How You Can Help Me Keep My Content Free (Paywalls and Paychecks)

Most of us who create art, whether it's writing novels, making videos, drawing comics, or any of a thousand other creative pursuits, do so because we want people to be able to enjoy the fruits of our creative labors. We want people to see what we make, and to be able to enjoy it, because that's what completes the cycle for a lot of us.

Unfortunately, we live under capitalism. As such, we can't just give things away for free. Creators have bills to pay just like everybody else.

With that said, though, you can do your part to help the creators you love get paid without spending any of your own money. It will take a bit of time and effort on your part, but if you want to make sure creators you love can afford to keep making stuff you want to consume then this is the best way to do it.

And trust me, it all adds up!

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!

Spinning Straw Into Gold

A majority of content you find online exists to generate a profit. From the ads on social media and streaming video, to podcast sponsors and native content featured on blogs, it's all out there to make money for somebody. That somebody is rarely the creator, of course, because it takes a rather absurd amount of traffic in order for "free" content to turn enough of a profit that a creator could pay rent or cover their bills with it.

How absurd, you ask?

Let me shine some perspective for you.

Well, consider a platform like Vocal. My archive there currently has about 253 articles in it, including TTRPG content, short fiction like 50 Two-Sentence Horror Stories, explorations of weird history, and more. As one of the Vocal+ creators, I earn about $6 for every 1,000 reads on my articles. I say reads and not views, because just opening an article and closing it after a while doesn't count; someone needs to actually scroll through and read the damn thing.

For me to cover my rent and bills, I would need to get about 4,000 reads per day, give or take. Is that possible? Sure, it could happen if something went viral, or got mysteriously popular, like when my article It's Okay To Admit There Are Problems in Your Hobby first hit social media and the flame wars didn't die down for weeks on end.

Realistically, though? I get about 100-400 reads in a day. Sometimes there are outliers and unexpected booms of traffic, but that's what my average looks like.

Alternatively, consider video content like the piece above. Now, my Daily Motion channel isn't huge in following or library (yet), but it is monetized. And much like on YouTube someone can expect to earn a couple of dollars for every 3-5k views on their content... provided, of course, the person viewing it doesn't have Ad Block on their device. Ad Block means the ads don't get seen, so you don't end up earning anything. Those views are counted as far as your traffic goes, but they aren't counted for your earnings.

Realistically, you're lucky if 1 in 10 viewers doesn't have Ad Block, and even that is being pretty generous. That's how I can have over 5k views on my content in a month, and basically earn a nickel for my trouble. A nickel that I don't even get to keep, as much like YouTube, Daily Motion doesn't cash you out until you reach $100 of earned money.

This is Where You Come In

This is going to sound like I'm beating a broken drum, but creators do not have the power to get ourselves paid. We can create the content, we can stay active on social media, and we can try to get people to look at it, but 9 times out of 10 we get ignored, downplayed, blocked, or kicked out. It's a Catch-22; everyone will tell you to get out there and sell yourself, but when you do all anyone will say is how sick they are of everyone promoting their work.

You can't have it both ways, guys.

To reiterate what I said in Why Your Likes, Shares, Reviews, and Follows Matter to Creators, we are the gladiators. We are down in the arena putting on the show... but we have zero power outside of that. It's you, the members of the mob, who decide our fates. We need you to cheer for us. We need you to show up and be present when we have a match, and to talk about us so that other people find out about who we are and what we do.

Without you all doing your part to build us up, we'll be unseen, unknown, and forgotten.

What does that look like, though? Well it means that you:

- Regularly consume our content (we need views, reads, etc.)

- Follow us on social media (the more people we have, the more the algorithm promotes us)

- Like and share our content (we need help boosting the signal)

- Leave comments (big help on YouTube, most forums, etc.)

In short, creators can only afford to make things for free if their fans actively hype them up and grow their base to other people. Because I can guarantee you that if the 100 or so people who read one of my Vocal articles today also shared that article on their social media groups and pages, I would probably have several hundred to several thousand reads just for today. If a hundred people watched a video and shared it then it would climb to thousands of views, and likely several new subscribers.

But I cannot make that happen. No creator can make that happen. Only you, our audience, can do it. And you do it by raising your voice, and showing your favor, so that the Caesar declares us victors when it's time to render the decision.

If You'd Like To Start With Me...

For folks who've stumbled across this post, and would like to help me haul myself up a rung or two, here's a handy list of the places you can go where your efforts would be much appreciated!

