Please Stop Giving Authors 1 More Thing To Do (We Need Help, Not Homework)

Do you remember when you were a small child, and you first read the book If You Give A Mouse A Cookie? The short version is that the book describes a situation that seems simple at first, but which spirals out of control due to one unexpected step after another. If you give the mouse a cookie, he'll want some milk to go with it. If you give him some milk, he's going to want a comfortable place to sit and enjoy the snack. And so on, and so on, and so on.

This is, unfortunately, what a lot of creators receive as feedback when we try to reach out to the public. Because instead of just helping us in the ways we ask for (watch a video, read an article, buy a book, like and share, etc.) what we get instead are homework assignments. "You should consider posting on this social media site!" or "You should write a book for this other genre," as well as the infamous, "Hey, come to this event, you'll be a hit there!"

We're already operating as maximum capacity... please just do the things we ask you to do, instead of giving us even more assignments to complete which are never as one-and-done as you think they are.

Please... don't go down this road.

Before we get into the nitty gritty this week, don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Lastly, to be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree!

Lastly, don't forget to check out my Vocal archive for additional fiction, articles, explorations of weird history, and more! And, of course, check me out on Blue Sky, since that's what we're talking about today!

Ask If You're Helping, Or Dictating

I've talked about this topic before, but it has come up more and more frequently in the world we're currently living in where everyone has less disposable income, and where creators are operating on thinner budgets than ever before. Because I scroll through my social media every day and see fellow authors, game designers, YouTubers, etc. asking for folks to please support them and their projects, but rather than actually listening to what the creators are asking for, and following instructions, people want to make suggestions, and offer their own input.

Without unnecessarily criticizing anyone, I want to offer a simple test that more people out there should use regarding their behavior. In short, are you taking actions to help the creator, or are you simply suggesting (or demanding) that the creator takes even more actions than they already are?

Because if you want to help, you need to be the one performing the actions.

Because it matters whose boots are on the ground, here.

As an example, if you want to help a creator, here are things you can (and should) do:

 

- Subscribe to their social media accounts

- Consume their content

- Buy their merch (books, supplements, tee shirts, etc.)

- Share their content (repost on your own social media pages)

- Become a patron (support their Patreon, Kickstarter, or tip them on Ko-Fi)

- Leave ratings and reviews

In all of these situations it is you, the audience member, who is taking action. Whether you're subscribing to a creator on social media, leaving comments on their posts or videos, reading their articles, or just putting cash in their tip jar, you are an active participant. Whether big or small, those actions add up, and those are what actually help creators pay their bills so they can keep making things.

If your entire plan is to put the onus on the creator to do even more than they're already doing, you are not being helpful. You are, and I say this with all the compassion and gentleness I can, making things worse.

Helping is an action, and helping takes effort. If all you're doing is sitting on the sidelines and shouting for someone to run harder, throw better, or to just go faster, you're not helping; you're just catcalling from the stands.

As A Caveat, Ask If You Are Providing An Opportunity

There is one other category that is important to mention, and which I feel should be kept in mind. Because if you are providing a legitimate opportunity to a creator, then you are working with them to make something happen, instead of just expecting them to do more work than they're already doing.

So what's the difference between just yelling from the sidelines and providing an opportunity? Well, let me give you a few examples.

- Just telling someone, "You should collab with other creators," is not helpful. Saying, "Hey, I run a channel where I interview authors, RPG writers, and other folks, would you like to be a guest on my show?" is helpful.

- Telling someone, "You should just post on Discord!" is not helpful. Telling someone, "Hey, I have this really popular Discord, and my community would love your stuff. If you want to join, we'd love to boost your signal over there," is helpful.

- Telling someone, "You should vend at conventions!" is not helpful. Telling someone, "I attend X convention, and it's been really good for me. I'd be happy to split a table with you, or see if we could get you invited as a guest of honor," is extremely helpful.

