Back to Reality

It’s Friday! You know what that means…

Time for a new series! This time we’ll be talking about some of the things you’ll need to know if you want to be a writer. Right now, I’ve come up with ten points—but I’ll add more to the list as they come to mind, so this series might run for a while.

For simplicity’s sake, I’m titling it “So You Want to Be a Writer?”

In this series, I’m going to share some hard truths with you, and I’m not going to sugarcoat. At least, not very much. But in the process, you’ll find out what it takes to be a writer, and how to get going in what I think is one of the most fun careers out there.

So let’s get started!

            1.      There is no substantial payoff in the immediate

I know, that’s not really what anyone wants to hear.

But like I said, we’re going with some hard truths here.

In the immediate, there’s really no big payoff. True, if you get accepted by a bigger publisher, you’ll get a nice fat check—but those checks are incredibly difficult to hold onto, and they don’t come very often. With big publishers you’ll only be getting a small amount of your royalties, so after that big check you won’t see much unless another book is chosen for publication.

Self-publishing is, of course, a little different. You, the author, will get to keep a larger amount of the royalty, but there’s still not a lot that comes through right away.

Don’t worry, that’s completely normal—especially for your first book.

Sure, maybe you have a lot of friends, but are they really all going to drop the money to buy your book right away? Probably not.

You’ll need to make a marketing plan and get your name out there, and your first book will be the time to do it. If you play your cards right, the second book will get you a bigger payoff.

But don’t forget, it’s still not going to happen right away.

That’s just the way this game works, because writers make their money off other people, and we don’t always have the influence we need.

If you build an audience before you release, it makes it easier to get a slightly bigger payoff—but if you’re not famous in any way, I suggest you get off your high horse and do the work. The money will come in time: you just might have to work a part time job until then.

Sheesh. Sometimes harsh Rani is harsh. But it’s only because she’s been through this very recently, and she doesn’t want you to go through this without knowing what you’re getting into.

She doesn’t know why she’s talking in third person.

Have a good weekend everyone!

{R Divine}