There Is Such A Thing As Easy Money

A fter two years in a four-year liberal arts program, it became apparent that my bid to earn my BA as an English major would most likely land me a career either in teaching, or as an equally low-ranking functionary.  With mounting debts via student loans and not-so-great expectations on the career front, I began writing short stories for the little press in hopes of making a name for myself as an authoress.  My subjects included short fiction, humor, childrens' stories, satire, political observations, you name it...  I realized I had a knack for writing and took both pride and pleasure in my works.

The editorial staff of the respective periodicals to whom I submitted my works, however, did not share my enthusiasm.  Soon, kindly worded, encouraging, but "regrettable" rejection slips began to pile up alongside my ever-mounting student loan debts, and I was compelled to acknowledge that my writing career was taking off like a lead balloon.  One editor to whom I submitted a fashion article even came right out and told me that print media was drying up altogether, and that the only available water in that lake was reserved for long-established authors with years of by-lines to their credit.  She encouraged me to design a blog that would attract commercial sponsors, rather than relying on any paycheck from a brick-and-mortar publisher.

Yeah, right.  And join a million other aspiring authors in cyberspace doing the same thing.

Then it occurred to me:  What genre of the print media will NEVER face extinction, despite Internet availability of about the same subject at far less the cost to the consumer? 

My first attempt at adult content was a fantasy story involving a cougarish Army drill sergeant giving a young private a lesson in discipline.  I threw the whole 5000 word thing together in an afternoon, mailed it off, and promptly forgot about it...  at this point I was still discouraged, and figured it would just result in another rejection form letter and another boomeranged mailing.  Then, fast forward a few weeks, when the check arrived!  Hot damn!  Paydirt at last!

Adult magazines don't pay enormous sums for submissions on the whole;  I don't see myself becoming a multimillionaire any time soon in my trade.  But if you are creative, have an active imagination, and are very, very prolific, you can make a very tidy sum cranking out "teh Pr0n".  So what if it makes me a hack?  At least I'm a hack who will be sending myself on a cruise to the Carribean this year soley on my earnings in ****!