At the end of the day, you need to be providing something concrete that is an actual resource for a creator to use for it to be an opportunity. Giving them access to your community, helping them attend an event they could not otherwise afford, or even giving them a job opportunity they otherwise wouldn't have, could all be very valuable.

Just make sure you aren't trying to give them yet another homework assignment.

Lastly, for an example of how quickly this whole If You Give A Mouse A Cookie situation can get away from you, check out this video I made a little while ago about the realities of actually attending conventions as a vendor.

Support The Literary Mercenary

If you want to see me produce more work, consider some of the following options!

- My Facebook

- My Blue Sky

- My LinkTree

- My Weekly Newsletter

- The Azukail Games YouTube Channel (where I contribute video content)

- The A.L.I.C.E. Files (an audio drama channel I launched with Alice Liddell)

And if you happen to have some spare dosh lying around, and you want to be sure my supply doesn't run low, consider become a Patreon patron, or leaving a tip by Buying Me a Ko-Fi!

Also, if you're curious about how to write for tabletop RPGs, don't forget to check out my show Tabletop Mercenary, which you can find on both the Azukail Games channel above!

Like, Follow, and Come Back Again!

That's all for this week's Business of Writing! For more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, or at My Amazon Author Page where you can find books like my sci-fi dystopian thriller Old Soldiers, the Hardboiled Cat series about a mystery solving Maine Coon in Marked Territory and Painted Cats, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife, or my most recent short story collection The Rejects!

 

And to stay on top of all my latest news and releases, collected once a week, make sure you subscribe to The Literary Mercenary's mailing list.

Asking For Support Is Not "Begging For Money"

There is, apparently, a lot of confusion among folks on the Internet about how artists get paid. For some reason a lot of people out there seem to believe that once a creator makes something that it is submitted to the council of Art Warlocks who vote on whether the creator of this work will be given the standard Rich and Famous contract, or if they are to be turned away and told to try again.

Unfortunately, that isn't how it works. So I wanted to take a moment to explain to folks out there how it is artists actually make their money, and how important our audience is in making sure we actually have the ability to pay our bills.

For folks who wondered, we can't do this without Viewers Like You.

Before we get into the nitty gritty this week, don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Lastly, to be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree!

Lastly, don't forget to check out my Vocal archive for additional fiction, articles, explorations of weird history, and more! And, of course, check me out on Blue Sky, since that's what we're talking about today!

Where Does The Money Come From?

Allow me to pull back the curtain, and show you how it is authors get paid.

So, if you write books then you have to first write the manuscript. You then have to get it published either by a traditional publisher, or through a self-publishing platform. Traditional publishers do layout, art, etc., and give you a royalty for every sale, while self-published authors have to do all of that stuff themselves, but they get to keep a bigger percentage of every sale.

And if you're writing blogs or articles (or making videos), then you tend to have an option for traffic-based payments, as well as crowdfunding. For the former, consider the article If 90,000 People Read This Article I Can Pay My Bills This Month. It points out that 90,000 reads is what an article on Vocal.media needs to acquire in order to yield about $540 in payout to the author. And if someone wanted to support this blog, then you could go to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page in order to kick in a fee for every article I write in order to help me keep the train rolling.

It's all about numbers, baby.

However, the point of all of this is to say that authors do not get paid for making things... we get paid either by our audience buying things, or our audience giving us their time and attention on a platform which then gives us a fee for how much traffic we brought to their site. We could spend 20 hours a day putting words on the page, but if no one buys copies, or reads them on hosting platforms that actually pay the creator, then there's not going to be any money to be had.

This is why we ask our audience to support us. Because just like PBS says, "This program is made possible by viewers like you."

And there are a LOT of people our there who get vitriolically angry when you point this out to them.

