11 Comments

In France, they have a system for financially supporting artists because as a society they understand how making art works. (It takes a really long time and usually doesn't make any money.) I would totally love to be sponsored by a king! Hell yeah hahah

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I’ve heard similar things about other European countries. Maybe all remaining monarchies should devote all funds to sponsoring artists.

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The being paid to stair at walls resonates so much!! I think about this often since I charge hourly for a lot of my work. So many times I’ll find myself hashing out a story for a client in my head while I’m in the shower or walking the dog. I’m always like “should I be charging for this?” I don’t usually. But my lawyer-friend thinks I should. The writers strike makes me think of this so much. They’re making some of the best tv there is and for damn sure a lot of it happens in the shower!

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Those shower muses are real.

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May 11, 2023Liked by Serena Burman

I absolutely agree with you, it also resonates in my head. But why not charge for it? You're spending your time doing it. There's nothing about it that would torture your conscience.

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If you mean me, and this newsletter specifically, to start I’ve wanted people to be able to read my words without having to decide what they are “worth” to them. But I absolutely plan to make paying me an option down the road.

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Ha! I need to pay better attention.

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Serena, you misunderstood me. I was addressing Elizabeth. Your thoughts on the newsletter definitely appeal to me.

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It’s definitely a gray area. It’s hard to know exactly how much time I actually engage in these musings. I build in some padding occasionally especially when I’ve spent a significant amount of time thinking about the project outside of being at a computer. It definitely works better when I charge by project vs hour. But also then it’s tricky to know if I’m undercutting myself with a flat rate. Simply put: easier said than done.

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These eternal questions are clear and familiar to me. Thank you for the details of your thoughts on this subject. I'm sticking to a fixed fee per project.

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May 4, 2023Liked by Serena Burman

I blame the patriarchy for making the arts seemingly less valuable! Gives me rage.

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