Being A Writer #2: A Horrible Truth

Hey, everyone.

So this Being A Writer is a little dour and a little sour, and largely dependent on the individual writer, but for many it's true. Let's look at it a little deeper.

Explanation

Most of the world still carries a bias against self-publishing. To many, traditional publishing is the only way to go--apparently, if people front your cover design costs, you're worth being read. Unfortunately, this isn't a strict maxim. Ever heard of 50 Shades of Grey? I hear it's not that good. Meanwhile, Twilight, while written well, it doesn't deserve the hype. But I'm getting a little off topic here.

For many of us self-pubs, we hardly ever see any real money from our writing. Now, there are ways to boost the odds of course: Facebook and Amazon ads, press releases, podcast interviews, and even having a team of beta readers who buy the book first day and leave their real reviews a few seconds later. But if you're broke and don't have connections, and if you're not big into self-promotion, no one will really care about your book, even if it's the best book in the world.

But! Like I said, these are all conditional from writer to writer. Some self-pubs do quite well for themselves. However, I fall into the group of writers that write on a wing and a prayer. All I really have in my life are a few friends, who don't buy my books, and some family members, who are very supportive, but still don't buy my books. And the only family member I have who does read everything I've self-published doesn't even believe in my future as writer. So... yeah.

No doubt about it, regardless of what stage you're at when it comes to writing, whether it be outlining, writing, editing and proofing, publicizing, or you're already well-established, it is a challenging gig. And from what I hear, it's getting more difficult all the time for traditionally published writers. Apparently, the advance they give you is supposed to be used for advertising, and if the book flops, they may just take the advance back. Yikes...

But, I'd take a bad day at this over a good day of almost everything else. And my intention with this post is not meant to scare you or complain. I admit, I was not in a good place when I created this entry to the Being A Writer meme, but instead of letting this one get you down, use it as an opportunity to prove me wrong. Say to yourself, "Yes, they do. People do care when I publish a book. And they're going to buy it, and you, meme/Bryan C. Laesch, will just have to wallow in your failing career while I go on to make millions."

Good luck.

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Keep writing, my friends.

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