The commitment to being a writer is a big one. And it’s a humbling commitment.
Let’s face the facts. 95% of all the books written today never bring in enough income to sustain the writer. And this dilemma is exacerbated by how easy it now is to write and publish a book. Amazon’s KDP program is totally free. You can literally publish a book without spending any money whatsoever.
Marketing has ruined book writing.
I think it’s a shame but nowadays, with the online world. If you want to actually sell your book you have to change hats and become a promoter/marketer. You probably have to expend more time and energy on that rather than on your writing.
And this is reflected very strongly in the publishing world. In terms of getting a contract with an agent or a publisher.
I have interacted with a variety of publishers and they all are very interested in seeing what kind of online presence you have created for yourself. Do you have a successful X account? How about TikTok? How about Youtube? Maybe linked in or any number of other social sites.
In other words they want to know if you have a built in audience that is interested in buying your potential book.
You only have so much life energy
This means that your writing suffers. It is depreciated. The more life energy you spend on marketing and public relations the less energy you have to delve into and explore your book.
I refuse to do it and I have “suffered” for this decision.
Since committing to being a writer my life has been very humbling. I have spent long periods of time in various low states of existence including homelessness. I have eaten in a variety of soup kitchens probably hundreds of times.
But that is all okay by me. I made that decision and feel good about it. I expend my life energy doing what I want to do – write. Which is actually the act of exploration. And my physical needs are pretty basic.
This pull toward money and success also affects what book you write
This is probably something that every writer goes through. It is the deciding which book to write. What is the idea? And will it be financially successful? To me this jades the art of writing.
And I never factor that in. For me it is all about what drives me. What am I interested in writing? What will enrich me and others?
I write the book I want to write. I don’t write the book I think will sell lots of copies.