December 9, 2013

Why Being An Author Is Bad For Business

I was driving to pick up a friend last night to go to an artist meetup in town. As per usual when I drive, I was talking to myself, working some things that I had on my mind and I'd like to take the time to explain them now.

When I write a book, I spend hours and hours sitting on my arse, creating this world and these characters and falling in love with them. Then, when it's finished, I spend hours and hours editing, making sure everything is right before I release them upon the world.

The problem is that, even after all that work, a book is a one-time-buy. I'm not going to buy more than one copy of a book. There's no point. Unless I put out a new book once a month, my sales will never be consistent.

Of course, that's where new readers come in. But that's where I struggle. I have the hardest time pulling people in and getting them interested in what I have to say. It's easier for me to write a new book every month than to get new people interested.

This is why I don't think it's lucrative for an author to only be an author. We have to become business people if we want to succeed and make a living out of our work. It can't just be writing and publishing and chocolate and coffee and sleep.

This is where I am. Trying to find a way to expand on my work in a way that I can make a decent living without abasing myself and crawling back to the job that made me miserable for six long, loooong, long years, and finding a way to increase readership. Because I love being a full time writer. I would love it even more if I made a little more money. $400 a month would set me straight.

That said, and I promise I'm not begging, if you enjoy this blog and The Blood Scorpions, please leave a donation via the paypal button to the side. I don't make any money from this blog or from posting this story. I would greatly appreciate your support.


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