Avoiding costly mistakes as a writer

I've been reflecting recently on how the word 'writer' can sometimes become a red flag, attracting businesses who misinterpret 'writer' as meaning 'customer'. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. If we see the writing and publishing process as a business model which ultimately involves a transaction of money in return for words, then we need to consider carefully exactly what the role of the writer is in that transaction. The writer is the person in the equation who creates the content - they are the content producer. Without the writer, there would be no end product - be it a book, article, blog post or multi media resource. But for some businesses, the model sees the writer as the end customer and the goal is for the transaction of dollars to move from the writer's pocket to that of the business, often calling themselves a publisher. This is the shady area of the industry, where enthusiastic writers may decide to invest surprisingly large quantities of their own money in producing an end product in the hopes that they will be able to sell it. Before you embark on this path, do yourself a favour and cost out carefully things such as the price of obtaining an ISBN, the cost of printing a paperback book in various formats and layouts, the cost of a page designer to do internal and cover design, and the cost of postage / freight. These are the main cost outlays in producing a book, and knowing what these are will help you better understand any offers which come your way to publish your book. For in most instances, it does not make good business sense for the writer to be the customer of their own work.
(author: Anne Vize) is the author of 'Your writing futures - writing for the digital natives generation'Your writing futures - writing for the digital natives generation