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 

Looking Back: Ten Years Ago

Ten years ago I was 61. My wife had given me the okay to retire at 62 if I wished. And boy was I ever looking to retire and get out of the toxic county work environment that I’d endured for 30 years.

What I Wrote

In February 2014, I completed my massively sprawling post-apocalyptic epic The Rocheport Saga. A novel over 2200 handwritten pages long. The published seven volumes comprise about a third of the original manuscript. So there is lots more to add, if I decide to continue the saga.

In the spring and early summer of that year, I wrote Trio in Death-Sharp Minor and Festival of Death. The first two books in the Justinia Wright Private Investigator Mystery series.

During the summer, I wrote the first Lady Dru Drummond decopunk action-adventure novel: The Moscow Affair. And I edited Do One Thing For Me (a horror novelette) for publication.

Then I published the entire shooting match in November and December.

Dreamin’ of Riches

And like most writers, I immediately started dreaming about what I’d do with all the royalty money I’d be getting.

However, reality is a harsh mistress. And the money… Well, I quickly discovered that I was in the same league as the vast majority of fiction writers: we make very little to no money from our books. A sad tale, but true.

Although, I can say I am better off than many of my peers. Because, without any significant advertising, I have made at least $200 every year I’ve been at this indie writing/publishing gig. The operative phrase being without any significant advertising.

And last year, again without any significant advertising, I had my best year ever: pulling in around $630. Not a king’s ransom by any means. But I spent less than $30 in advertising and expended very little time hawking my books. The major “cost” was in writing, editing, and formatting — all which I did myself.

My hope is that one of these years before I die I'll break that $1000 mark in income from my books. So stay tuned.

How to Make a Buck

One key to making a buck writing fiction these days is to orchestrate a massive advertising campaign, often to the tune of thousands of dollars. And hoping you sell enough books to break even. Few do. Even so, this is what almost all the gurus advise. Advertise, advertise, advertise.

Another tried-and-true method is direct sales. Man a booth at a fair, book festival, or convention. 

I know authors who have actually sold many thousands of copies of their books doing so. The downside is that your weekends are tied up and you have to lug around curtains of your books. But you can make a living by selling direct. Just too busy and too much traveling for my liking.

Social Media

Generally speaking, social media is a bust. I haven’t gotten any book sale traction via social media for a few years now. In fact, I’ve pulled back severely on my social media involvement. The results aren’t worth the time investment.

Social media’s value, IMO, is in meeting other authors.

Kickstarter?

A venue not often mentioned by the gurus is Kickstarter. However, the platform is drawing name authors who are trying to generate sales and getting followers. 

The success of Brandon Sanderson on the platform has kickstarted quite a few writers to give it a try. And when even unknown or little known writers pull in tens of thousands of dollars on their campaigns, it gives one something to think about.

Of course, there is work to organizing and conducting a Kickstarter campaign, but then there is work with everything. Except if you choose to do nothing. No work involved in that.

And this year…

So what’s on my docket for this year? Writing, of course. I’m also planning on giving Kickstarter a try. I’ll use the platform for the launch of my ninth Pierce Mostyn book. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

But you won’t find me going to book fairs, conventions, and what not. I’m retired. I don’t need to make a buck at this venture. As one writer friend says, “I’m just writing for the larks.”

If you join my mailing list

All genres, but especially mystery: 

https://dl.bookfunnel.com/dew2bf67hz 

Horror: 

https://dl.bookfunnel.com/aj2s8x1slq 

you’ll find out the latest and greatest, maybe get some free stuff, and get curated content.

That’s all for now folks!

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

CW Hawes is a playwright; award-winning poet; and a fictioneer, with a bestselling novel. 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!

7 Years and Counting

 

Sunday, 14 November, was my 7 year independent author-publisher anniversary. Time flies when you’re having fun. And I’ve been having lots of fun.

Publishing stories and books, seeing them in actual and virtual print, is the realization of a dream I’ve had for as long as I can remember.

These past 7 years I’ve met all manner of wonderful and delightful people. I’ve written well over 30 books and stories. Most I’ve published. Some are exclusive to the fans on my mailing list. (Hint, hint.)

Anniversaries, for me, are times to not only celebrate, but also to reflect on the past and contemplate the future.

When I look back to 14 November 2014, a lot has happened. 2015 saw the beginning of massive changes on the indie publishing scene.

The easy money and fame quickly became a thing of the past. Competition skyrocketed. There was the rise of the middlemen and the marketing gurus, with their get rich quick schemes.

