Authors Are Running The Red Queen's Race (Going Full Speed Just To Stay in Place)

"Now here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep to the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!"

- The Red Queen

While not everyone has read Through The Looking Glass, the second book about Alice's unusual adventures, it's the one that takes us to the realm of the red queen and the white queen and their chessboard kingdoms. However, this quote above is so indicative of the struggle that authors find themselves in (especially today) that I felt it was something worth discussing.

Because if you're going full tilt, and the world is just slipping by under your feet while you barely keep even, you aren't alone. In fact, that's basically all of us right now.

And if you fell on your face, you're also not alone.

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!

Why We're Stuck In This Rat Race

Capitalism. All right, thanks for reading everyone!

...

Okay, so it's more complicated than that. But not nearly as complicated as you think.

So, we live in the modern age of publishing. Right now anyone can put out a book on dozens of platforms, using machines a lot of us have access to, and we can tell people about those books utilizing free social media networks. The tools we utilize on a daily basis, from smartphones to Goodreads, are things that would leave previous generations of authors staring in awe at how far things have come.

However, it's important to remember that possible is not the same as probable. Because it's possible that the scratch-off ticket you just bought is going to pay out $100,000 a year for life... but it's not super likely.

The coin from the Take A Penny tray is probably all you'll get, honestly.

Let's rewind the clock about 10-12 years ago. Around this time there was no generative AI flooding the market. You could make however many posts on social media sites you wanted, and you had a good chance of getting hundreds, if not thousands of eyes on those posts. Going viral seemed random, but there were tools you could use to check for the best keywords, and you had a relatively good chance of actually getting traction on the things you made. The algorithms that governed the Internet generally made sense, and while there were ads all over the place, they were usually clearly marked, and a whole lot less obtrusive.

Now, let's fast-forward to today.

Today we have an ongoing war against AI slop as people hammer the "Write Book" button and then shoot their "novels" out into the void to take up space and attention. Established social media platforms have limited your ability to post, often shadow banning posts that would take viewers off the site and to a storefront, blog, etc. somewhere else. We have algorithms that change every season, and trends that last about an hour or so. And, most importantly, your talent as a writer doesn't actually make a difference because people have to know about you and your work in the first place before you can enchant them with your words.

So no, if it feels like you have to work 2-3 times as hard just to get the same amount (or even less) attention and sales than you did even a few years ago, you aren't imagining it. Every tool you had, whether it's active and engaging online communities, or the ability to reach your audience via a video platform like YouTube, or even the ability to get your book seen and reviewed on sites dedicated to that kind of content, has been dulled, rusted, or twisted to try to turn a profit. And since authors are one of the more historically broke professions (overall), it's not like most of us have money to throw at these problems.

To counter that, we grind harder, write more, craft better posts... but we're trying to run up an active avalanche. And even if you succeed, you're still making fewer sales, reaching fewer people, and going absolutely all-out in your attempt to avoid being thrown down into the ravine below.

And how do you actually succeed? The kind of success that lets you make progress instead of just standing in place when that's all going at a dead sprint seems to do for you?

Well, unfortunately, there are only really three ways to do this. And while the first two are amazing if you can get them, they're probably out of most people's reach.

Your 3 Solutions For Success

No beating around the bush, the first two ways you can get huge success as an author are:

- Be rich

- Be lucky

That's it. Because if you're rich you can, at least, pay for advertising, booth space, and you have hours in your day to dedicate to your online presence because you don't have to spend that money on food and rent. It's also possible that you move in the circles of other rich people, so you have the ability to just get invited onto popular shows and networks, you get reviewed in well-read publications, etc., because you have a network of friends, family, and colleagues who can help you out, which will lead to you becoming better known and better read.

The second one is winning the lottery. Maybe you wrote a book that just so happened to start a new trend. Maybe you put the right keyword in a post or video, and you went viral for no discernible reason. Maybe you made a silly TikTok that got boosted and commented to hell and back, and as a result there are now millions of people who are aware that your novel exists. It's nice if you can manage this option, but it's utterly unpredictable, and if it does happen you really need to be ready to capitalize on it.

So what's the third option? Well, this is one we can all do, to some degree, and it's the best strategy I have since it's the only thing that consistently works:

- Build a community

Holy shit! There's a new book out!

It sounds simple, but it is deceptively difficult. Finding people who like your work, who support you, and who you can work with takes time, energy, and it often means that you need to reach out to others and help where you can. Do you volunteer as a guest on their YouTube channel? Do you help promote their blogs and books to what audience you have? Do you go to cons, bump fists, and volunteer to be on panels to meet fellow creators and fans alike?