- My Twitter

- My Facebook

- My LinkTree

- My Weekly Newsletter

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

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

And if you happen to have some spare dosh lying around, consider become a Patreon patron, or leaving a tip by Buying Me a Ko-Fi!

Like, Follow, and Stay Tuned!

That's all for this week's Business of Writing!

If you'd like to see more of my work, take a look at my Vocal archive, or at My Amazon Author Page where you can find books like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife as well as my recent collection The Rejects!

If you'd like to help support my work, then consider Buying Me A Ko-Fi, or heading over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page! Lastly, to keep up with my latest, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now on Pinterest as well!

To Make Money Writing, First, You Have To Write

To make money writing, first, you have to write.

It sounds like the sort of riddle you'd find in a fortune cookie, doesn't it? Akin to the classic, "to go forward, first, you must go back." It sounds both obvious, and like nonsense, all at once. However, if you're a writer, this is one of the most important pieces of advice you can internalize. Because if you want to get recognized, you need to show off your skills to the world. You need to get your name out there, and you need to sink your hook into readers. You need to prove that your stories don't just exist in your mind, but that you can (and have) put them on the page.

Choose your weapon.

What does all of that mean? Well...

You Have To Do, Before You Can Earn

Being a writer is one of those jobs where you are paid based on your skill, and your ability to finish the job. The difficulty is that, even if you're one of the most talented writers in the world, you need to have examples of your work to prove that you can do what you say you can. And you need those examples out there, in the public eye, where potential employers can see them in order to evaluate your skills.

Story time?

So, back in 2013, I was given an opportunity to pitch myself to Paizo to write one of their Pathfinder Tales. At this point in my career, I didn't have a lot of work on the market I could point to as an example of my style and skill. Several pieces had been accepted by small presses, but none of them were out yet. All I had were a couple of short stories I'd published on Yahoo! Voices (which is now defunct). Even though I felt like I was shooting myself in the foot, I sent along the links to see if the company's head of fiction would give me a shot.

I wasn't too far wrong. When the editor saw the links I'd enclosed, he almost tossed my email in the trash sight-unseen. But he decided to give it a look, and after reading the two short stories I'd put up on the site, he decided I was just the kind of author he wanted to give a shot. So I pitched him an idea, and a few weeks later, Paizo accepted my short story The Irregulars.

That is not the only time I got an opportunity because of something I'd already published, either. When I decided to write character conversion guides for the Pathfinder roleplaying game on my blog, several clients approached me to contribute to their RPG books. Partly because those guides were popular within certain parts of the RPG community, but largely because they allowed me to demonstrate that I understood how to write game mechanics in a way that readers could understand, and implement. Several times I've gotten emails from publishers I've worked with before because they need someone to contribute a story, or they want to know if I'm interested in being part of a book.

Part of that is networking, but another part of it is that these are people who have seen my work. I've demonstrated that I can do the job, and they have an idea of what they're in for. And while I haven't written a popular series or bestselling novel, I've spoken with some authors who've done one, the other, or both. If you have that kind of accomplishment under your belt, you often find the velvet ropes that keep out lesser-known or untested writers simply don't apply to you. Because people have seen your work, and they know the kind of market share you have (even if it's a smaller niche than your Rowlings and your Kings).

Publish Or Perish

A writing career is a lot like an avalanche. It can't happen without snow. Everything you publish is another snowflake. The more of them you stack up, the bigger the chance that unstoppable force will be unleashed.

But if you never put any snow out there, you'll never get your avalanche.

Especially not if you give up at $3 and change.

That doesn't mean you need to work for free. But it does mean you need to put out a lot of work. You need to submit reams of short stories, publish drifts of articles, and throw out manuscript after manuscript for novels. You need to submit to anthologies, submit to publishers, and submit to agents, but if that doesn't work, you shouldn't be afraid to put it out there yourself.

Those ideas in your head? Those perfect utopias filled with thrilling stories and impossible visions? They're all worthless. Your writing can't do anything until you get it out of your mind, onto a page, and in front of readers. Whether you're selling copies, collecting ad revenue, or getting patrons to fund your work, you need to put it out there. Because it isn't until your name is floating in the stream, and people have some idea of who you are and what you can do, that you can start opening up the doors to more prestigious assignments, and high-paying contracts.

So, you do need to go backward to go forward... at least in terms of how most people think a writing career is supposed to work.

That's all for this week's Business of Writing. Hopefully folks out there find it helpful! If you want to keep up-to-date on my latest work, then follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter. And, if you'd like to toss a little change in my tip jar, head over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page. All it takes is $1 per month to help, and to get some sweet swag from yours truly as a thank you.