We Literally Need Your Help To Do What We Do

I have lost count of the number of people who have left snide comments, telling me that if I need to "beg for money" then maybe I should give up and "get a real job" as they put it. However, the point that I feel needs to be driven home to so many people is that ALL creators are literally paid by the audience in one way, shape, form, or another. It doesn't matter if it's one of the biggest touring musicians in the mainstream, or somebody with a small YouTube audience talking about gardening. Whether it's you watching our videos so that we get a cut of the ad revenue from YouTube, you buying our merch so we get a piece of that sale, or you just directly handing us money as a tip for what we do, YOU are required for us to make money.

Period. End of story. And for folks who need the details spelled out, I made a video on it a while back.

Now, if you made it this far, I need you to read this next part very carefully.

You are not obligated to support artists whose work you don't like. Even if you do like a an artist, you aren't required to give them money. However, at the end of the day, you are what decides whether or not an artist gets paid. So if you want a particular creator to keep making things, it sort of behooves you to put in the effort to big up their signal, and make sure they're getting money in their hand one way or the other. Sort of like how if you want to see sequels to a movie, it's important for you to go see it in theaters, bring your friends, buy it when it's available to own, and so on, to send a message to the studio that there's an audience who wants more of this.

And it's something you need to work into your everyday. If you like a video, leave a comment of 7+ words, and give it an upvote. Get used to subscribing and following to people who you want to do well. Leave people tips, and buy some merch when you can. Being an active participant is worth so much to creators, and it is unfortunately so rare to find in an audience.

If you need a list, then just take the one at the end of this article, and apply it to all the creators our there that you want to see pay their bills, and keep making more art. Because it is a lot easier to keep doing this job if you have your utilities covered, and food in your cabinets. Just saying.

Support The Literary Mercenary

If you want to see me produce more work, consider some of the following options!

- My Facebook

- My Blue Sky

- My LinkTree

- My Weekly Newsletter

- The Azukail Games YouTube Channel (where I contribute video content)

And if you happen to have some spare dosh lying around, and you want to be sure my supply doesn't run low, consider become a Patreon patron, or leaving a tip by Buying Me a Ko-Fi!

Also, if you're curious about how to write for tabletop RPGs, don't forget to check out my show Tabletop Mercenary, which you can find on both the Azukail Games channel, as well as my Rumble channel listed above!

Like, Follow, and Come Back Again!

That's all for this week's Business of Writing! For more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, or at My Amazon Author Page where you can find books like my sci-fi dystopian thriller Old Soldiers, the Hardboiled Cat series about a mystery solving Maine Coon in Marked Territory and Painted Cats, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife, or my most recent short story collection The Rejects!

 

And to stay on top of all my latest news and releases, collected once a week, make sure you subscribe to The Literary Mercenary's mailing list.

Use Your Social Media With Purpose (If You Want To See Results)

These days social media can seem like it's nothing but doom and gloom, scammers and grifters, AI slop and apocalyptic predictors. It's constant, and it can be overwhelming. However, while I see a lot of folks say they want to get off social media entirely, I would like to propose an alternative solution that I think would fix a lot of problems for folks who are sick of being overwhelmed by their pocket boxes.

In short, take control of your social media so that you are plugged-in for the things you want to be plugged into. Focus your attention on the things that serve your needs, and that you enjoy, instead of just letting everything overwhelm you all the time. Curate your feed, and start pulling the reins.

Trust me, it's better for you, but it's also better for the creators out there that you're trying to stay connected to.

There is a speed you can have between 0 and 60.

Before we get into the nitty gritty this week, don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Lastly, to be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree!

Lastly, don't forget to check out my Vocal archive for additional fiction, articles, explorations of weird history, and more! And, of course, check me out on Blue Sky, since that's what we're talking about today!

You Are In Control (And Creators Need You To Use That Control)

I've said this before, but I'm going to keep saying it because it's important. Creators of all stripes (artists, authors, filmmakers, and so on) need an active, engaged audience in order for us to keep making things, and to earn enough money at the end of the month to pay our bills. And for smaller creators who don't have the backing of massive corporations, or huge budgets to jet set to big cons, or buy up advertising space, social media is our lifeline to our audience. The deck is thoroughly stacked against us as it is, and we need your help to pull us up out of the muck and mire.

