A Career Without A Living

 

Recently, I read Ron Collins’ informative and inspirational book, On Writing (and Reading) Short: A Science Fiction Writer’s Quest for Stories that Matter.

It was a very good read. I picked the book up as part of a Kickstarter campaign Mr. Collins did some months ago.

He has lots of things to say about writing in general and short stories in particular. I encourage you to pick up a copy.

Somewhere in the book he gives us his view of what it means to have a career writing short stories. It was a beautiful statement. And I found it very inspirational.

I present it below in a modified form. I use it as a contemplative read every morning.

I can have a career writing even if I never make my living from writing.

I can have a career writing by simply applying my time to pursuing it.

The only real requirements are that this pursuit fills my soul, that I create some thing, and that I don’t stop.

There are five moving parts to this statement:

1. I can have a career without it providing a living
2. I can have a career simply by pursuing one
3. The career must fill my soul
4. I must create something to have a career
5. I can have a career as long as I don’t stop pursuing it

We’ll only look at the first part today. We may look at the others in future posts.

I can have a career without it providing me a living.

That is a significant statement. A career and a living are not the same thing. At least according to Mr. Collins.

Upon reflection, I find myself agreeing with him.

We perform all manner of tasks to provide ourselves with a living. A living is nothing more than doing something that provides us with money so that we may live. Eat. Dress in suitable clothes. Procure a roof over our heads. And perhaps a few luxuries along the way.

A career, on the other hand, may provide a living. Then again it may “only” provide non-monetary satisfaction.

Being a short story writer, Mr. Collins knows that in today’s world he is not going to make any money—at least any significant money—from writing.

Much the same when I was a career poet. There is no money in poetry, and there is no money in short stories.

And sad to say, for most of us writers there is no money in writing no matter what we write. That is a fact of life. Statistically, the vast majority of writers cannot earn a living from their pens and keyboards.

Which is why I find Mr. Collins’ statement so significant. We write because we love it. We write because the act fills our souls. And because it fills our souls, we will write even if we are our only reader. Hopefully, though, we aren’t alone.

Comments are always welcome! And until next time, happy reading!

CW Hawes is a playwright; award-winning poet; and a fictioneer, with three bestselling novels. He’s also an armchair philosopher, political theorist, social commentator, and traveler. He loves a good cup of tea and agrees that everything’s better with pizza.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider buying me a cup of tea. Thanks! PayPal.me/CWHawes 

Review: Catch a Tiger by the Toe

 

I make no bones about it: I’m a Joe Congel fan.

I like reading stories and he writes good stories I want to read.

Catch a Tiger by the Toe is his latest offering.

It’s a suspense-filled murder mystery that satisfies on all levels.

Retired  NYC cop Brandon Turner wants a quiet life. A life filled with the joy of his dog, his lady-love, mentoring her son, and maybe a little fishing.

However, he once again finds himself entangled in a murder investigation where it seems he’s the only one with the skill set necessary to catch the killer. A nasty person bent on killing children in a catch-me-if-you-can game with the police.

For me, characters are the story. After all, life is about people. People and what they do or don’t do. And fiction is nothing more or less than a stylized look at people and their lives.

Congel gives us real people. Its as though a giant scooped up a great big handful of the world and put it under a dome for us to observe. That’s what it’s like reading one of his books.

One indicator I go by to tell me if the writer is sensitive to his surroundings and conveys them realistically is dialogue.

Does the writer get dialogue right? Does he have an ear for how people actually speak?

If the answer is yes, then the book will be enjoyable. If the answer is no, well, I don’t go on reading. The writer isn’t listening to the world. And if he isn’t listening does he have anything for me? Probably not.

Congel listens. He hears the world around him. His characters’s dialogue tells me so. They interact with real life and so what he has to tell me by means of his story will be real too.

If you already know Joe Congel, you know what I’m talking about.

If you don’t know his voice, then you are in for a wonderful treat. And Catch a Tiger by the Toe (Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles, Book 26) is an excellent place to begin.

Only on Amazon, and only 99¢ for a very short time. Get your copy today!

Comments are always welcome! And until next time, happy reading!

