This week, it’s been all about Jane Friedman. After Saturday’s event, I took a deep dive into the revised 2nd edition of The Business of Being a Writer, Jane’s book on the unseemly but necessary topic of trying to make a living – or at least a side income – from your writing.
From about 2008 until last year, I actually made my living as a writer (and podcaster and webinar presenter), so I know a little bit about developing a niche, presenting myself as an expert, and networking with people in my field. I had the benefit of being a corporate employee rather than a full-time freelancer, but I took plenty of side gigs along the way and maintained contact with former employers, co-workers, and peers to keep track of and generate opportunities.
All that merely to say the concepts in the book are not foreign to me. However, I have found them difficult to translate into something that could support a creative practice. Imposter syndrome plays a role, as does the sheer volume of choices and competition out there. And who needs the hassle of bank accounts, copyright, constant social promotion, and the risk of IP theft or plagiarism, not to mention snide reviews, Goodreads harassment, and cancel culture? Some days, it simply seems easier to write under a bushel. After all, the playground is a lot more fun than the office.
But even a kid on the playground has a better time with friends, and that’s how I approach the business of being a writer. It’s ridiculously unlikely that I will ever move Stephen King numbers, but would I like to sell a few hundred or a thousand copies of a book? Even without relying on my writing for sustenance, would it be nice to bring in enough income to cover the cost of web hosting, cover art, and maybe some conferences? Would I like to have a larger community of peers, simply for the intellectual and creative conversations and sense of belonging? Yes, yes, and yes.
As I wrote Monday, community and identity (authenticity) resonate much more with me than concepts like marketing and branding, though the results are the same. And there’s a lot in The Business of Being a Writer to support any creative writer who wants to expand their reach.
I set aside this week to dig deep into the book and found a lot of great advice I can adapt to my admittedly idiosyncratic approach to my writing.
In Part One, Friedman addresses mindset. Critically, she emphasizes the importance of finding joy in the journey and meeting your artistic or creative goals. If you don’t love what you’re doing, you will stagnate, no matter how successful you are, and eventually, it will show in your work. She also dismisses concerns about age or finding the right time, and urges writers to avoid the temptation of waiting for inspiration to strike. The foundational element of the business of being a writer is that writer’s write.
I was so glad to see this emphasis early in the book. I read a lot of bad advice steering writers away from authentic creative expression in favor of doing whatever puts a dollar on the table, and it’s good to find there are experts who believe we can do both. And that I’m not crazy. I may belong to a minority, but I’m not a special unicorn. You can be yourself and find an audience.
Part Two dives into platform development – what I call building community. Friedman discusses the importance of sharing your work, networking, being a good literary citizen (hint: it’s a two-way street), building a practical website, and choosing your social media. Again, while the end goal is business, the focus is on connection – where to find it and how to make it.
The rest of the book is focused a bit more on business-business: what you might choose to publish and where, and how you can make a living as a writer (spoiler: it’s not necessarily by selling books…).
I’m going to do what I do, but there is still a lot of good food for thought in these later chapters. I’m not obsessed with making a fulltime living, but as I noted, evolving my creative work into an income-generating side gig is the long game.
At some point, I will need some basic business tools – a bank account, possibly a business name – and the Friedman shares plenty of advice there too, from tax and business formation basics to contract language to legal risks you might encounter.
If you’re interested in building a business around your creative work, or simply want to expand the community around your current writing, The Business of Being a Writer is a great place to start.
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