Why Do People Hate Artists Who Expect To Be Paid?

Conventions are one of my favorite things. I get to meet readers and other writers, sit in the green room with guests of honor, and hold forth during panels. I also get to see friends I only see during cons, and I get to write all of it off on my taxes. This past November was my second year at Windy Con in Chicago, and overall I had a great experience. It was also the first time that I had someone decide to hold up their opinion flag and wave it vigorously at me.

Opinions are like dicks; glad you've got one, I don't need it in my face.

Generally speaking when I'm at a convention people don't decide to walk up to my table and harangue me about how I'm doing my job wrong. Part of it's because I'm affable, friendly, and there to have fun. Part of it is that I'm a white male dressed in combat boots and weighing in at about 225 pounds. Putting both halves together means that I don't have to deal with problems the way some of my fellow authors and artists do when someone decides to inform them they aren't being a proper artist/author/filmmaker/painter/etc. In this instance an individual who is a former editor of a major publisher decided to pick up the book from my table (Sidekicks by Alliteration Ink which you can check out here), then snort at my business card. He then proceeded to talk down to me about how real authors do it for the love of the craft, and about how if you're just doing it for money then you've got no business being an author.

I smiled politely, nodded in the pauses, and eventually he grew tired and moved on.

Show Me The Money

There are two reasons I bill myself as the Literary Mercenary. One, it's pretty goddamn catchy. When you make most of your connections at cons and big events you need something that's quick and easy to remember, and that handle has proven to be a great advantage for not being forgotten. The second reason is that I'm a professional, and I expect to be paid for the work that I do. I make no apologies for expecting cash on the nail if someone wants me to put words on the page for them.

Is this the emblem of someone that works for exposure?

If I was an accountant or a blacksmith no one would be surprised. In fact I doubt I'd ever have to remind people that they have to pay for my services with real money if I wasn't a creative professional. But I am, and as a result I meet a lot of people who are interested in what I do until they realize that I'm not just going to give it away willy-nilly.

And I know I'm not the only one.

Problems With Pomplamoose

Pomplamoose is an indie music duo who recently posted the breakdown of their yearly finances. The point was to illustrate where money goes, and why touring really isn't a smart move if you're not a superstar. Instead of empathy for the artists who have to stretch budgets and try to make a living on very little though, Pomplamoose was blasted. Why were they paying back up singers so much money? Shouldn't those singers have just been happy to be on stage with a successful band? Why did light designers and sound techs get paid money for a job a computer could do? And so on and so forth, essentially demanding to know why the band had chosen to pay other professionals the value of their work rather than keeping all the cash for themselves. If they'd taken advantage of other creative professionals and given them pennies on the dollar, or paid them in sandwiches and "exposure," they would make a real living. Or Pomplamoose could charge less for the overall endeavor, enabling more fans to enjoy them for less money.

Martial artists are never asked for freebies because they may just oblige you.

Everyone who is trying to make a living as a creative professional has heard these arguments before, and they're like trickle-down economics. You know, if you just give all the money to rich people then eventually it will work its way down to the poor. The difference is in this case we're being told to just keep making art and giving it away for free because eventually people will come to value what we make and money will mystically come our way.

Neither circumstance works. In the former all the rich people hoard the money for themselves, and in the latter art isn't valued because it's been free for so long that the very idea of paying for it will stop occurring to people.

So what's the problem? Is it that artists are greedy? Is it that people are shitheads? Is it that the marketplace is flooded with so much creativity that the supply far exceeds the demand? Well according to this article it might be a lack of empathy between artists and fans.

What is Art Worth?

It's no secret that art is typically seen as a feast or famine career choice. The maxim is that with dedication and hard work you'll eventually rise to the top of your field and become rich and famous, but that's no more true with writing books and making movies than it is with working in an auto garage or building rocket ships. No one can download car repairs or make photo copies of a NASA satellite though, which presents authors with a unique challenge: Convincing culture that art doesn't grow on trees, and that you can't just pluck it off a branch as you walk by.

If it was that easy there would be no problem.

Art is a necessity. People want to read books, admire paintings, watch movies, and listen to music. But the idea of paying for these products is something people instinctively resist when all it takes is a right click to download the product for free. If an artist is famous then they can obviously afford to cover one little pirating, and if an artist isn't famous then they should be glad that someone as discerning as you wants to read their work.

Stop and ask yourself what you would say if you got your dream job, but were told that you'd be working without pay until after your review. You'd say no, particularly if you still had to work a day job to cover your expenses waiting for the day that your dream job paid you enough to stay afloat. Now imagine if the hiring rep's response was, "Come on, everyone's going to see what a great job you did. Think of the exposure this will grant you! I'm sure that someone who can pay you will see this on your resume and snap you up immediately." Your reaction would likely be to slap this person, or at the very least to say something rude at a very high volume.

This is the reality that artists deal with every single day. Now imagine if artists were treated with respect, paid a fair price for their work, and given bonuses instead of pats on the head. Would that make them sell-outs? Or would it make them just another part of the workforce creating things that we desperately need?

Something else you might not know about Pomplamoose is that they created Patreon, a system for fans to support the artists they love. If you'd like to see more from the Literary Mercenary then check out my Patreon page and become a patron today! If you want to get the latest updates with no extra work just plug your email address into the box on your right hand side, or follow me on Facebook and Tumblr.

How to Get Writing Jobs

I'd like to apologize to my regular readers for taking last week off. You see I was busy being kicked into the gutter by Google, and the boot prints haven't quite worn off yet. The full account of what happened (and the rather bloody financial shape it left me in) can be found at this post right here, and I would encourage all readers to please check it out and help out if you can.

Now then, I'd like to talk to you all about the secret to getting writing jobs.

What is a Writing Job?

While the name should be pretty straightforward I'm going to clarify the types of jobs I'm talking about here. I don't mean getting a book published, or starting your own blog. I am not referring to joining a website where you can put up whatever content you want either, since that is essentially you getting up on a platform and trying to gather your own audience. What I am talking about are "traditional" writing jobs; where your employer pays you a fee to create content according to his or her needs.

Rocking it old school.

The advantages to traditional writing jobs are pretty obvious. They provide you a steady source of income, you have something resembling job security (or at least you know how much money a given project is worth), you can put the job on your resume, and you may even manage to get a reference for future jobs out of an employer.

