There's More To It Than That

Being a writer is a multi-layered occupation. You are a writer, that kind of goes without saying, but you are also a salesman and let's face it a Business Owner.

These are clearly two different avenues of employment, and so it is important to master each of them if you are to succeed.

For some people sales comes easy. I have a cousin to could sell an ice machine to an Eskimo. Me on the other hand, I'd struggle to sell a movie idea to Uwe Boll.

What it comes down to is a matter of confidence.  Writing I have no problem with. Sure I have periods where I write nothing and then when I finally do I delete it all because it just wasn't right, but that isn't confidence that is just the craft at work.

I can happily sit down and write for hours without thinking or questioning myself. I'm not saying my writing is perfect, far from it, but I have the confidence in myself to make it good… great even.

My trouble is purely lodged in the marketing and business sections of the industry.

I have tax numbers to sort out, and forms to fill in and send away so that I don't pay tax in the US and then again in the Netherlands, and I am sure many other business like avenues that need to be sorted out. But then again, is that really necessary before I have sold enough books for it to become an issue? Not to mention the fact that I have to pay for the majority of these forms and I just can't do that. I have no savings account and at the end of each month we are counting the pennies for the essentials.

So what do I do? I write. I don't think about the business side of things. I am lost in the terminology, the forms I need the people who need to be notified. Not mentioning that my contract for my day job clearly says I will not undertake any other form of paid work while under contract for the company.

The other avenue I struggle with is the promotion of the book.  Sure I Poke, Like and Tweet my way around the social media scene, and I am very careful not to spam with link after link of shameless self promotion, but at the end of the day I never know if I am doing it right.

There is much more to writing a book than just putting words on a page, and at times I wonder. Was Indie the right route for me to take? I think, deep down that it was. I just need to have more faith in myself. Not my writing but in my ability to sell what I create. After all, even traditionally published writers have to promote their own work, especially given the current economic situation. I am a big believer that a large part of everything in life is being in the right place at the right time. Call it luck, call it fate, dress it up and call it Nancy if you want, it all boils down to the same key thing. You need to be out there. Whether it's sending work around agents and publishers, or forging your own path. Nobody will notice you if you never show your work.

I am proud of my novel, and will not allow my own fear of success to get in my way. Maybe I do need some guidance on the business side of things, maybe I am too naive or trusting, but that's just who I am. I will cross those bridges when I come to it, for if I get to the stage where I am selling enough books for it to matter where I pay my tax, I'll look to get someone helping me who knows the ropes and knows what they are doing. Until then I'm just me. I'm writing, I'm tweeting and I'm thrilled with every single sale I make.

 

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