There's no one right way to build your community, and it's really a patchwork of efforts that will work in a lot of different ways. But, honestly, that is what you need to do in order to really build a following of loyal readers.

Because as I've said so many times before, writing a book is hard. Selling that book is a lot harder, and you're going to need help if you don't already have fat stacks of cold cash chilling in your accounts.

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 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.

Ask What The Purpose Of A Scene Is (And Cut It If There Isn't One)

Editing your book can sometimes feel like you're holding a sword in your hand, and being asked which of your children you're willing to part with. There are so many moments in your story, so many turns of phrase that make you smile, and so many arcs that you just can't bring yourself to part with. After all, they make you happy, and they serve the narrative... or so you tell yourself.

I can say from experience, though, not every scene that's in your rough draft belongs in your final book... especially if you're finding your word count running over, or your waters getting muddied. Which is why it's important to sit down, take a hard look at each scene, and really ask if it needs to be on the team. Because some of them probably don't.

Just make the cut.

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!

Unnecessary Stuff Gets Left on The Cutting Room Floor

For just a moment, let's compare a novel to a movie. These are two very different art forms, but both of them are vehicles for telling a story. And just like how a writer might splash all their ideas onto the page, so a filmmaker might shoot different versions of a scene, or even add in extra scenes. When filming is wrapped, and the rough cut is done, it's time to start making decisions about what scenes stay in, and what scenes get chopped out.

Because sometimes a scene that seemed poignant and interesting at the time just makes later scenes feel redundant. Sometimes a scene is meant to give extra characterization to a member of the cast but instead feels like it's over-explaining them, or it actually runs counter to their behavior in other scenes. Sometimes subplots are removed from the movie because there just isn't enough room for everything, and they just felt too busy.

If you get the chance to watch deleted scenes from movies you know well, ask why they were removed in the first place? What was the logic? How would their inclusion have altered the finished product? How would these elements change the story? Because once you understand that, it can give you a more solid perspective when it comes to your own story, what should stay, and what should go.

Some scenes are harder to cut than others, not going to lie.

As an example, if you're writing a murder mystery that's meant to focus on the gritty side of investigating serial killers, what purpose does the scene where the detective has coffee with their sister serve? Is it meant to act as a come-down after a brutal revelation? Are you trying to show the other side of the detective's life as they struggle not to be consumed by the job? Does it involve a difficult discussion where the detective asks their sibling to be on the lookout, knowing that she might be targeted next?

When I say you need to be sure that the book has a purpose, that doesn't just mean it's a scene that drives the plot forward. There are plenty of scenes that don't have any plot-relevant details in them that still serve your narrative, which show different sides of your characters, or which lay false trails or keep your readers guessing. The key is that you understand the purpose these scenes serve, and that you can take a step back, and say that they are definitely helping your book.

Like I said above, your book is the vehicle for the story you're telling. Each part of that vehicle is working together to achieve the end result. You don't want to strip out the pistons in your engine, or take off the tires... but do you really need that spoiler on the rear? Or the extra spoiler on top of it? The bull bars on the front that are just weighing it down? The rack of lights across the roof that are just shining more light, but not actually helping you see better?

It's important to strip out things that are hurting your story... but more important than that is the ability to recognize when something is serving its purpose, and when you could probably stand to bring down the blade, and leave that particular scene out of things.

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!

Like, Follow, and Come Back Again!

That's all for this week's Craft 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. 

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!

Can You Get Paid By Social Media Platforms As A Writer? Probably Not

Social media platforms need engagement in order to stay viable, and to that end a lot of them have created programs that pay creators for the posts they make. This is why so many of the people out there with big audiences make so many posts, and try to draw so much energy from their audiences; because the more attention they get, the bigger the checks they're cut by the platform in question.

It's tough to make a living as an author, but chances are good you're already on social media to find an audience, get the word out about your books, and so on... so is this a viable way for you to earn a little extra money to cover your bills while still writing?

Short answer, no. For the long answer, details are below.

Trust me, I'd be all over this if it was possible.

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!

All Right, How Do These Programs Work?

On paper, the idea makes sense. A social media platform wants eyes and engagement, so it puts money in the pockets of creators who get people to stay on the platform longer. It makes sense; the creators are, essentially, the reason so many people check in on these platforms where they will be exposed to all the ads on the platform.

So, how did this get botched up? Well, to answer that question, I'll go platform by platform and explain how they have structured their programs.

