The Business of Writing and Publishing

[Snakenaps she/her]

18 hours ago, Robinski said:

I find this very interesting. Another thing worth considering is how many said-bookisms one uses, like 'whispered' and 'shouted' instead of just saying 'said Katie'. That's one of Brandon's considerations, I seem to remember, the theory being that the word 'said' is invisible to the reader, so is often (usually?) better to use than an extravagant said-bookism.

Hmmm, that's a good point. I originally wrote all my examples with "said" but it looked so boring a repetitive with the same sentence every time that I mixed it up. Now I want to go through and see how many bookisms and/or adverbs I use normally. 

I'd also love to go back and compare my use of dialogue from my first draft to now. I feel like this is a pretty easy way to see how one's style shifts over time. 

18 hours ago, Robinski said:

p.s. I think your description total percentage is 44%.)

There's a reason why I teach art and not fifth grade math. 

[Robinski he/him]

20 hours ago, Snakenaps said:

I'd also love to go back and compare my use of dialogue from my first draft to now.

It's really revealing. In the edit of a certain novella that I just finished before putting it up for critique elsewhere, every time I came to an adverb in a dialogue tag, I asked myself if I really needed it, and I'd say about 60-70% of them got the snip.

20 hours ago, Snakenaps said:

There's a reason why I teach art and not fifth grade math. 

LOL.

[Snakenaps she/her]

3 hours ago, LukeSrm said:

From what I know, this kind of business is not an easy one. It's tough to make the first and big profit.

That is an understatement. If one is looking for a profit...there are much better careers out there. If I took all the hours I have spent writing, worldbuilding, and educating myself, I could have easily taught myself computer coding by now. And I've only seriously been at this for a couple of year. 

But I love writing. So I just keep chugging up the mountain, hoping one day to earn enough to even buy myself a coffee, let alone make a living at it. 

[Robinski he/him]

Yeah, writing for profit is something of an oxymoron, I think, unless your definition of profit takes in the sphere spiritual wellbeing.

I mean, in a sense I have written for profit all my working life, as my 'product' is technical reports on Transportation Planning, but writing fiction for profit is a bit like playing football/soccer for profit. Even if you have natural talent, and get lucky in the beginning, you have to work that really hard, develop it, nurture it, constantly learn new things, and even if you're really, really, really good, your chances of being anything that might be defined as a success are like one in a million.

[Chmannon]

If you're digging into the business side of writing and publishing, especially if you're aiming to self-publish or collaborate with publishers, funding can sometimes be a hurdle. For anyone considering scaling up their writing or creative projects, it might be worth checking out entertainment venture capital firms. They’re not just about funding big movies or TV shows—some also back innovative storytelling projects, digital publishing platforms, and unique creative ventures.

Edited November 21, 2024 by Chmannon