This post falls into the category of “note to myself” as I think about the Blogs as Writerly Spaces project: As I searched around and discovered some new themes, I stumbled across something I hadn’t really thought a lot about (even though I did know it existed): blogging for profit. I of course have heard of Gawker Media, but what I found here was Splashpress Media and from that site, Mr. Bloggy and ProBlogging.com and lord only knows what else.
Anyway, this got me thinking: I hadn’t really thought before about including a discussion about or case studies of people who make money with blogging, but I wonder if that isn’t something I need to consider a bit more carefully. I can’t remember who said this little quip, but there’s some quote about how becoming a professional writer is a little like becoming a prostitute: first you do it for yourself, then it’s something you do for friends, and before you know it, you’re doing it for money.
All I’m getting at is it seems to me that if part of my goal is to study motivation in writing and blogging, then I probably ought to consider one of the most important, obvious, and crude motivations: money. Or at least the ways in which professional status when it comes to blogging is defined, how it figures into the writerly process, etc., etc.