Starry-eyed wannabe authors came and went. Some writers still talk about the book that’s coming out soon. And there are some who are indeed livin’ the dream — they struck gold. They quit the day job and get to tell stories for a living.

I confess I’ve never been money motivated. Money’s nice and makes living a whole heck of a lot easier. Nevertheless, there are things that are more important than money.

Seven years of doing this indie gig, I am not monetarily better off. It’s cost me more than the royalties I earned. But money isn’t everything.

Let me count my blessings:

• I’m having fun.
• I’m writing and publishing what I want to write and publish. There are no gatekeepers telling me NO.
• There are people who like my stories. People who think my stories add value to their lives.
• I’ve met writers whose books have added value to my life.
• And did I say I’m having fun?

Before turning to fiction, I wrote poetry and had hundreds of poems published. People recognized my name. And that was a good feeling. People found value in my poems. So you see money isn’t everything.

So what’s on the docket for year 8 of my writing adventure? The answer’s pretty simple: more stories, more fun.

I’ll be writing new books and stories, with the focus on providing a good number of those to my mailing list. (Hint, hint.)

I’m looking at giving screenwriting a try. My first successful writing endeavor was a play. So I see screenwriting as something akin to going home.

Audiobooks and perhaps a YouTube channel are also in the works. After all, before I wrote anything I told myself stories. Going audio will be a definite homecoming.

Writing has brought me small triumphs and great joy. What can I say? This is a wonderful life.

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

If you join my VIP Readers list, you’ll get the book Vampire House and other early cases of Justinia Wright, P.I. for free. Click or tap this link to BookFunnel.

If you join my VIP Horror Readers list, you’ll get The Feeder for free, which is a Pierce Mostyn Paranormal Investigation only available to my VIP readers. Click or tap this link to BookFunnel.

Enjoy!

Talent’s Not Enough

Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. … Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.

—Attributed to Calvin Coolidge

Last week I wrote about creativity and the joy of being a creator.

This week I want to riff on that idea with a dose of reality. Talent is not enough to succeed.

In my years of actively writing for publication, I’ve seen many poets and fiction writers — far more talented than myself — give up.

They may have given up because of too many rejection slips. Or thrown in the towel because of a bad review or two or three. Or they may have called it quits due to lack of sales. Or they were not up to the hard work of promoting their writing. They had the misconception that just because they had talent they would not have to work. Success would instantly be theirs. As Nick Stephenson has noted, if no one knows you exist — all you are doing is writing into a black hole. And I’ll add: even if you have talent. Success comes from work. You have to work hard to get people to find you and notice you.

I could easily name a half dozen authors or more whose books are on my iPad who have disappeared. Apparently they’ve given up. They lacked persistence and determination.

It’s common knowledge that most new business ventures fail within the first three years. And writing is no different. It is a business venture, whether the author is traditionally published or self-published.

My late friend, John J. (“Jack”) Koblas, whose books were published by a regional publisher in Minnesota, used to drive his van — loaded with cases of his books — all over the country. He gave talks and went to conferences, and sold autographed copies of his books. That was hard, hard work. But he was able to earn a living from his writing by doing so. He found many, many readers because he did the work of finding them.

Jack was persistent and determined. When I first met him in the early 1970s, he was gathering rejection slips for his fiction. He eventually gave up trying to sell his fiction, and instead wrote biographies of famous writers who lived in Minnesota. He found publishers for those books. Then he wrote a fabulous book on Jesse James’s raid on the Northfield, Minnesota bank — and he found his audience in history writing.

Then, because his non-fiction was selling, his publisher brought out his fiction and poetry.

Work. Hard, hard work. But it eventually paid off.

We indie writers are in the same boat. The easy money, the easy route to readers, is gone. It ended in 2014. Now, due to tremendous competition, we have to work. We have to get creative, in order to find our readers.

Persistence and determination. That’s what we need. That has to become our mantra. Because talent is not enough. Many talented writers were and are business failures. They gave up and disappeared. Their dreams crashed and burned — because they gave up. They didn’t have the determination to push on. They didn’t persist. They didn’t get creative and find their unique path to success.

And I find that to be very sobering and very sad. I urge you, my fellow writers, not to be one of them.

The joy they could have brought to scores, hundreds, maybe thousands of readers — is gone, forever.

Talent isn’t enough to succeed. And that is repeatedly demonstrated by the mediocre writer, who is persistent and determined, and thereby succeeds. That, too, is very sobering and very sad.

Persist! Be creative! And you can hold your dream in your hands.

Comments are always welcome. And until next time, happy persisting!