It's our job to make art, tell stories, and offer you things you enjoy... but we are down at the base of the wall, stuck in quicksand, reaching up to you. We cannot grab the wall and pull ourselves up by our bootstraps. We need you at the top of the wall to reach down to us, or offer us a rope, so that we have some way to get traction and move forward.

But a lot of folks out there mistake just clapping their hands and cheering with actually throwing out a lifeline... they aren't the same thing.

Let's see if I can make it clearer...

Let me belabor this metaphor a bit, because it is imperative that folks understand this setup.

So, you have your creators who are slowly being swallowed by quicksand at the base of a wall. They're scrabbling at the wall, trying to find a handhold to at least keep their heads above water, even if it isn't possible to haul themselves out of the quicksand entirely. At the top of the wall we have everyone in our potential audience. They're looking down at us. Some of the folks on top of that wall are cheering us on, trying to encourage us to keep going, and not to give up. They're sure we're going to make it! The problem is that for all that shouting, we literally cannot get out of this quicksand on our own.

Worse, there are some people on top of the wall with long poles that are actively trying to smack our hands, to poke us in the eye, and to shove us back down into the mire. Some of them just don't want us to get out. Some of them dislike us personally. Some of them just do it because they're in a bad mood, or they want to lash out. But unless there are people on top of that wall who put in the effort to lower a rope so we can grab on, we're going to drown sooner or later.

For the purposes of this metaphor, the stick-wielders are all the trolls that creatives have to deal with on a daily basis. They're the people who report our posts because they don't like them, the people who try to get YouTube to take down our videos, and the people who pirate our work. They're the people who, instead of trying to help, or just being neutral, put in their efforts to actively hinder us and make what we're doing even harder.

Authors who have advertising budgets and big corporations? They have a powered winch at the top of the wall to haul them up. Yes, they still have to write the book, draw the comic, make the video, etc., but they are being buoyed up by a force that is far stronger than the average trolls and naysayers can do anything to really hinder. A few slings and arrows might hit home, but the creators are going to climb enough that they aren't in any danger of falling back down into the quicksand as long as they have that financial backing.

The rest of us? Well, we need you all on the top of the wall to help pull us up. And the more of you we have helping, the less effort any of you need to put in individually.

But the key part of this is that you need to be purposeful and deliberate with your actions online. Just wanting us to succeed and sending good vibes isn't enough... we need actions to move the needle.

Moving With Purpose

A lot of folks use social media passively. They doomscroll, throw out a like when they see something that catches their eye, watch a video that looks interesting, but they skim along the surface. Put another way, if you were riding a horse you're in the saddle, and you're holding the reins, but you're mostly just letting the horse go wherever the hell it feels like going.

The more deliberate the actions you take, the more that horse is going to go where you want it to go.

Tweak the parameters, and you get far better stuff.

The algorithm pays attention to the things you interact with, and the rules you set. So if you don't want to see posts from certain individuals, you block them (I am telling you this now, leaving people, pages, etc., you don't want to see unblocked just invites them back into your feed... block them, and get yourself peace of mind). The more things you block off, the less clutter you'll see in your recommendations on Facebook, YouTube, etc. If you enjoy the content you find on a particular page, though, then join that group, follow the page, subscribe to that creator. Don't just tell yourself you'll remember, because you won't. More importantly, though, subscribing to something helps that group, that creator, that page get noticed by more people.

Taking action is the currency of social media, both positive and negative. If you see a video, a post, etc. that you like, sure, you can leave a like on it... but taking an extra step can have a much bigger impact. For example, if you leave a comment of at least 7 words, that boost the signal, making it more likely to be seen by more people. If you share from the original creator, that does far more to boost the post than if you just re-shared the original link on your own timeline, because shares are one of the metrics that the algorithm counts toward how much attention it should give a specific post.

