Writing is a business. Certainly you can read thousands of blogs that give voice to that perspective. With the extraordinary growth in small press and self-publishing, everyone has something to sell. That includes writers to writers and business to writers: how to sell you book; what you need to know about POD; publishing for dummies. I’m not sure if the latter exists, but I would not be surprised.
Publishing has not changed all that much. A few authors command huge contracts. A huge number of authors command very modest contracts. Some people are making a living with huge numbers of e-books. Many are not. Many of us are in the middle.
Still old school, I think that publishers do play an important role. And if you are going the indie route, it better be good. Reviewed by strong readers. Edited by a professional. Proofed.
At the bottom of it all, most of us write because that is what we do. We didn’t expect the million dollar contracts. I’ve had fabulous readers, professional editing. Still, I did take the indie plunge. And today, I did the smallest of small things that made me feel a little bit like I was in a business.
Facing an author event at our local library tomorrow–a meet, greet, sell and sign–I want to at least sell the carton of books I ordered for the event.
How could I encourage people to buy? I could do the good old American thing: take plastic.
I signed up for PayPal Here. For a 2+% fee, PayPal processes credit cards and they give you one of the cool cell phone swipe readers. We played with the swiper and app we downloaded to make sure we could navigate it tomorrow. My husband got into the game, our cat watched. Doubting. After some backward swipes, we caught on. My husband charged me $10. It worked. I charged him $1. I’m ready to rock the credit card scene, all for $14.99 spent at staples for the PayPal Here reader (which PayPal will reimburse me for). Really, it’s free except for the percentage they take.
Will it work? Will folks buy an extra copy of October Run to give as a holiday gift? Will they place pre-orders for my limited edition children’s book, The Edge of the River, that will be ready right before the holiday? Stay tuned!
For this day, I’m feeling flush with business pride. Tomorrow it’s back to writing.
Betsy