--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One ought not to write for money, but I…" description: "\"One ought not to write for money, but I consider it a first duty after one has written to exact the highest possible price. It is not a matter which co..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/703/mary-abigail-dodge-35705_concern_one-ought-not-to-write-for-money-but-i-c_371695.jpg" --- # One ought not to write for money, but I consider it a… ![“One ought not to write for money, but I consider it a first duty after one has written to exact the highest possible price. It is not a matter which concerns only the writer, but all writers.” quote by Mary Abigail Dodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/703/mary-abigail-dodge-35705_concern_one-ought-not-to-write-for-money-but-i-c_371695.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/703/mary-abigail-dodge-35705_concern_one-ought-not-to-write-for-money-but-i-c_371695.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/703/mary-abigail-dodge-35705_concern_one-ought-not-to-write-for-money-but-i-c_371695.jpg) > “One ought not to write for money, but I consider it a first duty after one has written to exact the highest possible price. It is not a matter which concerns only the writer, but all writers.” [Mary Abigail Dodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-abigail-dodge/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writers should prioritize artistic integrity over profit, yet later seek fair compensation for their work. **In simple terms:** Write for art, then earn fair pay. Key Takeaway Balance creativity with rightful earnings. Themes art integrity compensation fairness Mood reflective serious Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - publishing contracts - royalty negotiations - freelance pricing - self‑publishing - literary awards Key Concepts literary economics authorial rights value of art Questions to Reflect On - How do you value your work beyond money? - When is it acceptable to prioritize profit? A Different Perspective Market pressures may force compromises on artistic vision. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Duty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duty/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [In business, don't make your customers feel you're just after MONEY, but show them you consider QUALITY your first priority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mark/in-business-don-t-make-your-customers-feel-you-re-just-after-money/) [Terry Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mark/) > [I don't even think about the money when I consider roles, I turn it over to my agency. Money will come. I respect it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-cranston/i-don-t-even-think-about-the-money-when-i-consider-roles-i-turn-it/) [Bryan Cranston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-cranston/) > [If I had to summarize, most broadly, my concerns as a writer, I'd say the question 'How then must we live?' is at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-messud/if-i-had-to-summarize-most-broadly-my-concerns-as-a-writer-i-d-say/) [Claire Messud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-messud/) > [“There are only three truths. That which can be known. That which can never be known. The third, which concerns the writer alone, truly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-syjuco/there-are-only-three-truths-that-which-can-be-known-that-which-can/) [Miguel Syjuco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-syjuco/) > [The thematic, psychological, and cultural concerns of a writer are more relevant than whatever literary mode he or she chooses to deal with in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-spinrad/the-thematic-psychological-and-cultural-concerns-of-a-writer-are-more/) [Norman Spinrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-spinrad/) > [“Writing’s initial situation, its point of origin, is often character­ized and always complicated by opposing impulses in the writer and by a seeming dilemma…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyn-hejinian/writing-s-initial-situation-its-point-of-origin-is-often-character/) [Lyn Hejinian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyn-hejinian/) > [I don't want the world to give me anything for my books except money enough to save me from the temptation to write only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/i-don-t-want-the-world-to-give-me-anything-for-my-books-except-money/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [That has to remain the principal reason for doing it, doesn't it? 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If you write for money, you won't write anything worth reading.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/don-t-write-for-money-write-because-you-love-to-do-something-if-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [Modern poets talk against business, poor things, but all of us write for money. Beginners are subjected to trial by market.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/modern-poets-talk-against-business-poor-things-but-all-of-us-write/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [I don't write for the money. I write because something in me is constantly compelled.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/i-don-t-write-for-the-money-i-write-because-something-in-me-is/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [Don't write for money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/don-t-write-for-money/) [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) > [One of your first jobs, as you write for money, will be to get rid of your vocabulary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-woodford/one-of-your-first-jobs-as-you-write-for-money-will-be-to-get-rid-of/) [Jack Woodford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-woodford/) ## More by Mary Abigail Dodge > [What's virtue in a man can't be virtue in a cat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-abigail-dodge/what-s-virtue-in-a-man-can-t-be-virtue-in-a-cat/) [Mary Abigail Dodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-abigail-dodge/) > [Man has subdued the world, but woman has subdued man. Mind and muscle have won his victories; love and loveliness have gained hers. No…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-abigail-dodge/man-has-subdued-the-world-but-woman-has-subdued-man-mind-and-muscle/) [Mary Abigail Dodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-abigail-dodge/) > [Men as yet need some help to their imagination. There remains still room for a little illusion. It is better for men, it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-abigail-dodge/men-as-yet-need-some-help-to-their-imagination-there-remains-still/) [Mary Abigail Dodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-abigail-dodge/) > [Man pays deference to woman instinctively, involuntarily, not because she is beautiful or truthful or wise or foolish or proper, but because