  Using a sample of Nova-like stars from the Ritter and Kolb catalog, we
examine the relationship between their Gaia determined absolute magnitude and
the inclination of the binary system. Webbink et al. (1987) derived a
relationship between these two variables that provides a good fit and allows
differentiation between $\dot{M}$ (and possibly M_{WD}) as a function of
inclination. We show that the spread in M_V, at a given i, is dominated by the
mass transfer rate with only a small dependence on the white dwarf mass. The
validated relation shows that present-day theoretical population studies of
cataclysmic variables as well as model fits to observational data yield mass
transfer rates and white dwarf masses consistent with the Gaia derived M_V for
the nova-like stars.