CW Hawes is a playwright; award-winning poet; and a fictioneer, with three bestselling novels. He’s also an armchair philosopher, political theorist, social commentator, and traveler. He loves a good cup of tea and agrees that everything’s better with pizza.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider buying me a cup of tea. Thanks! PayPal.me/CWHawes 

Justinia Wright Private Investigator Mysteries on Amazon!

Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles on Amazon!

Back Into KDP Select

 

I’ve put my entire catalog (save for one book) back into KDP Select.

Why? Because I decided, at this point in time, it would take more marketing effort than I want to expend to try to go wide.

Don’t get me wrong. I still think Amazon is the evil empire. Although, on the whole, they’ve treated me well. At least up until now. The future? Who knows?

Plus, everything is geared towards indie authors being in KDP Select. Guru advice. Promotional services. Software.

It’s a cascading effect that will eventually force everyone else out of business. The again, perhaps not. Hopefully not. The Amazonification of the world is not a good thing.

Now that Draft2Digital has finally gotten the integration completed with the Smashwords store, I will approach going wide more thoughtfully.

In addition, there’s Kickstarter. And more and more authors and readers are turning to the platform to find their newest read. 

And there’s Patreon. Many authors are successfully using the platform to reach non-Amazon customers. Or even Amazon customers.

Amazon has over 30 million books on its virtual shelves. Ads have gotten completely out of hand, to the point where half of your search results are ads – not books you’re searching for. I don’t search for books on Amazon anymore. Too many ads. Although Google is getting just as bad. I’ll probably have to use my Brave browser to search ad free.

Showing readers there’s an easier way to access your content is, IMO, a definite plus. For both you and the reader. Anything that makes you stand out in the crowd.

I see my return to KDP Select as temporary. Time to re-group and plan a systematic re-entry into going wide.

In the meantime, if you’ve subscribed to Kindle Unlimited, go ahead and read my books. You’ve already paid for them.

Comments are always welcome! And until next time, happy reading!

CW Hawes is a playwright; award-winning poet; and a fictioneer, with three bestselling novels. He’s also an armchair philosopher, political theorist, social commentator, and traveler. He loves a good cup of tea and agrees that everything’s better with pizza.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider buying me a cup of tea. Thanks! PayPal.me/CWHawes 

Justinia Wright Private Investigator Mysteries on Amazon!

Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles on Amazon!

Prime Day Sale!

 

Get great reads while they’re hot!

Prime Day is today and I’ve lowered the price on virtually all of my books to 99¢ for the event.

Are mysteries your thing? Then pick up the 

Justinia Wright Private Investigator Mysteries

They are only 99¢ each. An extra special deal is the Omnibus edition. Priced so that each of the first 4 books in the series is only 75¢ each.

And don’t forget the

Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles

Twelve authors creating a whole lot of mayhem in Magnolia Bluff, Texas. I have 3 books in the series:

Death Wears a Crimson Hat

Ten Million Ways to Die

Who Mourns Elektra?

I think they represent some of my finest writing to date. Check ‘em out!

Want a little horror in your life? There’s the

Pierce Mostyn Paranormal Investigations

I also have 4 short stories that will give you the creeps:

Do One Thing For Me

Ancient History

Metamorphosis

What the Next Day Brings

If you’re a fan of post-apocalyptic cozy catastrophes as I am, there’s 

The Rocheport Saga

It’s the story of one man’s dream to rebuild a world, a better world, from the ashes of the world that died.

I also have 3 retro-modern decopunk books that bleed over into alternative history. They’re sleepers in my backlist, but I think they’re excitingly great fun to read.

The Moscow Affair

The Golden Fleece Affair

Rand Hart and the Pajama Putsch

Look through my author page on Amazon. Great escapes for just under a buck. You can’t beat that.

Comments are always welcome! And until next time, happy reading!

CW Hawes is a playwright; award-winning poet; and a fictioneer, with three bestselling novels. He’s also an armchair philosopher, political theorist, social commentator, and traveler. He loves a good cup of tea and agrees that everything’s better with pizza.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider buying me a cup of tea. Thanks! PayPal.me/CWHawes