Dreamhand
Troubadour
I've noticed an assumption among writers that Publication=Revenue. Now, while I get that we all want to be paid for our brilliance, I think the idea that "the only way I want my work released is if I can make money on it" is limiting... and a little mercenary.
I'm NOT bashing the idea of getting paid. I'm TOTALLY down with it and believe it to be a reasonable expectation (I cannot emphasize that enough). But if the only people that see a writer's work are publisher's slush-pile readers and literary agents, then why write in the first place? If making money is your primary goal as a writer, then why not become an investment broker?
I'm literally stunned by the number of writers who vehemently dismiss the notion of podcasting their work for free or offering it as a free e-book. The response is either "But if it's free, no one will think it has value!" or "I worked too hard on this to just give it away".
Personally, I feel both arguments are short-sighted and don't encompass the full scope of anyone's writing career. I mean, knowing that people are reading and enjoying one's work... that you've made a connection and inspired new ideas and emotions in one's audience... that your work has value to people beyond a price tag... isn't that a big part of why we write in the first place? And if so, then why NOT podcast it? Why NOT offer it as a free e-book? Why NOT get it out there and circulating and generating discussion and critical review among the very people we hope will someday buy our books?
Look at it this way... let's say you ARE the next Stephen King or Patrick Rothfuss. So let's say you release your heart-breaking work of staggering genius for free and it sweeps the interwebs and the literary communities like wild-fire. It's on every Kindle and Nook and reviewers are singing its praises far and wide. Are you telling me you've LOST? That you've been cheated?
If the book you've written is the ONLY book you'll ever write, then yeah, fine... mine it for gold. But I think most of us have countless stories in us, waiting to be told. If you're not currently on the best seller's list, if you're not earning your living as writer yet, then why not get your work out there? It's easy, it's cheap, and it can be the spark that evolves into a vital and dynamic relationship between you, your work, and the community.
I'm not saying traditional publishing is wrong. I'm saying that there are alternatives... and to dismiss them because they don't generate revenue is a self-imposed limitation that may prevent you from discovering a wealth of opportunities.
I'm NOT bashing the idea of getting paid. I'm TOTALLY down with it and believe it to be a reasonable expectation (I cannot emphasize that enough). But if the only people that see a writer's work are publisher's slush-pile readers and literary agents, then why write in the first place? If making money is your primary goal as a writer, then why not become an investment broker?
I'm literally stunned by the number of writers who vehemently dismiss the notion of podcasting their work for free or offering it as a free e-book. The response is either "But if it's free, no one will think it has value!" or "I worked too hard on this to just give it away".
Personally, I feel both arguments are short-sighted and don't encompass the full scope of anyone's writing career. I mean, knowing that people are reading and enjoying one's work... that you've made a connection and inspired new ideas and emotions in one's audience... that your work has value to people beyond a price tag... isn't that a big part of why we write in the first place? And if so, then why NOT podcast it? Why NOT offer it as a free e-book? Why NOT get it out there and circulating and generating discussion and critical review among the very people we hope will someday buy our books?
Look at it this way... let's say you ARE the next Stephen King or Patrick Rothfuss. So let's say you release your heart-breaking work of staggering genius for free and it sweeps the interwebs and the literary communities like wild-fire. It's on every Kindle and Nook and reviewers are singing its praises far and wide. Are you telling me you've LOST? That you've been cheated?
If the book you've written is the ONLY book you'll ever write, then yeah, fine... mine it for gold. But I think most of us have countless stories in us, waiting to be told. If you're not currently on the best seller's list, if you're not earning your living as writer yet, then why not get your work out there? It's easy, it's cheap, and it can be the spark that evolves into a vital and dynamic relationship between you, your work, and the community.
I'm not saying traditional publishing is wrong. I'm saying that there are alternatives... and to dismiss them because they don't generate revenue is a self-imposed limitation that may prevent you from discovering a wealth of opportunities.
Last edited: