form of the same question.

            It’s fun to be paid for writing something creative. Money is a tangible reward we all recognize and understand. But here’s the thing: money is not why most writers write.

            I write because I like to tell stories and certainly am not immune to praise—which includes cash. But I started writing at about age fourteen—songs and poems, then stories. I wrote through college, went to teaching where I saved my ideas all week, and wrote way late on Friday and Saturday. I wrote all that time, and published, without even the hope of money.

            The fact is, writing feels good. It feels good to do and it feels good when someone is moved by it.

            My cousin called from China to tell me he couldn’t go to bed without finishing one of my mysteries. Can you imagine how good that feels?

            These days I get up at six and write for about two hours, an average of four rough-draft pages, usually about six mornings a week. It feels right.

            I’m about halfway through my sixth novel. I have an adult series and a middle-grade series. And I admit there are times when I ask myself about the money, and occasionally times I fret about it.

            But here’s the thing. Would I be writing if nobody paid me for it?

            Oh … wait a minute … I am!