Please sir... could we have a little more?

Instagram

Instagram has one of the clearest cut lines among these programs. Generally speaking, you need to have at least 10,000 followers (I learned this from Little Alice, and I'd highly recommend folks go check her stuff out if you haven't already since she's being shadow banned) before anything kicks in. Once you get to that level, the site starts tracking what you share, and the amount of attention it gets. And when you start getting large views (we're talking the 100,000 to 1 million range) the site starts compensating you for that. Not much, but generally speaking 1 million views is worth somewhere between a hundred, and a few hundred, dollars.

Not nothing... but hardly the success one would expect for a viral-level post.

Reddit

Reddit is the place where I do a majority of my social media posting because (though it pains me to admit this) it is the site where I get the best return on my efforts. But the site has a program that allows people to make money off the posts... but not really.

So, if you can get into the program (not a guarantee), you are given rewards based on the number of gold other Redditors award your posts. In order to get gold, though, a Redditor has to spend real-world currency... so this is essentially a way for you to earn tips.

The problem with this in my experience is that most creators never get awarded gold. You can make hundreds upon hundreds of posts, get thousands of upvotes, and lead to long comment chains... none of that makes any difference if no one decides to award you gold. I'm approaching a quarter million karma on the site, and my account is 10 years old... I've never once received gold. From anyone. Hell, I've barely received awards, no matter how much attention a post has received.

Depending on other users to tip you is a terrible way to try to make money, especially when they have to spend real-world money to tip you via the site's currency. And doubly so when the translation rate is something like a handful of pennies per gold you're awarded. You'd be better off just telling people where to find you on Ko-Fi or Patreon.

Facebook

Facebook is second verse, same as the first. It has the same fundamental flaw as Reddit, because you can only get tipped for your content by FB users giving you stars, which is the made-up currency on FB you have to spend real money for. But unlike Reddit, where users can put gold on any post you make, FB seems to only allow stars to be used on Reels (at least at time of writing).

While there is talk about allowing advertisers to partner with you as a creator, that's currently a grayed-out option. Everything I can see at present is just another shell game where the platform claims you can make money as a contributor, but then just puts that burden onto other users, many of whom probably don't even know the effect their stars have. And just like Reddit, individual stars are worth pennies.

Just tell people where to find you on Ko-Fi and Patreon.

YouTube

While technically not a social media platform, it keeps cropping up. YouTube requires someone to have 1,000 subscribers to their channel, and 4,000 hours of watched content in the past year to unlock all the payment options. People can leave you tips through the site, pay for exclusive subscriptions, and you get ad revenue shared... but again, you need tens of thousands of views per month to make even a spare $50 or so. Millions of views is required before you can cut even triple-digit checks.

Also, to help me reach some of my own goals on this one, check out the Azukail Games YouTube channel where most of my content winds up.

Miscellaneous Sites

So, there are a lot of sites that aren't going to get a detailed breakdown, and a lot of programs I haven't looked into yet. But the trend of sites either requiring you to have absurd followings, or passing off the actual paying part to someone else, is pretty common.

- Blue Sky: No official program yet, but apparently there's talks to change that.

- Twitter: It's a cesspool of bots, fascists, and pornography, but you still need millions of hits and a blue check mark to get paid.

- TikTok: Getting a straight answer is nearly impossible... but it requires hundreds of thousands to millions of followers, and even more views, to make any kind of money.

If You Have That Following, The Pay Is Insulting

There's an old story I mentioned somewhere on this blog about Michael Jordan being interviewed. He mentioned that when he was a rookie player, nobody wanted to give him shit for free. Once he was a champion and a celebrity, people wanted to give him free merch, comped meals, tickets to events, and a bunch of other stuff. They gave it to him because he was famous and well-known, but the point he made was that he didn't need it then.

This is basically the same thing when it comes to getting paid by social media sites.

Because if you can accumulate 100,000 followers (to say nothing of a million), then chances are pretty goddamn good you can get enough people out of that audience to buy your books, merch, support your crowdfunding, or watch your videos. And while getting a little bit of extra gravy on top for having a big audience is nice, sure, this isn't something that's reasonable (or even possible) for small-time creators.

So by all means, if you find yourself skyrocketed to stardom overnight with people hanging on every word, go for it. But if you're looking for some way to pay your bills right now, you're going to have a much easier time getting people to buy more copies of your book instead of getting 1 in every 300 people in the United States to click that follow button.

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 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.

