在绝大多数西方国家,作家的最为人熟知的概念即作家是自由职业者,他们可以凭借文学创作也就是靠版税(稿费)绰绰有余地过一辈子。100多年以来,各国出了一大批以写作为唯一职业和生活来源的作家,与此同时,比例大得惊人的一般作家得靠其他收入维持生计。他们或移居生活费用较低而条件优越的国外,或找个工作以保证自己有时间写作。教会的工作一度曾为许多作家羡慕,昔日的“补助”有三大来源:教会,艺术,政府,而今还得如上办刊物、教书和若干年来一直很红火的写影视作品。不管怎么说,写作是需要一小笔收入作为“保险”的——著有《到灯塔去》、《海浪》等佳作的英国女作家弗吉尼亚·伍尔夫一年的开销为500镑,外加一个房间。20年代,许多作家单凭为报刊撰稿就足以糊口谋生,可是在今天,要找到一个稳定而有吸引力的工作来维 In most western countries, the most well-known concept of writers is that writers are freelancers who can spend their lives more than enough for literary creation, royalties, royalties. For more than 100 years, a large number of writers have emerged as writers in their respective professions and sources of living. At the same time, a surprisingly large proportion of ordinary writers have to rely on other incomes for their livelihood. They are either migrants who have low living costs and who have good conditions, or are looking for a job to ensure they have time to write. For a time, the work of the church was envied by many writers. There were three major sources of former “subsidies”: the church, the arts, and the government. Now they have to run journals, teach books and write videos that have been booming for years. In any case, writing requires a small sum of income as “insurance.” Virginia Woolf, a British writer with “Going to the Lighthouse,” “The Waves,” is spending £ 500 a year, plus one room. In the 1920s, many writers were able to make a living by subsisting solely on the press, but today they have to find a stable and attractive job