Wednesday, April 1, 2015

IWSG- Writing is Business

Welcome to another chapter in As the Book Turns, aka the monthly shout out about our fears, frets, concerns, and general writerly commentary into the vast void. A world known as the Insecure Writers Support Group!

Join us!  http://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html




Today is the one-week birthday of the outting, er publication, of my first book, The Glass Gargoyle.  Which means that I am studiously ignoring sales and reviews (for sanity purposes), furiously working on the second book in the series (The Obsidian Chimera- out June 2015!), and reflecting on the business end of things.

Say it with me folks, writing is a BUSINESS.  You, as the writer, are the owner of your business, and your books are your very creative widgets. Us as readers, are the consumers of those widgets.

I know, we creative types usually try to ignore the crass business side of things, and way in the past it may have been possible for a writer to simply WRITE (and edit, and re-write, etc).  But it's not that way anymore, and not just for us Indie authors. Yes, the traditionally published do have more support than us Indies, but they still have to be the one who is responsible for really marketing their book, getting people to want to read it, and making sure the next one comes out. NY doesn't really do much in terms of that anymore unless you're one of their 1% ers--aka people who really don't need it.

So writers (if they are writing with the goal of other folks actually buying and reading their work) need to be able to switch into business mode. And look at the first cold, hard, fact--like all businesses--you are going to lose money in the beginning.

A great cover artist, costs money, an amazing editor or two or three costs money, formatting = money, promotion = money.  Everywhere you turn money is going out.  And as a new, unknown author, not a heck of a lot will be coming in. At first.

That's why there needs to be a plan. And an understanding that as freaking horrifying it is to see that tide of money flowing out, you're building a career which will hopefully turn that tide around down the line. And there need to be MORE BOOKS.  An author can't just write one book, sit back and wait for money to come flowing in.

I doubt it was ever true for most authors and it REALLY isn't true now. You have to have another book on the horizon. Then another and another. If you are serious about this writing as a business, you have to treat it like a business.  You can't sell just one widget forever.

So for today go out and buy someones' book-widget- doesn't have to be mine (but yeah, that would be cool) and go out and write a great review on a book you loved- help that author build their widget factory (and good reviews are the lifeblood of that! ;)) Support other writers in this business.

22 comments:

  1. What a lovely post :)
    I saw a talk by Jacqueline Winspear last week, who writes the Maisie Dobbs series, and someone asked about her 'writing process' and she said something to the effect of, "Writing is my job. I work 9 to 5 Monday through Friday, with an hour for lunch." It was pretty great :)
    ~AJ Lauer @ blog.ajlauer.net
    an A-Z Cohost
    @ayjaylauer on Twitter

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    1. Thank you, AJ. And I love that "writing process"!

      Thanks for coming by and commenting!

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  2. The business side of things does put a damper on the enthusiasm. However, it also empowers us. We CAN do something to further our success/careers.
    Play off the Page

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    1. Very true, Mary. It's stressful, insane, and scary, but it is nice to have something we can control!

      Thanks for coming by and commenting!

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  3. Sounds like you've figured it all out. I'm still a work in progress when it comes to the business side of it all.

    Here's my link if you'd like to drop by :-)

    Anna from Elements of Writing

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    1. Mwhaaaaa! *Snort* all figured out? Yeah...no. But I'm working on it! :)

      Thanks for coming by and commenting!

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  4. Happy one week birthday! Treating writing as a business can often be hard, probably because as writers we write first and foremost because we love it! I hear you about supporting each other.

    Best wishes
    Suzanne (IWSG co-host)

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    1. Thank you, Suzanne! I think it is hard for us since that's not where our love lies,but it's part of the job :). The more writers support other writers the stronger we all are. :)

      Thanks for coming by and commenting!

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  5. Ah, the business end of writing. When we began our writing careers (careers are things people in business have, correct?) I think we imagine ourselves writing in an insular world where reality doesn't intrude and magical things happen, like perfect stories about exactly as they should be characters who sail smoothly through complex and totally logical plots on the first and only effort required. Hah! All those magical things take hard work. Work as in your job as an author. Thanks for pointing out that writing is a job which produces a product which needs to be sold if it's going to be shared with the world.

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    1. So true, Sharon! I do vastly prefer the "magical" idea though ;). To be in a lovely little cottage, just writing perfect first drafts...sigh. ;)

      Thanks for coming by and commenting!

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  6. That's great! Happy one week birthday for your book!

    Supporting each other would be great, whether they're an indie author or are traditionally published.

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    1. Thank you, Sittie! Yup, writers need to support writers--who else can understand this mess we do? ;)

      Thanks for coming by and commenting!

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  7. Congrats on the your debut book. Wishing you much success. The business end of writing is as important to an author as it is for GM, Ford, & Chrysler. (Can you tell I'm from a car town?) Writing the next book is a must, too.

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    1. Thank you you, Diane! LOL! Yup- we're doing the same thing they do, only with less metal ;).

      Thanks for coming by and commenting!

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  8. Congrats on your book. I released my own recently and have been obsessively checking sales instead of writing. *slaps wrist* Bad Patty.

    ~Patricia Lynne aka Patricia Josephine~
    Member of C. Lee's Muffin Commando Squad
    Story Dam
    Patricia Lynne, Indie Author

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    1. Thank you and congrats, Patricia! I can't look--I did the first day or so and it drove me mad. So I just focus on the NEXT book ;).

      Thanks for coming by and commenting!

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  9. Wow. I feel like you were behind a podium reading that. Very inspirational and TRUE. Good God is all that true. Writing is a business (although some of us wishes it wasn't) and no matter, what we HAVE to keep working at it. Every day.

    Awesome post!

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    1. LOL!! Thank you! :) As long as we keep that in mind, and keep moving forward in all aspects we'll all do fine :).

      Thanks for coming by and commenting!

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  10. Great post. Everything you said is true. The paradigm has shifted; a writer can't just writer nowadays. Whether you're tradional published, self/indie and or hybrid, it's all on the writer to market and promote their books. Publishing houses don't give much help in those areas anymore. And congrats on your book release!

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    1. Thanks! Yup- this is the best time to be a writer, but it is also the time where writers have to take more control of their careers than ever before. Which is actually a good thing ;).

      Thanks for coming by and commenting!

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  11. Congrats on your book! I'm a hopeful writer. With two contests underway and learning to query, I'm in need of #IWSG. ;-)

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  12. Marie,
    Thanks for sharing that. And you're right. Writing IS a business - as much as it hurts me to think that way!
    Anne

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