About a month ago, Amazon announced that they would be paying indie authors by the number of pages read instead of just splitting the pot evenly among all authors as they had always done.  For example, an author who had written a 20 page erotic novella was getting paid the same as an author who had written a 300 page novel.  As somebody who tends to be a little wordy, I was pleased with the change.  Many are not.  I’ve been reading the Kindle community forum pages as entertainment.  There is so much anger, frustration, and drama—-one indie author even brought up the words “class action lawsuit.”  I drink my iced coffee and page through the forum posts like I’m reading a soap opera.  People are pretty serious about their paychecks.  Honestly, I would be upset, too, if I had just found out that my income was about to be cut significantly.  However…..here’s my unsolicited advice.  If you’re an indie author who is writing for a paycheck, you’re going to spend a lot of time pissed off.  Amazon opened up an amazing world for authors who had never been able to break into the traditional world of publishing.  I feel incredibly lucky that I found an outlet to share my work.  The paycheck is gravy, pure and simple.  I wrote long before Amazon started an indie author division and I’ll write until they pry the pen from my cold, dead hands.  I hope when I pass through those pearly gates, St. Peter points me towards the cloud that’s named “For Writers Only.”  Dibs on the seat next to Charlotte Bronte.  If you’re writing for the money, you’re writing for the wrong reason.  Write because you have to.  Write because you would lose your mind if you didn’t.  Write because you breathe.