I think the part Kris wrote about why writers QUIT was especially important.
To quote:
Writers have disappeared from the dawn of publishing. I wrote an entire three-blog series about that in 2012, listing 12 reasons why writers stop writing.
Those twelve reasons are:
- Writers can’t get a new book contract under that name.
- They can’t get a new book contract because their genre has vanished.
- They became toxic—and that toxicity trickled through the entire industry.
- They achieved all their goals.
- They were no longer interested in writing.
- They moved to a different part of the industry.
- They got discouraged.
- They couldn’t handle the solitude.
- They couldn’t handle the financial problems inherent in a writing career.
- They had life or health issues that interfered with the writing
- They didn’t keep up with the changes in the industry.
- They sold or gave away too many rights to their books.
Okay, it's me, Shoshanna Evers again. I am lucky that the core group of authors I became friendly with when I first got published in 2010 are still around, still writing books. Maybe it's because I met those authors within traditional publishing, which probably meant those authors had already been writing for a while in order get a publishing contract to begin with, and so were less likely to disappear from the scene than someone who decides to write a short story and self-publish it on Amazon, and then decides nevermind about being an author....? (Obviously I'm not saying that is the case with all or even most self-publishers. But maybe it is for those who quit?)
In the past almost 5 years, I've seen lots of authors come onto the scene with a flash and then vanish after one or two books.
Writing book after book after book, year after year, in solitude, is not for everyone. I think some people try it once, decide the payout wasn't "worth it" or the time wasn't "worth it" and go back to their regular lives. You kinda have to just love it so much you can't imagine being happy doing anything else. Even when I hate it, I love it. :)
Sometimes I think about quitting all social media and promotion, and focus on just writing and sending out a newsletter when I have a new release. But then I'd miss out on actually connecting with the very people I'm writing for. I cherish the friendships I've made with readers. But if I felt burned-out, I would quit social media and promo before I quit writing.
I think if there is anything in the world that someone can do *other* than write, they should do that other thing. Because choosing to be a writer is a very hard path. It's not for the faint of heart.
This year, regarding changes, I chose to continue traditional publishing with NY in addition to indie-publishing, because having advance money upfront takes a lot of the fear-factor out of waiting to see if a book sells before you make any money. That said, I can't see myself giving up indie-publishing because I love the control so much, and the monthly income (NY pays twice a year... Hard to budget on that, plus royalties are lower per book than self-pub) even if the monthly self-pub income has lowered with the introduction of Kindle Unlimited. We'll just have to adapt and figure out ways around it so we can make enough money to keep on goin' on! :)
That's what keeps authors around, and what turns aspiring writers into published authors: We don't quit. We adapt to changes. We stay nimble and we KEEP WRITING!!!
All my best,
Shoshanna Evers
Sexily *Evers* After... ShoshannaEvers.com
New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author
I am Not Your Melody releases Jan 6th!
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