she is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-abigail-dodge/man-pays-deference-to-woman-instinctively-involuntarily-not-because/) [Mary Abigail Dodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-abigail-dodge/) > [People cry out, and deplore the unremunerative employment of woman. The true want is the other way. Women really trained, and capable of good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-abigail-dodge/people-cry-out-and-deplore-the-unremunerative-employment-of-woman-the/) [Mary Abigail Dodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-abigail-dodge/) > [The war between authors and publishers has been a conflict of ages. On the one side, the publisher has been looked upon as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-abigail-dodge/the-war-between-authors-and-publishers-has-been-a-conflict-of-ages-on/) [Mary Abigail Dodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-abigail-dodge/) > [Christ made no distinction, but opened the door wide to woman as to man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-abigail-dodge/christ-made-no-distinction-but-opened-the-door-wide-to-woman-as-to-man/) [Mary Abigail Dodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-abigail-dodge/) > [It is the crushed grape that gives out the blood-red wine: it is the suffering soul that breathes the sweetest melodies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-abigail-dodge/it-is-the-crushed-grape-that-gives-out-the-blood-red-wine-it-is-the/) [Mary Abigail Dodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-abigail-dodge/) > [Whatever an author puts between the two covers of his book is public property; whatever of himself he does not put there is his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-abigail-dodge/whatever-an-author-puts-between-the-two-covers-of-his-book-is-public/) [Mary Abigail Dodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-abigail-dodge/) > [Love me, and tell me so sometimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-abigail-dodge/love-me-and-tell-me-so-sometimes/) [Mary Abigail Dodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-abigail-dodge/) > [Genius is expansive, irresistible, and irresistibly expansive. If it is in you, no cords can confine it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-abigail-dodge/genius-is-expansive-irresistible-and-irresistibly-expansive-if-it-is/) [Mary Abigail Dodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-abigail-dodge/) > [There is generally no such thing as duty to the people who do it. They simply take life as it comes, meeting, not, shirking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-abigail-dodge/there-is-generally-no-such-thing-as-duty-to-the-people-who-do-it-they/) [Mary Abigail Dodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-abigail-dodge/) [Explore all 13 Mary Abigail Dodge quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-abigail-dodge/) ## More Concern quotes > [This brings me back to the image of Kafka standing before a fish in the Berlin aquarium, a fish on which his gaze fell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/this-brings-me-back-to-the-image-of-kafka-standing-before-a-fish-in/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [It is not my intention to explain Turkey, its culture and its problems. My literature has a universal concern: I want to bring people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/it-is-not-my-intention-to-explain-turkey-its-culture-and-its-problems/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [I'm a vegetarian - I think there's a strong possibility, had I not become a vegetarian, I would not be working now. I became…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-barker/i-m-a-vegetarian-i-think-there-s-a-strong-possibility-had-i-not/) [Bob Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-barker/) > [What really concerns me is for Christians to understand the fundamentals of evangelism in a way that is helpful in the contemporary scene.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/what-really-concerns-me-is-for-christians-to-understand-the/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [I'm not interested in making a diagnostic novel or a concern. I'm 100 percent committed in fiction to the pleasure principle - that's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/i-m-not-interested-in-making-a-diagnostic-novel-or-a-concern-i-m-100/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [I am sympathetic to developing countries’ concerns: because of our emissions it’s their crops that will disappear; because of our inaction, it’s their fields…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kerry/i-am-sympathetic-to-developing-countries-concerns-because-of-our/) [John F. Kerry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kerry/) > [Meanwhile, the trees were just as green as before; the birds sang and the sun shone as clearly now as ever. The familiar surroundings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/meanwhile-the-trees-were-just-as-green-as-before-the-birds-sang-and/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [It concerns me when people frame the conversation about equal pay about the entertainment business. I don't want the wage gap issue to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-arquette/it-concerns-me-when-people-frame-the-conversation-about-equal-pay/) [Patricia Arquette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-arquette/) > [The Patriot Act is certainly a concern; all of those things are dangerous. I think more important than me preaching is that we as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-clooney/the-patriot-act-is-certainly-a-concern-all-of-those-things-are/) [George Clooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-clooney/) > [More compassionate mind, more sense of concern for other's well-being, is source of happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/more-compassionate-mind-more-sense-of-concern-for-other-s-well-being/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [Show your contempt for the problem and your concern for the person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/show-your-contempt-for-the-problem-and-your-concern-for-the-person/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [When I was in my teens I had a series of intensely religious experiences. They deepened my sense of God as the creator of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-linzey/when-i-was-in-my-teens-i-had-a-series-of-intensely-religious/) [Andrew Linzey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-linzey/) > [If you are trying to live a life in accordance with the Bible, the concept and call to justice are inescapable. We do justice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/if-you-are-trying-to-live-a-life-in-accordance-with-the-bible-the/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [ I just have to deal with it \[injuries\] if and when problems happen. 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