Writing Isn’t A Get Rich Quick Scheme.
“Do what you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life.”
I don’t remember when I first heard this expression, but I know it was when I was young, and it changed my perception entirely. My friends were all interested in what careers would make them the most money, while I wanted to be a…vampire. That didn’t work out. I had big dreams as a young teenager, I wanted to have my own hair salon, run a cat cafe, I even thought about being a tattoo artist. In the end, I realized the unfortunate truth that sometimes, you just need a job, regardless of whether you enjoy it. I enjoy where I work now, but there’s no room for growth unless I spend near a hundred thousand dollars on a college degree.
For some background, I live in California in the Bay Area. Everyone is competing for the same jobs, so checking Indeed is akin to looking for the table scraps your dog left on the floor. Part time jobs where you have to be on call 24/7, $15 an hour jobs that require a bachelor’s degree, it’s all very discouraging.
Reality is often disappointing, and I’ve realized that I can’t always work a job I want. I had a stint in retail (my previous article details that more), and I realized that the only way I was going to be able to work a job I want is to create one. I published my first novel at 19 years old, and I waited for the readers to come pouring in. Except…they didn’t. I’ve sold around twenty-three copies since July of last year, which is certainly not a liveable wage, so I took to Google as one does to frantically search up advice:
Nvl not seling
Y novel not sell
Cheap pizza near me
Help! Why is nobobcdy buying book???
The universal answer was a discouraging one. Basically, I have to do all of that again. For self published authors in particular, the more books you put out, the more readers find you. It makes sense statistically, but I was hoping for more of a get rich quick scheme. I’m now about a hundred pages into my new horror manuscript, and I’ve realized one very encouraging thing. The more you write, the easier it is to push out new content. Before, I believe it took me almost a year to hit this many pages, and now I’ve done it within a few months. Part of marketing my novels also requires a Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook page, along with my blog right here. It helps to connect with other people struggling out there as I am, working day jobs and working on their ‘hustle’ on the side. Someday, I hope that both my readers and I are able to do what we love, and never work another day in our lives. For now, you can find me liking pictures of people’s dogs and food on Instagram in my search for that famous internet clout.
If you’re interested, my debut novel is A Soul Made of Cinders, a horror novel with elements of romance, slasher, and my attempts at humorous dialogue. Sure, looking back, I think I would change things about my novel. It’ll never become a movie or a cult classic. Yet, the next book might be, or the next after that, so I think it would be waste to stop trying as soon as I’ve learned what to do differently. I hope that if you’re an author like me, you don’t get caught up on critic reviews or low sales. The only way to go when you start at rock bottom, is up!
(Sorry, I started on a quote, so I wanted to end on one.)
-Regards, Faith.
