Do you believe in kismet? I’m asking because the quote in this graphic, which I stole from the IndieView’s Facebook feed (and thanks for posting it, Big Al!), reminded me a little of an article posted by Kristine Kathryn Rusch on her blog last week. I blogged about Rusch’s article on my own blog over the weekend. But I thought the topic might also spark a broader discussion.
Rusch makes a distinction between “career writers” and what she calls “one-book writers.” A one-book writer, she says, is somebody who basically wants to tick a box on his or her bucket list. This is the person who wants to hold a book with his or her name on the cover, and to see that book on a bookstore shelf – in short, to be recognized by the literary establishment as a “published author.” She goes on to say that most of the writers she has met, over the course of her career, fit this description. They may have more than one book in them, but they’re not trying to make a living at their writing – either because they have other interests to pursue, or because they’re convinced it’s impossible. Generally speaking, she says, these folks wouldn’t be satisfied by going indie. It’s not that they don’t want to make money from their writing; it would certainly be okay with them if the Bestseller Fairy sprinkled their work with her magic dust, so that they topped the New York Times list with no effort whatsoever. It’s the learning curve that stops them. It’s that they’d have to find editors, beta readers, cover artists, video production people, and promoters – or figure out how to do all this stuff themselves – and they’re convinced they’re incapable. Continue reading “What Are You In This For?”
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Sherry Molteni is the readers’ choice in this week’s Indies Unlimited Flash Fiction Challenge.