In short you get all of those things that you don't get as someone who's independently employed, for lack of a better term. Not only that, but you can still run your own projects on the side while paying rent.

Step One: Tune Up

Before you even think about looking for a writing job you need to make sure you've taken a whetstone to your craft, and your words are sharp enough to shave with. If you were trying to get a gig as a lead guitarist you wouldn't leave the basement until you could shred your potential employer's face off; being a writer isn't much different.

This is actually how I write most of my editorials.

Once you've got your voice, style, and rhythm down you need to compose a couple of sample pieces. While it's more impressive if these samples have been published (it doesn't matter where, just so long as they've been published by someone), publication isn't always a necessity. You should have at least three completed pieces to hand out as samples, but the bigger a variety you have the better.

Step Two: Kick In The Door

I've had a fair number of writing jobs, both traditional and non. I've written for two college newspapers, two local newspapers, I've contributed to a now-defunct magazine called College Gentleman, run blogs on a steampunk website, been a columnist at Kobold Quarterly, edited stories for Jupiter Gardens Press, and I've contributed content for Paizo publishing's Pathfinder roleplaying game. While those jobs sound like they're all over the board (because they are), I got each and every one of them with the same, tried and true method.

I would like a job, please.

When you get a traditional, non-writing job there's a formula you follow. You fill out an application, submit it to a manager, wait for an interview, and hope you get a call back telling you when to start. When it comes to writing jobs, even "traditional" ones, things tend to be a little faster and a whole lot dirtier. As such the best way for you to get the job you want is to take the initiative, and kick in the door. Most of the time your future employer will be shocked by the splintered wood hanging off the hinges, and impressed by your initiative. If you're asked to submit some samples, then you have a more than fighting chance of getting the job.

This isn't just tough talk either; getting a job as a writer is largely in how you present yourself. If you show up with a ready portfolio, an eye-catching business card, and a firm handshake then prospective employers will mark you as someone to try out. You probably won't receive a contract and a corner office on the spot, but you might get picked up as a stringer for a newspaper, a pinch hitter for a magazine, or you'll be asked to submit a smaller section of a bigger project in a game booklet. Once your employer sees how you respond to pressure, how you work with a team, and how your quality stands up, you can expect to see more work come your way along with a potential for that full time gig and retirement package.

Just remember that you want to seem enthusiastic, sincere, and qualified. If you're sending an email then be sure you've read it a dozen times, and that you've made it very clear what you want and why you should be given a chance. If you're showing up to an event like a job fair, a convention, etc. then you want to make sure you've got copies of your resume, plenty of business cards, and that you've practiced how to pitch yourself without sounding like you're pitching yourself. In short you want to sell your future boss on the idea that you will be a valuable asset to have on speed dial.

Step Three: Repeat

I'd like to say there's a big secret to getting steady work as a writer, because if I could I'd have a best selling book on the market and I'd never have to work again. Sadly being a writer is a lot like being a sculptor or a painter; some of us land cushy jobs where we can skate by with plenty of time and effort for other projects, and most of us end up patching together a collection of odd jobs and pennies to pay rent.

A lot of us do things we aren't exactly proud of.

The difference between the writer who has enough work to pay for insurance, a new car, and the occasional cheese burger on the weekend is not usually a matter of talent or skill, though. It's usually decided by who is willing to get back up and come out swinging in the next round. If one job prospect doesn't work out you thank them for the consideration, and move on to the next company. You go to the next convention, the next job fair, the next publishers' event, and you dive in with a sharp smile and a business card in hand.

Most people think it's the fastest or the strongest fighter who's left standing at the end of the day. More often than not though it's the person who refuses to go down.

On that note, for those who'd like to help support me and The Literary Mercenary, please consider checking out my Patreon page and becoming a patron.

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How To Make Money Publishing Your Blog on the Kindle

Making a living as a blogger isn't easy. You need hundreds if not thousands of regular subscribers, and daily hits in the six-digit range. If you're depending on advertising money, then you need people to actually click ads on your page in order to get paid. If you're selling products as an affiliate marketer, then you need to persuade your readers to purchase through your site. If you have merchandise of your own, you need to make a solid case as to why readers should hand over their hard-earned cash.

Wouldn't it just be easier to get paid for writing good articles that provide useful, actionable information?

You want to get paid for doing what now?

Experienced bloggers are currently wiping tears of mirth from their eyes. The reason is because no one pays writers just to put words on a page; writers get paid for selling something. Since blogs are free to read, they need to be used as a vehicle in order to sell something else. No matter how brilliant your writing, or how entertaining your jokes are, they're worthless all by themselves. Unless, that is, you can come up with a way to sell something that doesn't cost anything.

Amazon to the Rescue

As the reigning king of selling people things they don't need, Amazon has begun a service allowing you to publish your blog to the Kindle. This means you get increased exposure, since there are hundreds of thousands of Kindle ereaders on the market, and at least some of those users will be searching for blogs through their machines. Amazon also charges a fee to anyone who subscribes to your blog through an ereader. It doesn't charge much, maybe .99 a month, with the first two weeks coming free of charge. As the author, you're entitled to some of that cash. It's why the Literary Mercenary is now available here, and its sister blog Improved Initiative is available here.

How Do I Publish My Blog With Amazon?

And can I get paid in bananas?

If you already have a blog that's up and running, getting it put up on Amazon takes very little time. Just go to this link and create a new Amazon account. I'm sure you already have a personal one, but that won't fly for this little endeavor. Once you have your new account set up, log in. You'll see a blank window, with an "Add Blog" button on the right hand side. Simply click that button, and then fill in all the details for your blog. This includes a sales description, cover photo, and all of the marketing text you can fit. Once you've filled out all the details, click submit and wait roughly 24 hours for your blog to be available for subscription through Amazon. It's that simple!

How Much Money Can I Make?

Because that's not a loaded question at all.

You can make thousands of dollars a month doing this. You won't. Blog subscriptions are just like anything else in the writing world; the more you sell, the more you make. Just like your blog.

If you get a half a million hits, and every visitor clicks an advertisement on your blog, then you're going to find yourself in a new tax bracket pretty damn fast. The same is true if your novel suddenly starts selling like hot cakes, or if your blog becomes the new "in" thing to subscribe to. You can potentially make a fortune, if you can persuade everyone with a Kindle to subscribe to you. That isn't likely to happen, though. What's more likely is that your blog will pick up a few subscribers, yielding perhaps an extra few bucks a month.

