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.

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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.

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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!

 

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5 Ways Writers Are A Lot Like Prostitutes

They're skilled, glamorous, exotic, and more than a little edgy. You watch them on the Internet, and you listen to interviews with them, and you think that, maybe, you could do what they do. Some day.

I'm technically talking about being a writer, but I suppose the same thing could apply to being a high-class escort.

You want a package deal, or are we going by the word, here?

I've had a long week, and I'm feeling a little ragged round the edges. So I thought I'd do something that's mostly silly, but with a grain of truth lodged in the middle of it to kind of hold the premise together. So, let's get started, shall we?

#1: We Have An "Exotic" Profession

Let's get the low-hanging fruit out of the way first. If you're a writer, and especially if you write some kind of fiction, you're seen as something unusual by people who never venture too far out of the realms of normalcy. People are often impressed, thinking that writers are men and women who live in unusual places, like communes by the sea, or forgotten manor houses in New England. They can't believe that we're people, and we do things like shop for pants, meet for breakfast, or go to the gym.

Sort of the same with prostitutes. People know they exist, but they sort of forget that they take off their work clothes, and go back to being normal people when their job is done.

#2: People Can't Believe We Get Paid For That

Psh, they get paid how much to do that? Well, hell, how hard can it be? I do that for free, and I've never had any complaints.

I'm sure that sex workers will hear this diatribe a lot more often than writers do, but we're no strangers to the spiel. Because a lot of people write in their free time, and they happen to think they're pretty good. But they don't seem to realize there's a big difference between the stories you share with your partner in the privacy of your own home, and the leap it takes to do it full-time. Whether you're in the mood, or not.

#3: We Don't Make Anywhere Near What You Think We Do

I blame TV for this one. The only depictions we ever seem to get on most shows (even on a lot of cop dramas), is writers with literal millions to throw around on whatever whimsical thing they feel like doing. Even in old-fashioned shows like Murder She Wrote, the writer in question never seems to be hurting for resources, despite being independently employed, and a senior citizen, meaning all those health bills are coming out of her pocket.

Prostitutes get a lot of the same rap in our fiction. Because while we see plenty of independents getting booked, or becoming victim of the week, the recurring characters all seem to be madams, high-priced call girls, or similarly glamorous, independent women (never seem to be a lot of men, but I don't watch as much TV as I used to).

Even the best of us aren't making that much cash. And those who are, man, they know how to hustle.

#4: People Can't Believe We Expect Them To Pay For Service

What do you mean you're gonna charge me? Come on, we're friends, aren't we? Really? Seriously, it will take you, like, half an hour!

If you're good at something, never do it for free. While that might be how the saying goes, the world seems to think the exact opposite most of the time. People are more than willing to acknowledge your skill, and that you are the best they know at the trade... but they will still pitch a fit if you expect them to pay rates like some kind of client!

#5: Clients Don't Want To Hear No

Now, this one is a serious issue, and I wanted to take a moment to point that out. People who are not willing to take no for an answer is one of the primary ways sex workers are put in danger by their clients, and it's also one of the primary causes of sexual harassment.

With that said, I've lost track of the number of clients who seem to develop selective deafness when it comes to things I won't do. Whether it's genres I don't work in, being vague about when and how I'll be paid, or me pointing out that what they're asking for is way beyond the scope of what I'm willing to do, they've settled in their minds that it's my job to make their vision into a reality. They just seem to forget that I have to agree to take the job for that to happen.

While this might have been a silly Business of Writing entry, hopefully some folks found it amusing. Next week we're back to Craft, and I'll be talking about much more serious subjects. If you enjoyed this post, and you want to keep up to date on my work, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter. Lastly, if you want to toss some support my way, head over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page.