That's Write!
So, I was told recently that writing is a mug's game. The reasoning behind this argument was simply that not enough people become rich from it.
I am aware that getting established and read by a wide audience can take a long time. Hell, I might never be more than an also-ran in the grand scheme of things, but I think I realised at the outset, that selling a thousand books a day was going to be unlikely. Selling a hundred books a day was going to be a dream come true. Selling ten books a day was achievable, but only with hard work.
I'm the first to admit that I have struggled to put time and effort into my promotions. Why? Well, basically because I took too much on, AND because I don't like to push my work in front of people's faces.
There are some outstanding writers out there, both tradtionally published and independent. Most have taken the sensible route; created their books, built their fan base and THEN have been able to build a decent sized readership with a reasonable amount of effort on their part.
The rest of us appear to throw the book out there, then spent months scrabbling around trying to get noticed... I really should sort that out!
For me, writing began as the potential to earn money... any author who says different is bending the facts slightly. Now, however, I see a lot further into the detail of the dream.
There's no doubt; if you can make it big and sell millions of books, there's nothing wrong with that. If you can't, there could be a combination of a great many reasons why. Maybe it's the wrong 'time' for your particular story, maybe you just didn't write it well enough.
Whatever the reasons, don't beat yourself up over not making that million to change your life... very few ever will.
A little over a year ago, myself and a few other writers set up "The Write Stuff" on Facebook. It was born of another group where like minded authors had grouped to be of mutual support and assistance when the need arose; and for a while, that original group worked well.
The group I started later approaches things differently. I don't regard us as being uber-dynamic, but we do try and keep a sensible balance between the information we offer to the members (now passing 300) and the opportunities to promote on the page.
The positives of this are that new members don't come to a group with a page full of "BUY MY BOOK!" ads, but equally, many members make use of the group as they settle in. Very few come blasting in with instantaneous posts and comments, although we do try and encourage them.
So, is there an ideal way to mae money from writing? Well, yes, clearly there is but don't be fooled into thinking it is an overnight success story waiting to happen. Although there may be a handful of those out there, I'm certainly not aware of any.
All the writers I am aware of, who have gone on to a measure of success, have had to work long and hard at it. To those, I wish continued success and all the happiness and benefits it brings, and to the rest of us I wish for continued contentment and for the muse to never abandon us.
Who knows? One of us may be on the verge of literary recognition.
For myself, the road has been difficult and often complicated. Working full time and writing full time simply cannot be sustained. One has to give, and in every case, it is the paid work that dominates.
Every author I have had this discussion with gives the same answer... "I want to write. I want to write all day, every day. If I didn't have to work, that's what I would do."
So are we condemning ourselves to only begin to write seriously once we retire, or if an unexpected windfall suddenly changes our lives? It has to be said; that's a possible scenario for those who persevere and refuse to give up on their dream.
Modern e-publishing has opened the literary floodgates. Where once there may have been a few dozen books released each month by the publishing houses, that figure is now in the thousands... with the vast majority of those released by an army of armchair story-tellers, often with no writing skills.
In too many cases, these self-publishers have reduced writing from an art form into a target for trolls and self-righteous individuals, who resent the fact that an ordinary person would consider themselves capable of writing at all.
To them, a book is something to treasure... and to a point, I have to agree.
Why should they pay their hard-earned money and get some half-baked, unreadable, unedited diatribe?
As authors (independent or not), we are responsible for offering quality to our customers. You wouldn't buy a car if it were only three-quarters completed, would you? So, if you are going to write a book. Put it out there in it's FINISHED form.
However, the other side of the arguement is equally important... There are some absolutely superb indie books out there; well written by excellent authors. Carefully edited and formatted, with quality oozing from them... Authors whom I can only hope to be measured against some day.
Sadly, because they too are independent, these same 'haters', armed with the viewpoint that 'if one is terrible, all must be terrible', feel justified in arbitrarily slamming the diamonds along with the gravel. There is no balance to the scales. As indie authors, you sit and take the flack in the knowledge that your response will bring more sustained attacks down upon you.
So, the world is against you. The readers are against you. The publishers are against you. Only one in many thousands of you will ever make a living from your work... Why do you write again?