So why publish your blog on the Kindle? Well, on the one hand, it costs you nothing. Even if no one ever hears about you, and you never see a single cent from the endeavor, at worst you've wasted fifteen minutes. Sheer chance says there are at least a few readers out there who will discover you, and decide to subscribe for at least a little while. There's also the outside shot that, for whatever reason, your blog becomes a rolling stone raking in enough cash for you to pay your rent, save up for a vacation, and quit your day job just on the number of subscriptions you get. It isn't likely, but then again a Twilight fan-fiction became a million-dollar industry. The impossible is very, very possible when it comes to writing, for good or ill.


As always, thanks for stopping by the Literary Mercenary. If you'd like to keep this blog going please share your favorite pages with your friends, and feel free to click the "Shakespeare Gotta Get Paid" button in the upper right hand corner. Also, if you're interested in donating on the regular, I currently have a Patreon giveaway going on for the month of January. Simply drop in here and make a donation to receive links to 2 free stories, as well as to receive a free ebook. Lastly, if you want to stay up-to-the-moment with what I'm doing as an author then follow me on Facebook or Tumblr.

Make Money With Your Blog: How to Add a Tip Jar

Lots of people think making a living from a blog is easy. Just pick a topic you like, or that you know a lot about, and start writing articles. Pretty soon you'll be able to cut your day job down to part-time, and soon after that it's easy street thanks to the miracle of modern technology and the civilization-wide stretch of the Internet. For those of you humping your mattresses to this capitalism wet dream, allow me to throw some cold water on you.

The only thing smaller than this picture is your projected earnings.

For those having trouble reading this little image, it's a chart of the average earnings for readers over at ProBlogger. More than 50% of those bloggers earn $99 or less a month. Only about 14% of these bloggers (who I am using as a representative population) make enough money to pay their bills from blogging alone. What I'm trying to say is that having a blog, even a successful blog with a lot of traffic, doesn't necessarily guarantee you can quit your day job. This is especially true because if you are a blogger (like me) then you can't tell your readers to just go and click an ad (which I am not telling you to do) because that's where your paycheck comes from. What you can do though, is pass the hat.

Adding a Tip Jar to Your Blog

Take a look at the upper right side of your screen. Most people who read blogs tend to develop tunnel vision because all of the ads are off to the side, so you might have missed it. You see that big "Donate" button? That is yet another way that this blog puts money right into my pocket.

One of many.

If you're a blogger who wants to get more money out of your blog there's no reason not to install one of these buttons. At worst you waste a couple of minutes of your time. At best your devoted fan base will hand over cold, hard cash for you to write articles, draw a comic, make ridiculous videos, or do whatever it is you do that draws crowds of morbidly curious Morlocks from the bowels of the Internet.

Step One: PayPal

I'm going to assume everyone reading this, particularly my fellow freelancers, has a PayPal account. Log in, and when you get to the home page go to the Merchant Services button along the top of the page. Click that.

Step Two: Button Creation

Click the "Create Payment Buttons For Your Website" option. This will take you to a basic screen where you can select a "Donate" button just like the one this very blog boasts. Once you've created the button there will be a long list of code for you to use. Highlight and copy that code.

Step Three: Apply the Button

If you happen to have a BlogSpot blog then this is going to be easy. Go to your blog's Layout tab, and find a place where you can put a gadget. Click the section of your blog you want the button on, then scroll down the list of options. Choose the "HTML/JavaScript" button that allows you to use third party features. Paste your PayPal button's code into the next window, then click save. Name the button, and bam, you have a way to skip the middle man entirely!

So I'm Good Now, Right?

I wouldn't quit my day job, if I were you.

Depends on what you mean by good. If you have a readership of thousands who are willing to throw their pocket change at you every month, then it's entirely possible you're done with regular, offline employment for good. On the other hand if people aren't clicking ads on your blog, what makes you think they'll take the time to throw you so much as their two cents? Especially if you aren't following the basic formula to make money blogging I talked about here?

There are success stories about people, largely webcomic artists, whose fans were so eager for more strips and more stories that they paid for the artist to work at home full-time. There are also stories about young adult manuscripts that hit it big, and stories about husband/wife writing teams who paid off their mortgages by self-publishing smut. You know what you don't hear about, though? You don't hear about the years of effort those creative types put in to polish a product that readers wanted. You don't hear about all the networking that had to be done, all of the late nights and costly convention trips that were made. You don't hear about all the ground work that went into the huge success that, to hear the story, sounds like it happened overnight. Lastly for every one story you hear about where someone made it big I guarantee you there are hundreds, if not thousands, who are trying to pull the same trick. Odds are you, and I, are one of the latter instead of one of the former. So rather than using gimmicks, or begging for readers to drop a nickel in your cup, it's a much better idea to create solid, evergreen, actionable content that people will find useful for years to come. Or to make cat videos. That usually works out pretty good, too.


As always, my thanks for dropping by and checking out the Literary Mercenary. It's your page views and commentary that keeps this blog going, so if you want to see me cover something don't hesitate to contact me and ask for it. If you'd like to follow me then pop on over to Facebook or Tumblr and hitch your wagon to my page. Also, if you happen to have two cents to spare, toss it through my donate window.

Where to Find Online Writing Jobs

Before we get started I'd like to state this right up front; if you want to support the Literary Mercenary then remember we run on Google AdSense. Ad revenue is what keeps your author's bills paid, and it allows me to dedicate more time to bringing you helpful information. Good, now with that out of the way I'd like to talk a little bit about making money as a freelance writer and some of the places I've discovered that won't hesitate to pay you for your work.

Up Front Payment

Authors and assassins always take their money up front.

When most people think of getting paid to write, this is what they think of. The writer creates a piece of content, the client pays a fee, and the job is over. This is pretty much how magazines and newspapers worked in the good old days of traditional mass media. For writers who like knowing what they're getting paid before they start banging away on the keys though, there are still several websites that can start fattening up your collective bank accounts.