Put another way, 25 people sharing a post about an author's new book from that author's page is weighed much more heavily than 25 people copying the link to the book, and making individual posts about it on their own pages.

And if you actually bought a book, or another piece of merch from a creator you like? Go the extra mile! Leave a rating and review on the platform you bought it from, because the products with the biggest numbers of ratings and reviews are the ones the algorithm pushes out, and advertises to other people.

Deliberate effort from an engaged audience is the fuel that makes an artist's career go forward.

With all of that said, if you need to take a break from social media, you should do that. However, take a moment to ask what it is you're taking a break from... because it's possible that just cleaning up the mess and replacing the things you don't like with things you do like will do wonders for how you engage with these information engines.

And if you have creators you want to succeed (again, whether it's me or someone else) we all need you to be active, engaged, and deliberate if you want to help us. The problem is that a lot of people think that cheering from the top of the wall is helping, while in reality you're just letting creators drown.

Toss us a line. Even if it's small, and you aren't strong enough to pull us up all by your lonesome, the more lines a creator has, the more people will notice, and the more people will throw out their own lines in order to help us keep breathing so we can keep creating.

Support The Literary Mercenary

If you want to see me produce more work, consider some of the following options!

- My Facebook

- My Blue Sky

- My LinkTree

- My Weekly Newsletter

- The Azukail Games YouTube Channel (where I contribute video content)

- My Rumble Channel (longer videos that won't show up on YouTube)

And if you happen to have some spare dosh lying around, and you want to be sure my supply doesn't run low, consider become a Patreon patron, or leaving a tip by Buying Me a Ko-Fi!

Also, if you're curious about how to write for tabletop RPGs, don't forget to check out my show Tabletop Mercenary, which you can find on both the Azukail Games channel, as well as my Rumble channel listed above!

Like, Follow, and Come Back Again!

That's all for this week's Business of Writing! For more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, or at My Amazon Author Page where you can find books like my sci-fi dystopian thriller Old Soldiers, the Hardboiled Cat series about a mystery solving Maine Coon in Marked Territory and Painted Cats, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife, or my most recent short story collection The Rejects!

 

And to stay on top of all my latest news and releases, collected once a week, make sure you subscribe to The Literary Mercenary's mailing list.

Artists Are Going To Need Your Help Now More Than Ever Before

It seems like every time I turn around there is some new crisis facing creative professionals. A handful of years ago it was the pandemic, and the fact that productions were being closed, contracts were being cancelled, and artists were struggling along with everyone else who was staying home and staying safe. Then it was the rise of AI, and how it was leading to layoffs as artists and writers were both being shunted aside by companies who were trying to give their jobs to programs that were not capable of doing them.

And now we find ourselves facing yet another crisis. A crisis that we are going to need serious help to get through, and that help is going to have to come from our audiences because literally no one else is going to swoop in to make sure we can keep making art. And just as with the previous crises mentioned, the one constant is that when times get tough and people need an escape from reality, that is where our job can have the biggest impact.

Strap in folks, this one is going to be a frustrating slog.

Before we get into the nitty gritty this week, don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Lastly, to be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree!

Lastly, don't forget to check out my Vocal archive for additional fiction, articles, explorations of weird history, and more!

The (New) Looming Crisis

Those who were paying attention to the latest presidential race likely heard the economic plans the next administration proposed. Namely that they wanted to cut as many social safety nets as possible, regardless of harm to the populous, and that they intended to put tariffs on any and all goods imported into the United States. These policies, along with all the other proposed plans, stand a good chance of cratering any progress made in the U.S. to recover from the last time this particular candidate sat in the big chair, and those ripples are going to spread around the world while shooting inflation up to worse levels than it was at before.

In addition to those economic policies, though, there is a lot of talk about book banning, re-defining and outlawing "pornography," and other attacks levied at artists who produce "certain kinds" of work (largely inclusive work, and especially work focusing on LGBTQ+ characters).

In short, a lot of artists are going to lose support, and right at a time when everything is poised to get a lot more expensive!

