Well that's sick and twisted...

Since Taibug commented, I'll guess I'll just go further and say that I'd feel really smarmy asking people for money for what I write. So far as I've seen, almost every other writer on the web does it for free, and as they well should: I'm an amateur and so are they, and one of the things about being an amateur is that you don't get paid. This is why I call myself a 'writer' and not an 'author'--I generally use the term author to describe someone who has been formally published. I realize that posting writing to the web is a form of self-publishing, but I mean stories that have either been sold by the writer or that have been picked up by a publishing company to be sold. I'm not saying anyone has to agree with me here, but that's my general philosophy... when I see a book of mine on the shelf, I'll call myself an author and I'll hope I get some money.. X3; Until then I'm just a writer, and advice and help are the best form of payment I can get.