The Business of Writing

This is a new aspect of my blog. As a writer I’ve a lot to learn. I’m busy rewriting my story, making the 1st book in my trilogy a standalone story. I see so many talented writers out here, and the friends I’ve made on Twitter, AQC and in the blog sphere have taught me how much I don’t know about writing. So I’ve hesitated on blogging about writing.

I can however give pointers about business. I am a business man. I have a BS in business. I’ve written many business proposals, and have dealt with bottom line for years. So I think I can give some business advice and blog about those points from time to time. I’m not going to put it in my blog schedule as to every Tuesday will be business things, but I will post at least once a month on some aspect of the business end of writing. So here is the debut blog post:


The Business of Writing


Writing is an interesting world. There is so much to write about. The only thing stopping anyone is their imagination.

Writing is an art. Writing is…

This last spring there was a meme out. Writing is NOT like a box of chocolate. Those who were tagged on the meme were asked to compare writing to something. There were a lot of great blog posts on that. So writing is like, and run with it. They are all correct. Writing is freedom. Writing is sharing.

Writing is aggravating.

Bottom line writing is a business. Publishers want to make money. Editors, and agents are looking for the next great story. We writers all feel that our story is the next great American novel. But, alas, most of the time that is not the case.

We may have a great book. But the editor/publisher/agent wants to make changes. Word count is too low/big. The book needs a rewrite, or that scene needs to be cut, or beefed up. All these people interfering with our vision!

Right side of the brain is so creative. Business is on the left side. All practical and number crunching. I’ve heard so many writers bemoan having to write a query. In fact there are a lot of places to go for the query help. It seems so unfair that such a great story has to be pitched with 300 words or less. That is the business aspect of selling you manuscript.

So deal with it. Creative is great. Being an artist is fantastic. Once the art and creative is complete, it has to be submitted to the cold cruel world of business and marketing. The story has to sell. Bottom line is the bottom line. Will it make money? It may be a great story, but if it won’t appeal to the masses and won’t sell, an agent/editor/publisher will not pick it up.

Unfortunately we as writers have to deal with a lot of rejections. Research and understanding the market forces will go a long way in helping to cut down on some of those rejections.

What do you need to research and understand to make yourself more marketable?