Making $$$ or Creating a Fanbase?

[Justin]

When it comes to writing and being an author the first thing many want is of course readers. Having people who want to read your book is one thing but to have someone say they read your book and really enjoyed it is just a really great feeling. However when it comes to publishing a book where does the focus truly aim towards, making money or a fanbase? Yes you can have both, having a fan base means making more money and sometimes saying your doing it for the money doesn’t always come off too well. As authors we all want to make money that way we know our book is a hit and people like it but should that be the focus? What’s your take? Is it more about making money or creating a fan base and connecting with your readers?

[Raymond]

I'll take fame over fortune...cuz fame tends to lead to fortune...umm or prison I guess LOL

[Wayne]

If you look at it from an external perspective, it quickly becomes a series of no-win scenarios that would make even the head of John Nash spin.

So you're writing for yourself? How vein. Are you writing to entertain? How presumptuous. What, you write to be famous? You are such an egotist. Or, are you writing in the hope that you become wealthy? How selfish.

Personally, I don't care what people think, and in truth, I write for all of the aforementioned reasons. But if you are bothered what other people think, be humble and write for respect, though I suspect that might limit your imagination.

You can't please everyone, but it's often easier to please yourself.

[Marina]

As a reader, I hope most authors write simply because they have something interesting to say, and therefore being heard and understood (fan base) is more important than $$.

An interesting question, though: what if you had a fan base, but most of your fans misunderstood the point of your book? Would it still be satisfying? I have read a politically charged fiction book recently that had a lot of sex scenes in it, and most reviews are all "YAY, sex scenes!" instead of "interesting thoughts." I wonder what the author's reaction would be.

[Andrew]

Money isn't my prime motive, but it's not like I send the cash back. I'm not sure I'm that keen on establishing a 'fanbase' as such either though. I'd like each of my stories to be enjoyed by people on their own merits rather than because they were written by me. Probably that's me being a bit quaint again.

If we were primarily writing for money, then we'd all be writing pornographic vampire stories starring cryptographers who went to a school for wizardry. Set in a zombie apocalypse.

[Wayne]

Andrew wrote: "If we were primarily writing for money, then we'd all be writing pornographic vampire stories starring cryptographers who went to a school for wizardry. Set in a zombie apocalypse."
Indeed.

[Justin]

Wayne, you hit the point right on the head. That's what I was thinking as I wrote it, I realized I became conflicted because its sort of a no win answer. As an author you want to make money but don't want to come off as hey yeah I'm in it for the dough. If you can't create a fanbase it's sort of a ooh what will people think. That's why it's best to take both lightly. Write for you and hope fans will come and those fans will slowly generate you sales and give you money. As long as its seen modestly then theres no harm done I say.

[Thomas]

I write mostly because I enjoy writing. If I were in it for the money I'd get a day job, and if I were in it for the fame I'd probably try and get in a play or something.

That said, I'd rather sell one copy of my book for a million dollars than to have one million people read my book and not get a cent. Money would solve a lot of my problems, being a household name would not.

[Reed]

If I had to choose between money and fame, I'd prefer money. Money would make my life easier and fame would just make it more frustrating. The primary reason I write is that I have always had an overactive imagination and I have a blast committing my flights of fancy to paper.

[Abby]

I wonder how Hemingway, Dickens or Melville would answer this question.

[Rinelle]

I don't think the two are mutually exclusive. At the moment, my goal is to build up a fan base, in the hopes that that will lead to being able to make a living writing in the future.

[F.F.]

To write for oneself is, I believe, a misnomer. I certainly write something I would want to read, and also something I enjoy putting into words, but it is somehow more important than that. I don't really write so that I can read what I wrote. I write because I sort of feel that the piece of writing I'm creating deserves to exist. Whether with my name on it or not, famous or not... So it isn't really for me. It's for the piece itself. As though the story has an opinion on the matter, and it looks over my shoulder to see if I've written it right.

[Ryder]

I started writing just because I wanted to see if I could. I mean, I always loved to write, but didn't know if my writing was good enough to show to others. I was encouraged by those who read my work. And then I began wondering, could I actually make a living at it? Could I actually have it all--do something I love and actually get paid for it?
I'm not looking for fame or fortune. I love to write and I hope that I can make enough money to live on, so that I can continue writing for the sheer joy of it, while paying the bills. I don't want a big house, or a fancy car. I want to know I can pay the mortgage and put gas in the old clunker, while doing something I love.
To manage that, I think we have to build a fanbase. As an almost unknown, no one is going to spend money on my books--not in this economy--unless they have met me and know enough about me to pique their curiosity about my writing.

[Fletcher]

Without a fanbase, you're not going to make very much money - at least not nearly as much as you could. But building a fanbase is a lot more involved than simply writing books that your target audience likes. It requires relationship-building, which doesn't come naturally to a lot of authors (my personal reaction to the term "relationship-building" is "yuck!" - sorry ladies, I'm spoken for!).

A lot of authors are natural introverts and they have a tendency to minimize interactions with their fans. So, they have a website, but no contact form or email autoresponder on it, nor do they update it very often. They may have a Twitter account but never tweet #anything. They may have a Facebook page that was last updated on the day they set it up. They never post anything on a site like GR. I'm guilty of all of these "sins" myself (and many more sins that are a lot more fun!). But I am aware of what needs to be done and I'm working on putting these types of fan interactions into my daily schedule as something that gets worked on at least a little bit every day.

[Ryder]

Fletcher wrote: "Without a fanbase, you're not going to make very much money - at least not nearly as much as you could. But building a fanbase is a lot more involved than simply writing books that your target audi..."

I am guilty of all those things too. I'd much rather just write. But I've decided to just do two things: I blog, and I come here to goodreads and participate. My blog has a PUBLISH function that allows me to post a blog and have it published on Twitter and Facebook without any effort. And I do a lot of reviews, which I post on my blog and also here on goodreads. There are not enough hours in the day to learn how to use Facebook and Twitter, Pinterest and Tumblr. And I've never used LinkedIn once without having to take my computer to the doctor for a tune up, so I don't go there anymore.
I used to try to participate a lot on SaavyAuthors, SheWrites, and Sisters-In-Crime. Now I respond to some of the posts and keep an eye out for opportunities, but mostly, I don't go to these sites. I'm not good at getting around on them and can waste several hours trying to figure them out, never managing to get where I want to be.
I do keep in touch with groups who do contests, and I judge them, mostly as a way to pay back the writing community for all the help I've received. But I've learned that these sites are really for being in touch with writers. I want to be in touch with readers. I want to reach mystery buffs, and lovers of thrillers/suspense novels. Goodreads is an excellent place for that.