Demand Media Studios

You've likely been to a Demand Media Studios site. They run eHow.com, they run LiveStrong.com, and they run dozens of other websites in addition to partnering with even more. As far as fees and work go, Demand Media Studios is one of the higher-paying markets out there for writers who want guaranteed, up-front payment for writing articles. I myself have completed a great deal of work for them, such as this article, this article, and this article too.

The application process is simple. Simply go to the homepage at www.demandstudios.com and apply. A word to the wise though; this is not a content farm. If you don't have a college degree, or several years of experience in a professional field, this might not be the place for you. In addition to writing jobs though, Demand Studios also has room for editors looking for a way to earn extra income.

Textbroker

There are a lot of negative things written about this website, but there are only two questions you need to ask as a writer; do they offer work at a price I'm willing to take, and do they pay on time? In that area at least Textbroker is simple and straightforward. I've completed thousands of articles there myself, and it is possible to get enough work from this site to pay one's bills. Possible, but not easy. A tip for those who plan on becoming www.TextBroker.com contributors; impress your customers, get a high rating, and get added to as many teams as you can. Team assignments always have higher pay, and there's less competition over them. This shouldn't be your only place of employ, but it is a solid option.

Content Current

Yet another website which has earned a lot of shaken fists, www.ContentCurrent.com is not a website you can just go to, write a few hundred words a day and retire. However, when work gets scarce and budgets get tight, this site often has assignments that can make the difference between paying your bills and not. Assignments tend to run scarce at Content Current, but it also has the option of editing along with writing. This can be a life saver for writers who aren't afraid to wield the power of the red pen.

Royalties

It always feels like free money, for some reason.

There are few things guaranteed to perk a writer's imagination more than the notion of royalties. The idea of writing a single story, a single book, or even a single article and being paid for it over and over again is extremely appealing. There's a hitch with royalties though; they pay you nothing unless they get popular. So if no one reads your articles, or no one clicks the ads on your page (much like the ads to the right and bottom of this very post) you as the writer have spent a great deal of time and effort in creating a piece of content for nothing. On the other hand if your content gets truly and wildly popular you could see checks for hundreds of dollars, or more, showing up in your bank for months to come. Years, in some cases.

Yahoo! Voices

Yahoo! Voices was, once upon a time, a website called Associated Content. It functions off of a fairly simple principle; users write about content they know, and based on the views that content gets the writers get paid. Paid how much you might ask? Well, that depends. Yahoo! Voices works on a tier system. At the lowest tier, number 1, you make $1.50 for every 1k page views your work gets. At the highest tier, tier 10, you make $2.00 per 1k. On the upside there's no need to convince readers to click ads or sign up for anything; if people view your content, you get paid. The hard part, of course, is writing content that you are confident in, which remains popular, and which earns enough regular views to pay you an amount worth investing in.

I have an archive of over 300 articles with them here. Yahoo! Voices pays regularly and on time every single month. Getting consistent views high enough to even pay your phone bill though is going to take a lot of work, and a lot of promotion. This is not an option for the faint of heart.

Infobarrel & Xomba

Infobarrel.com and Xomba.com are both websites that can provide a lot of earning potential as long as someone has a Google AdSense account. Both websites allow users to write articles, and they will split the AdSense revenue with the content creator. While Infobarrel is more popular for articles (my account for that is located here), Xomba has the advantage in that users can create bookmarks (which is the sort of content I recommend creating. It worked great for me, as evidenced by this). Xomba doesn't let you create content that links to something you wrote, though. On the other hand, if you have a friend that creates great content then you can build a bookmark library for that other person. That person might, in turn, feel obligated to build some backlinks for your content as well.

BlogSpot and Others

Anyone who can entertain users can run a blog. If you want to make money blogging (I already covered this topic here in greater depth), all you need is an AdSense account, and an audience that is willing to click your ads on occasion. Fortunately there's no rule that says you can only have a single blog. Any activity that you're knowledgeable enough about to create content for, you can do it. For instance, in addition to the Literary Mercenary I also run a blog for tabletop gaming titled Improved Initiative. This allows you to cover a number of subjects and to market yourself and your work simultaneously to a bigger overall population. It also requires double the work of creation and promotion, and there's no guarantee of earnings if no one reads what you wrote.

Hit Lists: Finding New Jobs

Can't be afraid of a little red work.

Not all writers work for a single, stable employer. Some writers simply make their way from one want ad to another, building up a stable of steady paymasters until they have access to more work than they have time, effort, or desire for. Even writers who do have steady work might check the boards on occasion to try and fill in the cracks, and save a little bit on the side. While I can't vouch for every job at these locations, I can vouch that they collect more than enough jobs to keep you busy applying for days.

Online Writing Jobs

There's never been a website with a simpler name and purpose. Simply go to www.Online-Writing-Jobs.com and tool around until you find something that strikes your fancy. This site combs through a dozen online want ads, bringing all of the writing jobs one could want to a single place every, single day.

ODesk

Though I'm a relatively recent convert to www.ODesk.com, I can vouch that there's plenty of work available on the site. Not all of the work is meant for an American audience, which means that sometimes the prices being paid are much lower than a first world writer would be willing to accept. That said, with enough looking, it's a relatively simple matter to match a writer with an employer.

Is That All?

Of course not. I could run an entire blog meant for nothing more than writing jobs and where to get them. As of this particular moment though, these are the locations I can personally vouch for, and which I feel comfortable recommending to my fellow writers who are looking to make their ends meet. There might be further installments of this topic as I broaden my reach, or if readers decide to leave comments regarding places they've worked for that aren't mentioned here. Seriously though, do that.

Writers always have to look at the assignment and ask themselves if it's worth the time and the effort. If a writer doesn't want to work as a cashier, a security guard, or any of a dozen other low-rent jobs, these are some good places to start building up a writing job history. It also helps to start expanding your contact circle, and to get you into the professional mindset. If you're going to write, then do it, and don't look back.


As always, thanks for tuning in to the Literary Mercenary. If you want more updates then follow me on Facebook, or main line me on Tumblr. If you want to see a particular topic covered, or if you have information to enrich this particular post, then please leave a comment or drop me an email. It's your patronage and support that makes this blog possible.

Why NaNoWriMo is a Crock of Shit

I am not angry. What I am is sad, and disappointed.