No, You Don't "Need" AI To Make Your Book Into A Reality

I recently talked about generative AI in Writing Is About The Process, Not The Output, but given that this bubble is rapidly heading toward a burst, I felt there was something important that needed to be mentioned to end off the year 2025. Because I am consistently seeing people who are crying about the fact that they need AI to make their books into a reality because they can't afford to buy cover art, they can't afford to pay an editor, they can't afford this, they can't afford that, and that criticizing them for using AI when they're poor is just gatekeeping and classism.

I am here to tell you all, as a fellow poor, you do not actually need AI. In fact, the use of AI is making your book worse, it's cheapening your work, and it's turning the audience against you. Because if you couldn't be bothered to write a story, then people are going to ask why they should be bothered to read it?

Seriously, you are only hurting yourself with this.

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!

You Can't Shake The Devil's Hand And Claim You're Joking

To be clear, here, generative AI (stuff like ChatGPT and its ilk) are not tools. They aren't a fun little prompt someone made to give you a story idea, or a character name. They aren't search engines that can reliably bring you facts. They are digital parrots that are trying to guess what it is you want them to say, and they're vomiting up all their stolen work because they want to make you happy.

So, right off the bat, you did not create the things these engines made. In this situation, you are a factory owner that's stealing labor from others, and claiming it's yours because you're the one who gave the order. That's not how creation works. If you didn't do the work, then you don't get to claim the credit for it. Simple as.

Secondly, and this is an even bigger concern, generative AI steals your skills and makes you dumber. Whether it's this study in Psychology Today, or this study in Tech.Co, the use of generative AI weakens the connection in your brain, wrecks your ability to think critically, and it degrades your skills. So even if there was some genuine need to use it (which there isn't), you're harming yourself by indulging in it. And the longer you use it, the worse the poison is going to eat into you, and the harder the road back to recovery is going to be for you. That's just the facts.

With those two important points addressed, though, I'd like to get to that last one. Because you can absolutely afford the things it takes to make your book into a sleek, marketable finished product. The question is whether or not you're willing to actually put in the work to make it happen, and to do it with the sweat of your own brow instead of just pushing a button and skipping ahead to the end.

Take this cover, for example.

For those who don't know, this is the cover for my self-published fantasy novel Crier's Knife. The art I used is Standing Stones, and it cost me a grand total of $5 to use. And I wrote this novel years ago. I've never had to pay that fee again, or do anything else to cover that cost. It was a minimal investment. And if you go to websites like Pixabay or Morguefile you can find images there that are completely free to use for your book cover.

More importantly, though, the cover doesn't look like AI slop, and the image is credited to J.H Illustrations, so anyone who wants to sling the accusation can look and check for themselves.

But what about editors? Those have to be more expensive than art, right? Yes, they usually are. You're looking at something like a few hundred dollars at minimum for an editor to look at your book. However, as with cover art, there are ways around this. You could:

- Find an editor who has a special going on (common around the holidays).

- Ask friends that you trust and have related expertise (other authors, English teachers, etc.).

- Ask in an online writer's group for community assistance (not perfect, but often helpful).

Anything someone says they need AI for has a non-AI solution that is better for you as a creator, and better for your book. You can get free or cheap art, you can get discounted or volunteer editing services, you can find step-by-step instructions for how to format your book once the manuscript is ready, and in a lot of cases you can just ask podcasters or YouTubers to do audio renditions of your book (you'll likely need to offer them some kind of royalty cut, but you can make it happen).

There are resources and tools available that can actually help you get stuck into the process, understand what it takes to make your book better, and to make it a product of your own work and effort. Some of them will cost money, but there are always ways you can bring it down to a reasonable amount. Because if you find someone charging you thousands of dollars for cover art or editing services, you need to know that is either a scam, or you are paying for top-shelf services that are not going to be worth it for you as an indie writer.

Most importantly, using these other resources builds up your knowledge, your skill, and your abilities to turn your ideas into finished books. They help you engage with the process of making art that is really yours, and that you can be proud of.

Using generative AI? All that does is atrophy the muscles you should be building, worsen your product, and turn off the public in a big way. It hurts you, and your book, and you should stay far, far away from it.

Remember what they said about the One Ring? It doesn't matter how pure your motives, or how incorruptible you think your intentions are. It's going to eat away anything inside of you until you're a hollow little goblin, unable to think for yourself. No one wants that for you as a creator, but more importantly, no one wants to read books that come from that poisoned process.

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!

Like, Follow, and Come Back Again!

That's all for this week's Craft 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. 

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!