The Reason for Writing

I recently read a post by Cliff Burns entitled "The Ever-evolving World of Indie."

The points made in the post were excellent about the future of independent publishing and some of the realities of it.

One of the points he makes is that you are not likely to get rich as an independent author, but by not going with a "trad" you get to keep your integrity.

Do we need or care about the integrity? The short answer is yes. The long answer follows below.

In the last several weeks, talking to some of our authors, I kept hearing a recurring theme, "The book isn't making any money and I'm disappointed. So for my next book I'm going to try to find a traditional publisher."

I thought of this theme while reading Burns' blog post. Why do we write? I think it is a point to reflect on seriously before embarking on your next project.

Are you writing to support your claim of expertise in an area such as business, science, or some other niche area? Are you writing to tell a story to share with your family and friends? Are you writing to share a personal outlook? Are you writing because you simply cannot not write? Or are you hoping to quit your day job based on the income from your written work?

Often, the goal is the latter. (Even if the author hastily demures, "Oh, no. I'll probably only have my friends and family read this." Often the disappointment of only selling their book to family and friends is when they finally are honest about the actual goal.)

The real truth is that even most traditionally published books don't make the author money. Often, after purchasing an author's work, trads change and tweak the project until, sometimes, it isn't even recognizable. Then, when produced you still have to do a lot of the marketing. You are not excused from that part of the book selling fun.

So why do it at all?

Because humans are communicators. We have information and stories to share and a need to express ourselves. We write because we need to write. Some of us have the desire to share these ideas with others through books, blogs, or other virtual avenues.

The published book in recent times has been used as a widget. A piece produced by a company to generate income. The writer was simply the factory worker who churned out the widget. (Now a lot of the big boy publishers are feeling the pinch for this m.o. because really, books are not really a super excellent way to buy your own island.)

The great thing about independent publishing (shameless plug: with Wheatmark) is that you, the author, is the focus. Sure, indie pubbers are in business to make money, but we want you, the author, to also benefit from the process.

Indie publishing makes it possible for your message to be heard. It is a level playing field. There are no big payouts based on treatments. But, aside from some really hateful or potentially illegal topics, we're not going to slow your desire to paper the universe with your ideas.

Yes, in order to sell your book, you're going to need to do some (actually, a lot) of marketing. As more and more people find open channels to speak their mind, it becomes more and more difficult to leap above the crowd. You have to get your flag high and wave it mightily.

It is the passion you bring to the project (and eventually your dedication to the promotion of your project) that will make you a successful author. Maybe not always financially, but (queue the violins) your soulful experience of getting your message, your story out is one reward that has no monetary guarantee.

Write because you need to share. Because you are passionate. (Not because you need to put a kid through college or want a Lexus.) And that passion and need to share will hopefully lead you to strong marketing campaign and returns on your investment. Or not. But you wrote a book. And that is pretty amazing stuff.