There are likely some people here who really like NaNoWriMo. The sort of people who think an entire month dedicated to writing a novel is peachy keen, and the sort of shin dig that anyone could get down with. There might even be a few readers here that came with pickets and vitriol, just looking for a place to point their fury. If you find yourself in one of these two camps, chances are I'm not going to say anything that will affect you in the slightest. That's fine. You are not who this warning goes out to.

This warning is for all those who have been stirring over their stories for months, maybe years, looking for an outlet. People who have always wanted to be a "real" writer, and who want to make themselves and their stories a part of something bigger. For those people who are the prime targets of NaNoWriMo, I ask you to please step back from the ledge. Take a deep breath, and look at what you're jumping into.

Sure it's pretty... but what, exactly, is down there?

What NaNoWriMo Is

For those of you who don't know what NaNoWriMo is the acronym stands for National Novel Writing Month, and it has taken place every November since it began in 1999. At first it was just a handful of students getting together to drink a lot of caffeine and write novels, but since then it's grown into a huge deal with thousands of participants.

Let's begin at the beginning, shall we? On November 1 participants register on the site, and then begin writing their manuscripts. In order to qualify an individual must work on a new fiction story that reaches at least 50,000 words by November 31 at one minute to midnight. If a participant finishes his or her story then that person is deemed a winner, and the manuscript is put up for everyone to read. Sounds just dandy, doesn't it?

What's Wrong With It?

The answer to this question is simultaneously nothing and everything. For those writers who are comfortable treating it as a fun challenge, as a literary exercise, NaNo can be an exciting thing to do. It's sort of like running a marathon and trying to beat your best time. For a lot of other participants NaNo is like trying to run a marathon without any sort of training or conditioning, and with more than just personal achievement on the line. From my perspective it's the latter part that's the problem, and needs to be eliminated. Let's put Nano's faults in an easy-to-read list, shall we?

#1: Chasing the Word Count Rainbow

1,666 words, and you can take the leg cuffs off.

I know a lot of folks who have tried to complete NaNo. None have, and each and every one of them cites the same reason; the ridiculous word count. I think the author Maggie Stiefvater put it best in her series of blog posts about NaNoWriMo here. To sum up the half dozen posts there, she found that no matter how many words she put on the page, she didn't like what was there. She started chasing a certain number of words rather than using those words to build a narrative. It's a bit like trying to build another floor onto a building without considering the purpose of that floor. Just build, and keep building till you hit 50 stories and call it quits.

The issue here is that 50k is kind of an arbitrary word count. Some stories are going to just barely make that. Other stories though are going to blow past the limit long before they're done. If the writer is focused on the word count, and he or she plans only for that 1,666 words per day, then what's going to happen when the date comes and there's more story to tell? Those writers are going to fail the challenge, and through no fault of their own. What if they get sick? Have to work overtime? A parent goes into the hospital? Too bad, so sad, you still can't claim a purely fictional prize which becomes more important the more work that goes into it.

#2: The Deadline

Most people I know have no idea what goes into writing a novel. It's some mystical process they're in awe of, but are completely assured they're talented enough to achieve. Like people convinced they'll win in a fight, even if they have no training or experience beyond being a Bruce Lee fan. Anyone can tell a story, after all. What's the big deal?

That pretty much sums it all up in a nut shell, I think. A single month to write a novel sounds great, and even assuming the 1,666 words a day is all you need to get from "in the beginning" to "the end", it's a ridiculous amount of time. Some authors, some very few, very select authors can write a rough draft in a month. Because that's what NaNo is; a rough draft. The deadline doesn't give people the time to go back through and edit chapters, fix inconsistencies, dust up the grammar, and all those other, little details. Also, woe be to the author who needs to delete even a single day's work with such a stringent time limit imposed. There's no time to smooth the story out, delete unnecessary chapters, or add more exposition in the places you really sort of need it. Lastly, while you might start off strong, you're probably going to be out of breath in no time unless you don't have a day job and you're really, truly dedicated to your novel.

#3: The Spirit of the Whole Mess

This third entry is not the fault of the contest itself; it is rather an unfortunate outgrowth of the nearly cult-like loyalty the idea has drawn. When NaNoWriMo was first created it was a way for friends to get together and write novels. It worked, at least in a way, because some of the original pool finished the project. Written directly in the rules, the event is supposed to give those who think it would be fun to write a novel and excuse to do it.

After all, if you wanted to make money you'd rob a bank.

That's fine. It's a little touchy-feely, and more than a little hobbyist, but that's fine. If all someone wants to do is write a book with some friends, enjoy the experience, and maybe show the manuscript to a publisher or toss it up on the Internet, then who am I to judge them for that? I can safely say I wouldn't judge them... if not for the money. The very real, and the very theoretical money.

For many people NaNoWriMo isn't about having fun. It isn't about the creative experience, or honing their craft. It isn't even about the story. It's about money. Because, to paraphrase Chuck Palahniuk, a lot of people don't see books as works of art or worlds to be enjoyed; they see them as means to an end. For every one person who promotes NaNo because they think it's fun, or because it's a great creative outlet, there are five entitled pricks who are absolutely convinced all they need to do is slap some words on the page and they'll have movie deals, royalty checks, and all the pussy or cock they can handle. Then, just to add insult to injury, writers are encouraged to buy merchandise to support the whole, staggering endeavor as it balloons into ever-grander proportions.

What's Wrong With it, You Ask?

NaNoWriMo, at the end of the day, doesn't help you become a better writer. It doesn't teach you how to improve your plot, get out of the passive tense, or to understand that there is no "right" length for a chapter or a book. It doesn't judge you on whether you write pointless, incestual sex scenes, or if you're blatantly yanking published characters and putting Groucho Marx glasses on them. It doesn't, by and large, make you any money, or earn you the sort of discipline and contacts you need to really become a professional novelist (sure, there are published NaNoWriMo authors, but if you compare the number of "real authors" to the number of participants, you'll see some depressing data). Mostly, NaNo is just giving you the excuse.

I say this here and now, with all of the sincerity I can manage. If you need an excuse to write your story, then you my friend are not a writer.