The math ain't gonna math, folks.

So what can you do? After all, you're going to be dealing with all of these problems too, and there's only so much money to go around.

Well, first and foremost, if you are one of those people who has some spare dosh at the end of the month (emphasis on spare, here), consider using it to support the creators you want to stay afloat during the coming storm. The most effective way to do this is by giving out tips on Ko-fi, or becoming a Patreon patron, as that direct support ensures the largest amount of your cash goes into their pockets. With that said, though, buying books, games, art prints, or other merch is also extremely helpful, and it means you get something out of the transaction other than the ephemeral feeling of knowing you made future art possible.

If you have limited funds (and who doesn't?) that doesn't mean you can't still help, though! If you have time, energy, social media, and an Internet connection, you can do any or all of the following:

- Consume Free Content That Pays The Creator: Whether it's Spotify, YouTube, Vocal.media or another platform that's free to use but which can still support people making things, use it. Additionally, make sure you turn off the Ad Block. Yes, it's a pain in the ass, but it's how creators make money from your traffic! If you don't see the ads, then it doesn't count as far as their bank account is concerned.

- Follow And Interact With Creators You Like On Social Media: Algorithms decide who gets popular based (at least partially) on our followings and interactions. So subscribe to people's YouTube channels, follow them on social media, and interact with their content. Leave comments on articles, posts, and videos, review things whenever possible, and make it clear people are listening. The machines will promote artists where this happens.

- Share Their Work (Clandestinely Or Otherwise): Creators depend on views, reads, etc., in order to earn money, and the more visible we become the better our chances are of finding an audience. However, if a creator's work is likely to be censored, then make sure you get physical or downloaded versions of it so that it isn't lost. Preservation is important, as well as support!

The thing that seems most frustrating for folks regarding this topic is that artists of all stripes require active support. It takes time, energy, and effort to really engage with a creator, and to do so in a way that will help them be more widely seen, and make enough money to live on. A lot of folks simply do not want to do this. They just want to passively engage with content as it comes their way, and then move on with their lives.

That's all well and good... but if you don't want to find yourself asking, "I wonder why that one author/podcaster/YouTuber I liked gave up and disappeared?" you should put in this effort to help. Because as PBS says, it literally takes viewers like you for us to keep our heads above water. Because without an audience, and the money they can generate, we cannot afford to make art. And if we can't afford to do it, then you aren't going to get any more of it.

And in the times that are coming, we're going to need all the distraction and escapism we can find!

Lastly, before I sign off for the day, I'd like folks to take a moment to watch episode 16 of Tabletop Mercenary, Audience Support Is A Reverse Iceberg. Because however much support you think someone has, I guarantee you it isn't so much that your efforts won't still make a difference. And if this is the sort of thing you'd like to see more of, subscribe to the Azukail Games YouTube channel so I can keep making more content over there!

Support The Literary Mercenary

If you want to see me produce more work, consider some of the following options!

- My Facebook

- My LinkTree

- My Weekly Newsletter

- The Azukail Games YouTube Channel (where I contribute video content)

- My Rumble Channel (longer videos that won't show up on YouTube)

And if you happen to have some spare dosh lying around, and you want to be sure my supply doesn't run low, consider become a Patreon patron, or leaving a tip by Buying Me a Ko-Fi!

Also, if you're curious about how to write for tabletop RPGs, don't forget to check out my show Tabletop Mercenary, which you can find on both the Azukail Games channel, as well as my Rumble channel listed above!

Like, Follow, and Come Back Again!

That's all for this week's Business of Writing! For more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, or at My Amazon Author Page where you can find books like my sci-fi dystopian thriller Old Soldiers, the Hardboiled Cat series about a mystery solving Maine Coon in Marked Territory and Painted Cats, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife, or my most recent short story collection The Rejects!

 

And to stay on top of all my latest news and releases, collected once a week, make sure you subscribe to The Literary Mercenary's mailing list.