stage, a global market. Spin-off businesses like
tutors, publicists and agents spring up and prosper.
The writer and writing have always been commodities
to be marketed. The difference now is that more
books are published per day than used to be
published annually.
It is the best of times but also the worst of times for
writers--and especially for those of us who choose
to write fiction.
Difficulties of marketing fiction
 |
| Books for sale, photo by Peter Griffin, www.publicdomainpictures.net |
In the main, fiction writers write to entertain, tell stories that encapsulate human experience. They have something to say--a message to share. This idea of theme pervades all successful writing.
But if you are writing to make money, you'll be very
lucky to become one of the big hitters on Kindle, no
matter what the marketers and publicists tell you.
You are competing against millions of books, both new and from successful authors' backlists as well as those which are sourced from the public domain, or are written to order.
So how can you make money to fund your writing?
Think about it--money is being made in copy writing,
ghost writing and to some extent blogging or content
writing for websites.
Profit can be made from spin-offs--webinars,
teaching writing courses, even writing lots for others.
But often the best money can be made at home
through networking. Talk to librarians, local schools, clubs, businesses. Discuss courses/ visits and talks on your area of expertise.
Offer to run a reading and writing hour in school or as
an after-school activity, suggest a talk on self-
publishing to attract more people to the library,
promote your services as a business writer,
enhancing staff communication skills or providing new website content on a regular basis.
As a bonus, whatever the result, you'll be gaining new experiences,meeting new people and finding even more ideas and customers for that new novel.
Anne Duguid is a freelance content editor with MuseItUp Publishing and she tries to pass on helpful writing,editing and publishing tips at Slow and Steady Writers The photograph is by Peter Griffin and can be found at www.publicdomainpictures.net/view-image.php?image=4176&picture=books-for-sale
13 comments:
Great suggestions for making money at home, Anne! Thanks!
That's so true Annie, it's the spin-off businesses that prosper. We should all take a course in public speaking and then get paid for our appearances.
Good suggestions, Annie. There are many alternative ways a fiction writer can earn money from their writing.
Annie, it's so true that if you want to make money, writing fiction may not be the way to go. Thanks for sharing so many options!
For most writers I know is their public speaking that produces the income.
Wow everyone, thanks for your comments. I just popped in to collect my link to share the post, and here you are already!
It does mean wearing a brave face and putting yourself out there. But it gets easier and more successful in time. lol Hope at least one of these works for you, Linda. :-)
Exactly so, Wendy. Offer half day or day-long writing workshops in arts centres or libraries or schools that offer adult education. In the UK we have several women's guilds and communities who are always looking for speakers. Perhaps we should think of this as a challenge for 2014 and meet back next year at this time to share how many new outlets we found...can get in the way of writing time though...:-(
Thanks Maggie--you're making me think creatively again. Shall spend the rest of the year setting myself challenges to find new ways of making money from fiction writing.
Karen, I spend a lot of time watching you, Maggie and all the members of WOTM--a great way to generate ideas.
Looks like we should all be hitting the road then Mary Jo. lol It is something we could do locally or even online as a webinar.
I like your ideas about school and library activities. Thanks.
Thanks Melinda and a belated welcome to WOTM. Here in the UK, many smaller libraries are run by one librarian plus volunteers and they're always looking for ways to entice people into the library--book clubs, courses, even knit and natter provide networking opportunities.
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