If it takes an annual ritual to get you to sit down at your computer and put words on the page, if you require the sympathy of temporary Internet friends or a four week writing group, and if you're too embarrassed to take the plunge without a herd of lemmings hoping for a real shot at hacking it all around you, then you should find another calling. Writing is about telling stories, and the craft of drawing in the reader. It's about the frustrations of late night ideas, little notebooks crammed with diagrams and character names, and the thrill of seeing a world come to life in your mind. It's about the unique magic of making something that people you have never met will read, and which will play a symphony on their heart strings. You don't need a special month of the year to write. You don't need more time off from work, or a cushy loft with high ceilings. If all you have is excuses why you haven't, then this year maybe it's time to put up or shut up.


As always, thank you for making The Literary Mercenary your go-to place for rambling on writing. Keep in mind that unlike NaNoWriMo, I am not a non-profit and thus need to earn a living and pay taxes. This blog runs on Google AdSense, and on royalties from book sales. For more about your author follow me on Facebook or on Tumblr. If you have any questions, concerns, or would like to see me cover a specific topic then please leave a comment, or contact me on one of my social media outlets. If you're curious about the stories I've told, a complete list can be found on Goodreads.

The Literary Mercenary's Guide to Shameless Self Promotion

There's a popular myth in some writing circles that all you have to do is write a solid, entertaining book, and everything else will take care of itself. With very few exceptions, this is a sure-fire way to commit career suicide. Writing the book is important, it's necessary, but it's only the first leg of the journey. The next step is letting people know you actually have a book for sale.

Or two, or three... hundred.

But wait, isn't that the publisher's job? Isn't that the whole reason that you give the publisher such a big cut of the sales, so that they do all the promotional work for your book and you can just sit back and collect royalties? In some ideal, golden-aged world that would be true. For those of us who haven't been made the gilded child of a massive corporation looking for a new book sale messiah, and who don't have a famous name that's pulling people in like flies to honey, it's your collective job to reach out to your potential fan base. It isn't going to be easy, it probably isn't going to be fun, but if you want to grow your following and actually sell books, then you're going to have to learn how to promote.

Setting Up Events

Events are typically what people think of when they think of book promotion. An author reads a short story to an eager audience on open-mic night, or holds a book signing at the local store with crowds of curious fans. These are good ideas, and they've become industry standards because they actually work. However, there's no reason to limit yourself when thinking about different venues to get yourself and your work out there.

Always sign the book... even if it's not yours.

Ask yourself who your audience is, and then look for opportunities to reach out directly to that demographic. If you write science fiction or fantasy, then you should look into becoming a panelist at a convention where you can weigh in on industry issues connected to your work. If you're a young adult author, then make sure local high schools and middle schools in your area know you live nearby, and offer to speak to students if the school would like to have you in. If you're any kind of successful then organizations like colleges, local writing groups, and other sorts of people collections will typically be more than happy to have you come on over and speak. In fact, if you know how to make up fliers, you can even get a space at your local library free of cost (in most places) and see who's willing to come in and listen to you talk.

Traditional Media

Though we live in a world of instant gratification and 100 character updates, don't count traditional media out when it comes to your writing career. Most writers who don't have a big name, a blockbuster novel, or real clout (see for example most writers who are self-published, or who work mostly with small presses) will probably find a lot of doors shut in their faces when it comes to this step. Newspapers don't want to waste word count on an author no one's heard of, and magazines won't grant an interview to a nobody. However, sometimes being a local is enough to get their attention. Once you have the attention of an editor, if you can make a good case you can expect at least a little ink to flow your way in fairly short order.

Where the hell is the refresh button?

Persistence is the key when it comes to traditional media. Check with all newspapers and magazines no matter how big or small they are. Talk to your local radio stations both private and public to see what they have to say about your work and if they'll have you on as a guest. Professional tip: If you have a local event going on, traditional media is much more likely to cover you. An author they've never heard of has released the first book in an epic trilogy? Yawn. There's going to be an event at the local Barnes and Noble you say? If we can get some pictures, maybe that would interest some people over in the Arts and Entertainment pages...

Social Media

This is where a lot of authors unfortunately lose their minds, as well as any sight of their goals. Social media is like a bloody battle where making any progress at all is likely just as much an accident of your backswing as it is due to the countless hours that you practiced and refined your pitch so it would thrust home with your audience. While it's possible to save a lot of frustration by avoiding social media, this is a prime example of no guts, no glory. You need to be on as many stages as possible if people are going to notice you.

Your career moves at the speed of Google. Watch for trees.

Where should you go? Well, Facebook is a good start (you can find my author page there, for instance), along with Tumblr (my personal favorite), and the professional social media page LinkedIn (yes, I'm there as well). There's also Twitter, the recently re-invigorated MySpace for those who enjoy a dash of undeath with their social media, and as a place just for authors, Goodreads (you knew this link was coming).

Just having a social media presence isn't enough though; any 12-year-old can manage that. What you need to do, as the author, is to wrangle your audience and to keep them entertained. Let them know who you are, and what you're about. Update with news about your projects, your upcoming events, and post links to your stories, your reviews, and any write-ups about your events (see how cyclical this madman's mess is becoming?). Answer their questions, build a rapport, and try to recruit folks by always, always, always including links to your social media in articles published about you, or which you write yourself. Lead by example when possible.

Forums, Blogs, and Video Channels

The natural extension of social media is, well, the rest of the goddamn Internet. Climbing electronic Everest isn't going to be easy though, and it's very likely you'll have to fight hordes of trolls, deal with storms of withering abuse, and comment sections a mile long about how incompetent you are, and how unoriginal your stories and opinions are. I suggest you wear goggles and cover your mouth, this part gets nasty.

This guy's got the right idea.

If you have a forum presence as it is, then you're ahead of the game. Whether you talk about gaming, cosplaying, cross-stitch, ritual mutilation, or some other activity, you have a voice in a community. Use that voice! This is key for any forum you go to, or any comment board you stake your flag on; don't just shout advertising in their faces. If you do that you're going to alienate your audience at best, get banned from the forums as a spammer at worst. Instead, talk to the community like you're a real person. When they acknowledge your right to be there, mention that you're an author. Field some questions, and only when you're sure they won't go for your jugular should you post a link to your book(s). It's slow, but it's a decent way to find new fans who at least share an interest with you.

The same is true for blogs. Starting your own blog is a great first step to building an audience (either that or I'm just sitting here and typing at myself), but it's not the only step. You need to provide something more than a constant barrage of "buy my book"; you need to offer them real information, real entertainment, and the ability to feel connected to you. If you know other bloggers then you should talk with them to try and get yourself, your blog, or your work featured over on their site. Guest blogging for someone that has a bigger audience than you do is a great way to build connections, and maybe to leech off a few of their fans for your own.

