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You Get What You Pay For - Investing in Your Writing Career
BY C. Hope Clark
Flip around forums and you'll inevitably find the famous quote,
"Money flows TO the writer, not FROM the writer." For the life
of me, though, I do not understand why writers think they
shouldn't pay a dime in their efforts to become known. As with
any career, your return is in direct relation to the investment.
An investment doesn't mean the more you spend, the more you make,
anymore than the more you pour into the stock market the more
you'll get back. You have to have an inkling of sense, a
yearning to understand the game and a willingness to stay in it
for the long haul.
Postage, Paper and Envelopes
Many magazines, agents and publishers still do not accept
manuscripts online. Viruses are destructive, and they don't have
a clue who you are. The world is full of odd sorts, and they
get deluged with thousands of contacts by people who want to
be the next Stephen King. Competition is fierce, and getting
fiercer every day. So why aren't you using good paper, printing
in dark ink, inserting SASEs and mailing first class? When
everyone else is hoarding ink using economy print and saving
41 cents deleting the SASE, you could be the shining star that
stands out from the others in the slush pile. I don't cut
corners. I send a product that makes an editor's tired eyes
welcome my submission. Ten SASEs only amounts to $4.10, and
a hundred only $41. Let's just say you have a ten percent
acceptance rate. Do you want to jeopardize that by not giving
the editor an easy way to send you the contract...or the check?
Contest Fees
Yes, some fees are too high. Those that exceed ten percent of
the first prize purse are worth ignoring. Return on investment
is poor. But backing yourself in a corner and demanding that
no contest is worth your time if it charges a fee is hurting no
one but you. $1,000 is worth $10, $12 or $15. Contests are a
hellacious amount of work. And the purse money has to come from
somewhere. Someone not long ago told me that contests bait new
writers. I agree...they are bait for a new writer to submit his
best work to in hopes of winning a marvelous clip that can jump
start his career. If you think that $12 is too much to pay for
an entry fee, then you think your work is less than stellar
and assume you will lose. Tell me...why are you even entering
a contest unless you're proud as punch about the work? And
the win...oh my gosh...the win is so good for your career.
Conferences and Writing Books
Answer this...are you buying books and attending conferences to
learn how to write or to improve the writing you are doing? I once
spoke with a woman in a writing group who bragged about reading
27 how-to-write books in a year. She'd never published a thing
in her life, but she was hell-bent on writing a novel. Like her
college degree, she thought if she fulfilled the requirements,
putting in her time reading the rules, that she'd pass the
course and get published. Same goes for conferences. You can
attend ten a year, but if you aren't applying the lessons
when you return home, you're fooling no one. Conferences make
gobs of money from souls like that who get jazzed about milling
around with fellow writers, go home, stack up the notes, and
return to a writing routine that consists of forums, emails
and reading more writing books. I'll give you a formula, and
even cut you some slack with it...for every hour you email,
read, network and conference, you owe your writing a like hour.
Are you investing in your writing or in your writing environment?
Traditional versus Self-Publishing
In self-publishing, you fork out loads of money...knowing you
won't be rejected. You make the bed you lie in. You're paying
for the privilege of bypassing the agent and publisher research,
the countless rejections, the innumerable queries, the synopses
and the marketing plans. Many people self-publish to step outside
the frustration of the traditional world that gives you a one
percent chance of reaching print. And they don't have to wait
for answers. They decide when to publish. The investment is
high, but you rely purely on your own creativity to sell the
book - yours alone.
Many people argue that traditional publishers do not help a
writer. However, the simple fact that the traditional publisher
bears the cost of the book is a tremendous plus. To become
traditionally published, you've written your book several more
times, at the request of agents or editors investing in you.
They know people, and those people know people, and while they
don't market for you, they serve as resources for you in your
quest to accrue sales numbers. Credibility falls a little more
on your side of the fence. But to get published, you busted
your butt researching who to pitch to and how to do it.
You don't deserve to publish unless you've invested properly.
Deciding to be a writer and being one are light years apart.
The Internet piques people's interests. "You can be a writer"
jumps off web sites to millions everyday. Yes, you can be
a writer. Just like you can be a doctor, lawyer or high school
English teacher. You set your sights, begin the journey, and
accept the fact it won't happen overnight or without a major
infusion of your time, your money and your way of life.
BIO
Hope Clark has seven years of publishing history under her
belt. She is editor of FundsforWriters, freelances for
magazines and pursues the traditional publication of a
mystery novel. www.fundsforwriters.com
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