is it easier to ......

[Noizchild]

It's still easy for me.

[RobTheThird]

ostarella wrote:
> Well, if one is looking to write fiction as a way of making a lot of money,
> they need a quick reality check - and a different vocation. Many of the
> world's greatest authors barely survived financially - their works only
> gained "popularity" after they were either too old to enjoy it or
> dead. And even today, most authors are hard-pressed to make writing their
> sole means of support. I've read of and spoken with many published authors
> who consider themselves lucky that they can earn any money doing what they
> love.
>
> I just find it personally distasteful to look at writing as some sort of
> "product". It's a craft and an art, not widgets to be pumped out
> based on a cost/benefit analysis.
Interesting. I find the act of writing to be the craft, and where I feel the love, so to speak.

But the writing itself? The end result? It's a product. I sell it. Or I don't.

[ostarella]

RobTheThird wrote:

> Interesting. I find the act of writing to be the craft, and where I feel the love,
> so to speak.
>
> But the writing itself? The end result? It's a product. I sell it. Or I don't.


Once the book is done, then yes, the writer hat goes off and the business hat goes on. For me, once I finish a story, there's a flutter of disappointment combined with a moment of exhilaration that the project I've put so much of myself into is done - and then it's over. I move on to the next one.

[deddmann_writing]

RobTheThird wrote:
> ostarella wrote:
> > Well, if one is looking to write fiction as a way of making a lot of money,
> > they need a quick reality check - and a different vocation. Many of the
> > world's greatest authors barely survived financially - their works only
> > gained "popularity" after they were either too old to enjoy it or
> > dead. And even today, most authors are hard-pressed to make writing their
> > sole means of support. I've read of and spoken with many published authors
> > who consider themselves lucky that they can earn any money doing what they
> > love.
> >
> > I just find it personally distasteful to look at writing as some sort of
> > "product". It's a craft and an art, not widgets to be pumped out
> > based on a cost/benefit analysis.
> Interesting. I find the act of writing to be the craft, and where I feel the love,
> so to speak.
>
> But the writing itself? The end result? It's a product. I sell it. Or I don't.
============

The difference may be the original intent. Janet Evanovich sells millions of novels. Her goal is to make money. She does not enjoy the writing.

In her book about writing she made it clear that it is hard work just like a 'real' job and that she does not enjoy that writing part.

For people with a job they would likely be doing it for the fun of being creative and any money they make is just a lagniappe.

[Brien Sz]

It's all hard work. This notion that one stumbles upon millions is utter nonsense. Is there the occasional outlier, of course, but they rarely retain the momentum unless they are disciplined with hard work.

Writing is a profession. It's work. It's discipline. You have good days, bad days and a host of in-between ones. I wrote promotions for various television shows in the 90's and early 2000's. Hard work. Loved it and at times loathed it. However, I enjoyed the overall experience.

People who flutter with the idea of a muse or look at writing as anything but work, they are amateurs. When I write, I look at it as work, as a professional with goals as when projects should be done by.

Is writing art? Yes, but so is a sport, so is rebuilding a car, or forging a knife. Making money is an art. Being a good business person is an art. Medicine is an art. To be good at any of it takes dedication and hard work. If you can love the work, all the better.

[ostarella]

Brien Sz wrote:
> It's all hard work. This notion that one stumbles upon millions is utter
> nonsense. Is there the occasional outlier, of course, but they rarely
> retain the momentum unless they are disciplined with hard work.
>
> Writing is a profession. It's work. It's discipline. You have good days,
> bad days and a host of in-between ones. I wrote promotions for various
> television shows in the 90's and early 2000's. Hard work. Loved it and at
> times loathed it. However, I enjoyed the overall experience.
>

Agree, Brien. Did not mean to imply that there wasn't work involved in the art - any craftsman worth their salt will tell you that it takes hard work, frustration, and dedication to the craft to make anything worthwhile. I guess my main view is that if the only reason one gets into writing is to make money, well, there are a great many things that are much easier to do and offer a much better guarantee of an income. Because, like any independent "job", particularly those pertaining to creative ventures, there are no guarantees when it comes to income. Even very successful authors can suddenly drop out of favor.

There are days when I look at my writing and wonder what the H I thought I was doing, days when I will write and rewrite and toss out sentences and paragraphs, trying to find the words that just will not come, or just don't leave me satisfied at all. But then there are the days when the words come faster than I can type, when solutions are there almost before I notice the problems, and those are the days that make the others seem totally unimportant.

[Brien Sz]

And that's passion.

[ostarella]

Brien Sz wrote:
> And that's passion.

[Burningthyself]

Most writers quit when they get their first edit letter from a publisher and realize how wrong they were thinking the writing was anywhere close to the real work.