author: Nicole J. LeBoeuf

I feel an explanation is owed, as people who pay me to write may visit my blog and get the wrong impression.

All it means is, the stuff I write purely because I want to make a living as a writer. One happy day I shall make a living as a fiction writer, but for now I'm paying for my fiction habit out of my work-for-hire contract fees. (For instance, tuition to the Borderlands Boot Camp.)

Writers who simply write what sells, because it sells, are often disparagingly called "hacks." [Edited to add link to discussion: Is "hack" an insult? Was Shakespear a hack?]

Now, I don't seriously think I'm a hack, don't worry. And I think I do rather better than a hack job on my work-for-hire assignments, so my editor shouldn't worry.

But the lingo is in the lexicon. It's hard to resist using it in a sort of tongue-in-cheek, gently self-deprecating way. See? Profitable hackery. Writing done purely for the money.

So there you go.

Whew, that's better. My conscience is all appeased now.