Saturday, October 15, 2011
How does a writer justify her work if she is not getting paid yet?
I feel squeezed in a vice of needing to follow this calling to write another book and yet having expenses, on the book I'm currently marketing and trying to sell, that need to be paid off. I am not yet making enough money on my first book to justify spending time to write the second book (the sequel to the first one). I feel caught in a sort of catch 22. How do we do this, writers? How do we justify this job of writing when we are not being paid for it (yet)? Can we live on our faith that our books will sell and pay day will come some day? Please help me by sharing your stories of dealing with this dilemma.
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If the dollars coming in were my only reason for writing, I would not.
ReplyDeleteIt is necessary for me to write thoughts down when they are fresh in my mind. At some later date, I can refer to the ideas jotted down and tell more of the story. I call it, "Fluffing them up." Many of the core ideas will never get to this process. However, if I have written ideas down, some may get fluffed.
I have never "self published" because I would not spend the time selling. Perhaps someday there will be a publisher who will want my work. Then, the publisher can use its network of distribution to sell the material.
Kent, thanks for your comment. Writing really is more about the expression within that seeks to come out and about the writer as a vehicle of that expression into the world, I agree! The challenge is melding the world of publication and marketing with the world of writing. These are two different things, I've found. A writer that seeks to get published must have her/his feet in both worlds. Even if we are picked up by a publishing company, the primary way to market is by the author herself/himself. One must be ready to actively go in front of audiences and sit at Book Fair tables and talk to people... Thanks again. Lydia
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