Lastly, videos. Not everyone should make videos. If you choose to, even if it's just rolling shots of you reading snippets from your book, make sure that you're smooth, that your lighting is good, and that you take a bit of time to tell the audience who you are, what they're about to hear, and let them know what they're in for. At the end of it all, make sure you thank them for watching, and list any and all pertinent information about yourself, the story, where they can find it, etc. Strike while the iron is hot, and that includes the opinion of people who might have stumbled on you by total accident, and now really, really want to have your book in their hot little hands.

Promotional Material

Seriously, you'll never guess what it's about.

It's an unfortunate truth that most people have the attention span of a goldfish coupled with the memory of an aging poodle. If you had the force, verve, and sheer luck to get someone really interested during a talk, don't just expect them to remember who the hell you are and what the hell you wrote. They won't. That's like feeling a fish bite, then waiting for it to throw itself into your boat. You need to help them along, and the best way to do that is with promo materials.

These things come in all shapes and sizes. Most authors turn their business cards into promotional materials, featuring a design from a cover, and links to their blogs and their published works. That's good, but it's just a start. Several authors I've spoken to swear by promotional bookmarks, where they can list out their credentials as well as hook people with a catchy design on a practical item. Others print up post cards, and others might make up stickers or give away other, small items. What you choose depends on your budget, but once you have them, take them to every meeting and keep a few in your pocket just for good measure. Most of them will probably be thrown in the garbage, but people will have to look at it before they chuck it.

Offline Networking

This strategy is known by many names; communication science, interpersonal studies, and my personal favorite, fucking talking to people. Everyone reading this, even Taliban insurgents living in caves, knows people. You have parents, siblings, co-workers, LARP buddies, sword fighting peers, and a number of other folks primed for conversation. What's more, if you can convert even one of those people into a fan, then they act as a carrier for your message. They tell their friends, their friends tell still more friends, and you've gone old-fashioned viral. Word-of-mouth is a powerful force when it comes to books, and it can often lead to otherwise impossible connections. After all, your mother's best friend's landlord's nephew's fiancé just might have a senior editor at Random House as a father.

There are opportunities every day for making offline networking connections. You might be sitting at lunch chatting with your best friend about your newest plot when someone at the next table leans over and asks if you're a writer. You can smile, say yes, and offer them a bookmark. Hell, sign it for them if they want. It makes people feel special, it wins you admiration, and it could lead to a whole slew of positive results. You just need to make sure you keep your professional face as ready to hand as a business card and a pen.

You'll meet all kinds. Shut up, and take their money.

Other Marketing Tips

Firstly, for those who have an ebook and are looking to get some free marketing for it, I recommend checking out this list from Galley Cat here. There's some good stuff on that list, even if not all of it is right for your particular book.

There are so many things you can do that it can be hard to figure out precisely where you're going to strike gold. However, there are a couple of things you should definitely keep in mind in order to get the best results.

First and foremost, get your face as well as your name out there. Authors aren't typically thought of as on-camera personas, but a lot of the time a reader is buying you just as often as they're buying your book. If you're using a pen name, then create a persona. Make your audience pay attention to that persona, and make it a package deal with your other characters.

You're welcome.

Cut down on your negative statements, particularly about other professionals. No one likes to be trash-talked, and even if you can make a living burning down potential bridges, it isn't always a good idea to do so.

Keep your readers updated, particularly on your social media pages. No matter how great your books, you're bound to lose readers if you don't keep them in the loop about what's going on with you, your career, and your life.

Lastly, and this is a rule not just for you but also for your work. You can do nearly anything as an author. You can be profane, you can be disgusting, you can be controversial; you cannot be boring. As soon as you stop being interesting, that is when your numbers fall to zero, and people move on to find someone else to fulfill their entertainment needs.


As always, thanks for dropping in and staying for the whole of the mission briefing. If you've got any questions or concerns, drop them down in the comments below or put a message in the line at one of my social media pages mentioned above. The Literary Mercenary operates free of charge, but always appreciates support. Prod at the links on the page if you want to keep up going, or check out some of my stories available as ebooks. A good place to start looking is right here on Amazon, for those who are interested.

Professional Rule Number One: Never Work For Free

It was Sir Walter Scott who first coined the term freelance, taking the two obvious words and cementing them together to form a new term. When it was put together, ostensibly for Ivanhoe in the 1820s, the term was meant to refer to a Middle Ages mercenary. It wasn't until the 1860s that the term was used to refer to writers, and specifically to journalists who wrote on a piece-by-piece basis rather than being on staff for a given paper.

Freelancers, much like their military counterparts, haven't always had the best reputations among the populace. They work cheap, they're often used in place of regular professionals, and they tend to have at least a few different paymasters at a time. They don't always belong to professional organizations, they don't always do the best work, and many times they're downright unscrupulous. But here's something you can all learn from the brothers and sisters of the gilded lance... we get paid.

I want one that says "Shakespeare Gotta Get Paid, Son."

 

There's this strange delusion among the professional world that artists are some second-class group of pseudo-professionals that act a lot like indentured servants who will work for the privilege of working. What's worse is that this delusion is catching, and that many creative persons are willing to accept the lie that they should be flattered just to have their blood, sweat, and tears featured in an ad campaign at all.

 

The Golden Rule

 

The first and foremost rule of being a creative professional of any stripe is that you have to be professional. Professionals get paid, period. This isn't just good advice either; it's a mantra, a code, and a creed. If you don't believe your work is worth something, then what does that say about you? Chances are that it doesn't say anything good.

 

Barter, Trade, and Goodwill

 

Before at least a few folks reading this start getting up-in-arms about the quality of art being measured with the yardstick of commerce, let me be the first to say that there's more forms of payment than just money. There's the credit that comes with having a story or novel published by a major company, for instance. There's the connections to be made by working with certain editors, and the goodwill that comes from offering a piece of work as a last-minute help to someone that needs a pitch-hitter. There's even the satisfaction of knowing something you wrote went to help out a good cause for those who write, paint, or illustrate for a charity. There's nothing wrong with any of that. It's only when someone hands over days, weeks, and months of effort in the form of a completed work, and then feels grateful when someone else makes money off of it that something is wrong.

