Creators aren't pixies that run on fairy dust, happy thoughts, and upvotes. We're human beings, and because we're forced to live under late stage capitalism, we're human beings who have to pay rent and buy food. Which means that, at the end of the day, we either need to be so rich that our material comforts aren't a concern, or we need to make things that are going to generate enough cash that we can buy the necessary essentials so we can survive another day, and put our fingers back on the keyboard tomorrow.
Despite this obvious statement, there seem to be a lot of people out there who seem to be unaware of these very basic facts.
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| Here you go. Now give us another season of that show you were working on! |
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 Current Project (Some Background)
For folks who aren't regular readers of this blog (or my sister blog Improved Initiative where I talk about tabletop RPGs) you may not have seen me talk about a brand new podcast project I'm trying to get off the ground. For those interested in an elevator pitch, it's essentially a modern fantasy John Wick involving a Big Bad Wolf type getting involved in a hunt for a fellow missing fae, and having to deal with strongarm goons, deadly supernatural threats, and at least one femme fatale to claw his way to the heart of this mystery.
If you'd like a more detailed run down of the project, you can check out Windy City Shadows, A Chronicles of Darkness Podcast Proposal, as well as the AMA I recently did for the project over on the Azukail Games YouTube Channel.
Now, I told you that story to tell you this story.
The reason that I wrote blog entries about this podcast, and did an Ask Me Anything for it, was to try to test the direction the wind was blowing, and to see how much support I could expect from the public for it. Because much like writing a novel, writing, recording, editing, and releasing an entire season of an audio drama podcast is going to take between a year and a year and a half to complete. That's a lot of work, and if I'm going to put in those kind of hours between now and my 42nd birthday, I'd like to know that it's something people are actually interested in, and would like to listen to.
I'd also like it to make enough money to pay at least some of my bills... and apparently there are some corners of the Internet where this is considered heresy.
"Just Follow Your Passion" Is Not A Business Plan
There is something to be said for the satisfaction of a job well done. There is no denying that it feels good to put words on the page, to finish off an audio drama, etc. And I won't deny that most of us have our own pet projects we really want to bring to fruition... but most of us don't base our workload on what makes us personally happy and satisfied.
We do these things for money. Full stop.
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| It's a job. That's why we do it. |
I've been a professional writer for over a decade now. For full clarity, that does not mean I am someone who has made side money as a writer; this has been my full time job since my late 20s. I've written novels and short stories, I've written for newspapers and magazines, I've written TTRPG supplements, blogs, online articles, audio dramas, and more. I've taken some jobs because they seemed like a lot of fun. I've taken other jobs because the check was fat, and rent was coming due. The job isn't always a fun time, but it needs to get done all the same.
I do not "follow my passion" and hope for the best. When I have an idea for a project, I hold it at arm's length, and evaluate it. I ask where I can get it published, who would be interested in it, how long it will take, how many other people I'm going to need onboard to bring it to fruition, and a dozen other questions. There are some projects that seem like an absolute slam dunk, and they get pushed to the front of the line. Others could go one way or another when it comes to crowd reception. And some... well, some appeal to me and maybe 12 other people.
This idea that authors, video creators, painters, game designers, and all these other creative professionals are just doing whatever we want like manic faerie dream folk is ridiculous. We are people who, by and large, take our work very seriously, and we expect to be paid for our efforts. The things we make might be whimsical or dark, silly or serious, but at the end of the day we are running a business.
You wouldn't tell someone to be a cashier for 8 hours a day in the hopes that maybe they got paid for it. You wouldn't suggest someone shovel snow, or fill in potholes, or cut grass hoping that someone tipped them for their efforts. And if someone came to you and said, "I want to open my own shop," or, "I'm thinking about starting a lawncare company," one of your first questions for them would probably be, "Cool... so what's your business plan?"
That's what we're doing. Because making the art is only half the process... the other part is actually selling it. That's the hard part of the job, and it's not something you can just wing and hope for the best.
Support The Literary Mercenary
If you want to see me produce more work, consider some of the following options!
- 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.
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!
