Hacking, the Worst Kind

© Ugur Akinci

Writers can sell their souls in a variety of ways.

I should know.

I did that in the past by writing stuff just for the money.

But now I realize I could do worse than that: I could've written FALSE stuff for the money. That would've been the worst case of hacking for me.

A case in point:

I just came across a web page selling a new product for dieters.

At the bottom were so-called "comments" praising the product to heavens and encouraging the readers to place their orders.

Those comments with real-sounding names looked really genuine and sincere.

Yet... the DISCLAIMER at the bottom of the page clearly stated that all comments on the page were fake, or gently put, they were written by a copywriter for "illustrative" purposes.

I'm not trying to drum morality into anybody's head. But as a writer who's been on the road for over two decades, I have to remind this to my younger fellow writers:

• Stay away from writing things that you know to be false.
• Stay away from writing that aims to entice, ensnare, and misdirect people for commercial purposes.

The world is FULL of writing opportunities that pay well. Why jump on one that would force you to compromise your standards and eat away into the fabric of your soul like a worm eats into an apple?

Peace of mind is a part of my definition of success in writing life.

Preserve your integrity and always be true to yourself if you'd not only like to earn money as a writer but be really happy as well.