 

But What About Exposure?

 

I will be the first to say that few things bring me closer to doing serious bodily harm to another human being than someone saying I will be paid in exposure. "Exposure" often translates to "you're getting nothing slacker, just be glad we're giving you page space or throwing your print on the cover". That attitude has become so common that many people just breaking into the creative field accept it as paying their dues, and will go for years allowing themselves to be exploited before turning a profit.

 

With that said, exposure is an acceptable payment if the publication in question is likely to get exposed. In my experience most places that offer exposure as payment are small presses which can't actually afford to pay their authors an up-front cost for stories, or they're events that are looking for a way to cut costs while still getting all the creative bells and whistles on signs, banners, etc. It all comes down to what you, as the creative professional, are all right with.

 

Look at the project from a marketing perspective. If you were asked to design a mascot for a local gaming convention which wasn't likely to get more than a few hundred attendees, that's a few hundred people who will see your art. Maybe they'll want to buy some, or maybe they won't. Maybe you get a free badge to go to the convention, or you make allies of the organizers who need you to create something to suck in the public. For some artists, particularly those who are new to the game and who don't have much of a list of achievements, that might be a worthwhile endeavor. For someone who has been a professional artist for several years, or decades, who has a long list of clients that are willing to offer more benefit for time well-spent, a free project like that isn't an effective use of time or resources.

 

Is This What I'm Worth?

 

Not all that glitters is gold, which is something creative types know better than most. However, for those who aren't creative professionals the work that we do is often seen as one part magic and two parts frivolity. The common perceptions that art is a luxury rather than a necessity, and worse that art is easy, leads many people to expect gratitude and thanks just for handing out praise. We can all agree that performing surgery on a heart is no small feat, but why is creating something that makes that heart skip a beat considered so much easier?

 

 

As always, thanks for stopping in and reading. If you're interested in my professional doings stop in at my Facebook author page, or if you're an instant gratification sort of person my Tumblr is always looking for a few good fans. For those looking for my professional credits, Amazon is a good place to look. Lastly, for people who want to line the pockets of The Literary Mercenary please tell your friends, tell your family, put me up on your Facebook feed, and keep checking back every week for new updates. Oh, and lastly, remember that this page runs on Google AdSense. It keeps the gears greased, and the snark flowing.

How to Make Money Blogging: The Literary Mercenary's Guide

As an author there is no feeling that can compare with knowing I've really affected a reader. Knowing someone out there went to bed with gooseflesh crawling down his back, or had to choke back tears at the end of one of my tales gives me the rare satisfaction of a job well-done. There's a tricky thing about job satisfaction though.

You can't eat it.

You can't pay rent with compliments, you can't get your car fixed with admiration, and you sure as hell can't barter professional pride for medical services. For that you need cold, hard cash; something writers are notoriously short on. Fortunately if you have the ability to put words on a page in an order that people find interesting and thought-provoking, then you have the ability to run a blog. If you can run a blog, then you can start getting paid.



Click, Click, Boom!

Have you ever wondered why there's advertising everywhere on the Internet? Because if a website has ads on it then someone is paying when those ads get clicked. It could be your favorite dating website, an online TV streaming site, or even your favorite webcomic; nothing is free. As long as the site has Google AdSense though, and a decent amount of website traffic, it's going to make enough to pay its bills at the end of the month.

What's Google AdSense?

Google AdSense is one of the most popular advertising machines on the net today. It's also the one that's operating right here as you read. It also might be giving birth to Skynet, it's hard to tell. The way it works is that you sign up for an account, and based on your website you either get approved or told to go work on your numbers. Mostly if Google believes your site has enough content and enough regular views to make you a viable advertiser it will approve your account and give you a number. Once you have a number you can let Google read over your posts and pick out keywords to choose the right ads for your page. For instance, in this post right here, chances are good there are a lot of ads about getting a degree in a creative field, getting your book published or finding other writing jobs. I'm not psychic; Google saw what I was talking about, and then matched the ads accordingly.

So How Do I Get Paid?

That's up to you, kimosabe. Once you have an account you could go to any website that supports AdSense (Infobarrel.com, Xomba.com, and Blogger.com are just a few I can mention off the top of my head) and start creating content. For every ad click you get you'll be given a fee, from a few cents to a dollar and change. So if someone comes to my page and clicks an ad for getting a graduate degree in creative writing I'll have .50 in my account. If that happens 1,000 times in a given pay period (30 days or so), then that's most of a rent check Google will be sending me a few weeks after the end of the month. Every click gets the creator one step closer to making more tasty, tasty content for you.

Is That The Only Way?

Of course it isn't the only way. In fact no writer should ever put all of his or her chips on one method of getting paid. That's how you go from somebody to nobody in the space of a torn page. While Google AdSense is great, blogs have a couple other tricks up their sleeves.

The first is merchandise. If you have a webcomic, or if you've written a book (Goodreads has a comprehensive list of my titles right here for those who are interested) then a blog lets your audience know what you have for sale. Exposure can translate directly to fans, and fans will purchase things you have for sale to support you and keep your career going.

Additionally, if you don't like requiring people to click ads then you can seek out a website that offers PPM (per-per-thousand, even though it looks like it should be millions). Yahoo! Voices does this (and I can vouch for them, with an archive of over 300 articles on various topics at this link), for instance. The way this works is that you write an article on some topic, and for every 1,000 hits you receive cumulatively, you earn a fee. That fee ranges from $1.00 to $2.00, so it's important that you have a lot of content, popular content, or better yet both.

Any Other Tips of the Trade?

Well, the only thing I can testify for certain is that bloggers need readers just like any other kind of writer. Sure you might have a catchy title, or become a short-term sensation, but if you don't have a core readership then you don't have a long-term solution for earning income. That's why your content has to be actionable, entertaining, informative, and preferably evergreen. Making fun of Twilight's been popular for years now, but the series is done to death, its fan base is moving on, and with it goes the high search volume, and all of that lovely traffic you might have had.

For more updates and handy solutions, as well as to stalk what I'm doing and where I'm going, follow my author page on Facebook or join my train over on Tumblr. Lastly, don't forget that the Literary Mercenary runs on Google AdSense.