♦Welcome to another edition of the Open Book Blog Hop!♦
Topic #239
Even if you knew you would never sell another book,
would you keep writing?
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I don’t know that I really view writing for profit as the thing I ever intended when I started out. The idea is always there, because you wonder if you can make it fulfilling your dream. Making it requires turning your books into enough profit to live on. Most authors have another job, however, and the writing is secondary to that.
If I learned that I would never profit a dime, I would still write. It’s in me. I am a writer. Turning my back on my art just isn’t going to happen, even if I can’t sell it. I can’t imagine not writing, even though I only write when I feel like it. Those stories bubble up when they bubble up and getting them on paper is paramount!
When I write on this blog about writing, to help other authors, I remind them that making money shouldn’t be at the forefront of their thought process. A reader can sense the pandering for their wallet. The same failure is behind why book posts on Twitter don’t work to sell books. Focus on quality content and sharing that with readers to build a readership. The rest will come from that. You have to sow the seeds to reap the harvest.
The balance is a bit of an acrobatic feat these days. Authors now have to be marketers, personalities, and writers. It’s a tough racket not every author is cut out to accomplish. That’s no critique of their writing, either. Writers are meant to be writers, not social media and marketing gurus. This new requirement has really changed up the game. It’s going to take more than blogging and writing books to get anywhere at this point.
Did you know that even if you publish with a major publisher, you’ll still be responsible for building and maintaining your readership? It’s true. They’re not going to dump marketing resources behind your book. You have to prove you can bring in the sales. The big show isn’t an easy ride. If you survive the query process, you still have a great deal of work ahead of you. It remains your responsibility. (Which is one of the reasons I cite for condemning the low percentage of profit the author is given.)
Does it ever end? I don’t think that it does. Citing authors like Stephen King and other high profile names doesn’t help answer that question either. King has so many books, and so many years in, but I know I still see him working the readership. That’s why he has a Twitter and website. He knows the value of this. He also does still go out for public appearances. From what I see, he’s still working just as hard to maintain his reader base as when building it. And, he’s still largely responsible for doing so, despite the nice publisher.
The reason I believe this to be the case is: years pass and so do readers. You’ll lose and pick up as time goes by. If you’re not out there, you will eventually disappear from the view of readers. Plus, readers want more from authors, like interviews, signings, related content–something fun to consume from their favorite writer personality.
If I was never going to make a dime again, I’d probably drop the add-ons. After all, those side pieces are strictly for the enjoyment of the readers, to enrich their experience with my content (my books). I might do some art, but it would be just for me. I might share it with others, but I wouldn’t need to. My whole attitude toward this aspect would definitely change! Still. I would write no matter what.
Let’s hop on over to see what the other authors would do. Click on the links below…