Professional Writers Know How To Monetize Their Work (That's What Makes Them Professionals)

I've met a lot of folks over the years who have told me they want to be professional writers. Some wanted to be bloggers, some wanted to write novels, others wanted to write comics, and a few wanted to contribute to roleplaying games, but all of them wanted to quit their day jobs and write full-time. In my limited observation, there was a major factor between those who saw at least some success, and in those who never even got onto their tiptoes.

It was, what I like to call, the Rumpelstiltskin factor.

Let go of the Benjamin, or I will destroy everything you've ever loved!

You see, most of the folks I talked to had ideas. Some of them had outlines, and a few of them actually had words on the page. One or two of them had complete projects just laying around. Out of that "most" group, people seemed to lack the understanding that all the straw they'd made wasn't going to spin itself into gold. They understood the writing part, but either didn't know (or didn't want to know) how to monetize their work once it was done.

That is, when you get down to the brass tacks, the only difference between the professional and the amateur.

Wanting To Do Something Is More Important Than Knowing How

Quick aside here. Have you ever known anyone who smoked? I mean a couple of packs a day, does a decent impression of a Mack truck smoking? You have, good. Well, if you wanted to make that person quit smoking, what do you think would be a better solution? A gross ad campaign showing diseased lungs and all kinds of raw tumors? Or short vignettes explaining how to actually quit?

If you guessed the second one, you're tragically wrong.

Well, shit.

Motivation to do something is often more important than knowing how to do it, as Cracked pointed out in 5 Ways You're Sabotaging Your Own Life (Without Knowing It). If you want to lose weight and get in shape, you will figure out how to make that a reality. Even if you can't afford a gym membership, and have limited resources to cut out in your diet. If you want to quit smoking, you will do your own research, and figure out what you need to do. As long as you have someone pointing a mental gun at you to get it done.

I point this out because a lot of folks who want to write professionally claim they don't know how to take their talent, and turn it into money. That's a fair point, especially if you're just starting out. However, if you have access to the Internet, you should have a pretty firm grasp on your options with about a month's worth of research (and that's being generous). Figuring out how Amazon's Create Space works only takes about half an hour (with an hour or two tacked on if you read the entire manual, cover to cover). There are places on Facebook, Tumblr, Reddit, and god only knows how many other social media sites where you can pop up, and ask the community to throw how-to resources at you. Resources like Questions Beginning Writers Ask (That Experienced Writers Are Tired of Hearing), or 5 Signs You're Dealing With A Vanity Publisher.

A week of dedicated reading will make you as expert as you can get. Without actually doing the job, that is.

Go In, Guns Blazing

Something that isn't often touched on, I think, is that being a professional writer is more than just getting paid to indulge yourself all the time. You aren't writing a story, and only when it's complete asking how you're going to turn it into a rent check.

That's something you need to know (or at least have an idea about) before you put a single word on the page.

It's an easier habit to get into than you think.

As an example, let's say you're writing a hard sci-fi novel. By the time you finish the pre-writing/outline phase (everyone's got their own process), you should already know where you're going to send this manuscript once it's ready for print. If you're going for traditional publishers, you should already know which ones will accept your genre and estimated word count, and you should have at least three or four back-ups in case the first one says no. You should also be familiar with your self-publishing options, and how those options work, in case you choose to go that route instead.

You can swap out the variables here, but it's pretty much the same process. If you're writing an article for a website, you should know how it will be categorized, and have some idea of the popularity of the search terms and subject matter you're touching on. If you're putting together a comic pitch, you need to know who you're going to reach out to for an attempted sale. If you've got a script for a film, you need to have a list of people you're going to call once it's ready for a reading.

This gets a lot easier once you've got some published pieces under your belt, and you start getting a feel for the publishing world's rhythms. But that experience is a lot easier to get when you sit down at your desk, not as an auteur, but as someone who is here to do a job, and sell a product. Because, at the end of the day, that's what you're doing. Standing on the side of the information superhighway, with your hat on the ground, trying to tell people a story.

The Job Is Never Over

Some folks say that they don't want to write anymore as soon as they think of it as a job. Once it's something they have to do, rather than something they want to do, it's just work. That's an important thing to know about yourself before you take a swing at this industry.

Because, as the song says, it's a fun job, but it's still a job. And if you come to work, you're going to get much better results than if you come to play.

That's all for this week's Business of Writing post. If you like it, and you want to keep up on my latest, then follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter. Lastly, if you want to toss a little coin in my cup, check out The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page. All it takes is a post of at least $1 a month, and I'll be sure to send some swag your way as a thank you!