Yeah I'm sure that just lost us a ton of followers. But hear me out. I can relate this movement to writing and why it's important to embrace writing as a business. If you've been reading my posts for any length of time, you know I'm not just a hobbyist, this is my career and one I'm damn good at. I don't really bother with people who are writing for the pure pleasure of it, real writers need to tell stories, to produce and realistically, we need to sell them. If you write erotica, your road ahead is even harder than the traditional road due to the stereotypes, the lacking acceptance outside of the erotic circles, making it harder to sell a book or story. Yes, there are plenty of markets, especially since the e-book revolution is in full swing with reading devices that make it so much easier to buy and read your favorite perverted stories and authors than ever.
When you get that first paycheck, no matter how small it may be, as an erotica author, it's gratifying. It's validation. People will buy and read your work, and even though it's one check, it's one in a hopefully long line of paychecks, royalty checks and more that perpetuate, motivate and drive you to write more, to your heart's content without having to worry so much about the bills.
Yes there is competition. But that should drive you to write better, write tighter. In most cases, it will make you a better author. Editors will tear your work to pieces and expose plot holes (that's just funny in the erotic sense!) and butcher your babies until you've fixed the mistakes and made the story the best it can be. If it's longer than a short story and is actual e-book length (let's stop messing around with stories under 10k, they don't sell as well) then it gets a decent cover and an artist who has a vision that's oftentimes not entirely close to the book (another post will cover why and cover art in erotica) but will help the book reach the largest possible audience it can!
Now let's take the Occupy Wallstreet people and throw their beliefs into the mix. We're going with facts, not speculation. At their root, they want to tear down the American system as we know it and rebuild it so it's a fairer system. They want to destroy capitalism.
Will you still write? Will you still strive to put out the best product you can, knowing it's not going to matter because your incentive to write is gone? If they were to get their way and force income redistribution, would you still bother to read and if so, how would you show your favorite authors you support them? After all, they're not going to stand out anymore, they'll be in the pool just like everyone else.
Capitalism encourages competition. It encourages us as writers to strive for betterment. It pushes us to learn from our mistakes and strive to try again? Sure it's not always fair. And yeah some of us are going to get ahead faster than others, others will stand out more than some and we're all ultimately vying for the dollar from our readers.
We know internally that the system is a mess. In NY this is plain as day as many M/m authors will not see book deals due to the stigma against the sub genre of erotic romance. But that isn't stopping those authors from writing and making money in e-books. I have a BDSM background, yet I've got two agents, both of whom represent me and know they can sell my work if I spin it a little bit.
In the business, this is what's mislabeled as "selling out."
All the protests in the world won't change what America is, they won't change the reader's mind, only you the author will.
Excellent post. No matter what may or may not happen, I'll never stop reading and my fellow authors will always have my support. And I will most certainly never stop writing. I made the same claim recently on Nathan Bransford's blog. It's ingrained in me, a part of who I am and believe me there were times when I tried to just stop altogether. If you're truly an author its impossible, it has a way of sneaking up on you. So why fight it?
ReplyDeleteOh, Sascha,very provocative title, but I want to clarify a little on this Occupy Wallstreet Revolution. The Mainstream Media is highlighting the nuts, but in fact this is not against undoing capitalism. Rather, it's about instilling some protections so the people who would cheat and bilk the system can't. it's about making sure 'too big to fail' doesn't happen, because private profit, but public loss is not fair to the rest of us.
ReplyDeleteI definitely think the cream should rise to the top--that we will all continue to strive. Pure capitalism only works in a closed system where consumers know enough to make informed choices. In a world market, the only metric we see is dollars, and frankly, there are just more things that should be considered when we make purchases (like is the CEO a lying cheat)
I agree with what Hart says in her comment. But your point-of-view does warrant some thought.
ReplyDeleteI need to second what Hart said: Occupy Wall Street is not about ending capitalism; it is about creating safeguards against the unnecessary greed and bureaucracy that ever widens the gap in the class divide. It is about making the future brighter for people of all classes.
ReplyDeleteIf they achieve reform, it will not affect our ability to write and market our work. These people are protesting for US, the little people, the ones who nickel and dime it to the next paycheck.
This will be my only comment re: defense of my point of view on the Occupiers.
ReplyDeleteYes, I know a splinter cell not affiliated with the Occupy movement is responsible for destroying large windows at a Bank of America, the ATM machines there and graffiting the walls and smashing windows at a local Whole Foods, but overall in Oakland (and many other places) those protesters aren't anything but hired guns to stir up trouble. Those same paid protesters are paid by a lot of left wing organizations that DO want to usurp capitalism. That sort of undermines any movement against crony capitalism.
In relation to the writing, and this post, the important thing to keep in mind here is that in our economy, while artists aren't praised as they were back in the days of old, it's actually easier to make a living as an artist. Putting forth the effort and willingness to learn means I have the opportunity to be a success.