Showing posts with label business of writing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label business of writing. Show all posts
Sunday, December 1, 2019
Wednesday, April 17, 2019
Wednesday, April 10, 2019
Wednesday, April 3, 2019
How Do You Get Your Work in the Public Eye?
I found this to be an interesting read. I'm not a visual artist, but it got me to thinking about how I can take my work into different places and spaces.
Where to Show Your Work
Where to Show Your Work
Wednesday, March 27, 2019
You Don't Know Dan
Icon and hero. I don't care what this article says, Dan Jenkins will never die.
Dan Jenkins obituary.
Dan Jenkins obituary.
Monday, March 18, 2019
Finish What You Have Started
I keep track of production by word count. I aim for 2K words or more a week. I also have a goal of one short story a month. In 2017 I wrote 15. In 2018 I wrote 12. So far, in 2019, I have not finished one SS. It is March. I'm getting antsy. Don't get me wrong, I'm being productive, I just haven't finished a SS. It is a special feeling, finishing a story. Accomplishment. I need my fix. I started a SS in January and it kept going, January, and going, February, and going. I finally wrote THE END today.
I'm not finished, mind you. Still a lot of polishing to do, but I got to THE END. The story is called 'The Year Walk' or 'Solstice Nights,' not sure yet. It clocks in at around 11,500 words, which technically makes it a novelette, not a SS. Don't care.
I got to the end.
I'm not finished, mind you. Still a lot of polishing to do, but I got to THE END. The story is called 'The Year Walk' or 'Solstice Nights,' not sure yet. It clocks in at around 11,500 words, which technically makes it a novelette, not a SS. Don't care.
I got to the end.
Saturday, September 16, 2017
Basic Economic Questions of Writing
Writing for the sake of writing is all well and good. Writing because you have stories to tell or purely for the sake of the craft is fine but if you want to pursue writing as a career, you must write with purpose and that purpose is to get paid.
With that in mind, writing, like all businesses must be carefully thought out. Professional writers have a business plan. They think about marketing, production and efficiency.
I’m not saying place business ahead of the craft, but take into consideration the business elements when thinking about the craft. Consider not just plot, character arc, and structure but also market, distribution and production. Who are you writing for if you want to get paid? Ultimately you are writing for readers but your first readers, unless you go straight to self publishing, are generally editors. What editors of magazines and journals and book publishing houses are looking for is a tricky proposition.
Start with the basic economic questions:
What are you producing?
This is the part where craft is king. What are your strengths as a writer? Think about length (short stories or novels) and genres. Most people write general fiction. General fiction or literary fiction is a crowded market, making it tough to break through and sell.
How are you producing?
How much time can you realistically spend writing. How productive do you think you will be in creating finished product to send out into the market?
For whom are you producing?
What is your market? Do you want an agent? Are you targeting a book deal or magazines? When you have fully explored the ‘what’ question, the ‘for whom’ question becomes more clear.
I will discuss this topic in more detail in coming weeks. Point I am making in this post is more writers need to seriously consider the business of writing.
With that in mind, writing, like all businesses must be carefully thought out. Professional writers have a business plan. They think about marketing, production and efficiency.
I’m not saying place business ahead of the craft, but take into consideration the business elements when thinking about the craft. Consider not just plot, character arc, and structure but also market, distribution and production. Who are you writing for if you want to get paid? Ultimately you are writing for readers but your first readers, unless you go straight to self publishing, are generally editors. What editors of magazines and journals and book publishing houses are looking for is a tricky proposition.
Start with the basic economic questions:
What are you producing?
This is the part where craft is king. What are your strengths as a writer? Think about length (short stories or novels) and genres. Most people write general fiction. General fiction or literary fiction is a crowded market, making it tough to break through and sell.
How are you producing?
How much time can you realistically spend writing. How productive do you think you will be in creating finished product to send out into the market?
For whom are you producing?
What is your market? Do you want an agent? Are you targeting a book deal or magazines? When you have fully explored the ‘what’ question, the ‘for whom’ question becomes more clear.
I will discuss this topic in more detail in coming weeks. Point I am making in this post is more writers need to seriously consider the business of writing.
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