This is something fellow writers must ask themselves as I did. How much should I spend on my writing?
First tip, by no means innovative or shocking to say, but don’t use Vanity Publishing. Simple. These days if all you want is a good looking product you can do it for yourself just as easily, and a lot more cheaply, keeping control yourself. But isn’t self-publishing a form of vanity? Well yes, if you want to get technical, but you could equally argue that getting your hair done is vanity too, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it or that it’s a bad thing. No, my point here is how much you want to invest in your writing.
If you’re in this game purely to make money (goes to the corner of the room for a good laugh) then this may not apply to you, but if you’re going to take your writing at all seriously, there are time when it’s going to cost you some money, no way around it. This could be writing courses, production of materials, webhosting, competition entries, ISBNs, design and editing services, the list is potentially endless, but what should you spend your hard earned pennies on? No-one can answer that for you but the parallel that came to me this morning is with a friend of mine who likes playing golf (stay with me, there is a link, I promise you. And its not just the pun on ‘links’).
If you like playing golf, even the cheapest options cost you money (course fees, travel and transport, drinks afterwards), and for most people taking the sport even slightly seriously, they’ll invest in at least some basic clubs of their own, and probably other items of equipment. If they want to improve they’ll pay for lessons, if they plan on making a go of a career, the costs will shoot up. But hobby, sport, exercise or career, it all costs money. And time and commitment of course, but we’ll take that as a given if you’re reading this. Why should writing be any different?
If you want to be taken seriously, you need to consider things from the perspective of not just the writer (you) but also the reader, and potential purchaser. Very different mindsets. And you can write the most astounding stories possible, but if the thumbnail of the cover doesn’t catch attention, the typos or layout on the first few pages put people off, there are no reviews. Well, no-one will read the thing and it’s a lot of wasted endeavour. Is it worth the effort? Self-publishers or early career writers can be successful! Do you like the tales of Peter Rabbit, Stephen King, the Bronte sisters and 50 Shades of Grey (now there’s an idea for a mash-up)? All self-published, and all took it seriously enough to put a little investment in to publishing themselves. Even if you’re just dipping your toes into making your writing available, I suggest setting yourself a budget, doesn’t have to be much. The cost of a few meals or movies could make the difference between getting your foot in the door with a readership and not.
What should you spend your money on? Up to you, but for me the different between my self-produced covers and the one I paid for is stark, and as one of the first steps is getting the readers’ attention, well worth it for me. I’ll post separately on my experiences with covers soon in a subsequent blogpost. ISBNs? Probably not essential but I chose to invest, as it’s a statement of intent, reduces the reliance on free ones tied to a particular publishing platform, and means you can become a publisher along with being a writer. Webhosting similarly, you could probably manage without, and use just a free blog, but a domain name I think is critical if you want a web presence, so readers can search for your name. www.kitderrick.com does what it says on the tin. Competition and magazine entry fees? I’m conflicted on this. While I don’t tend to go in for this as much, a fee isn’t necessarily a sign of avarice on the part of the publisher or organizer. Far from it, as prizemoney and author payments, production costs etc have to come from somewhere, and the fact you need to invest to participate means you are likely to get less entries up against you. On the flip side, your competition is likely to be far stiffer, as it means writers with confidence in their own work are taking part, but we want to be published as the best don’t we, not just in the least known markets? There’s nothing wrong with lesser known platforms and markets, and I submit to smaller magazines as I work on building my profile, alongside the bigger ones (who knows, they may recognise my greatness instantly!)
The point of my ramblings here, is that if you value your writing, and expect others to as well, then you sometimes need to invest in it. I’m not talking thousands, but a few choice investments in your writing career are well worth it. If you don’t make the bigtime, and most of us won’t, it doesn’t matter. Like my friend the golfer, I do this because I enjoy it, I want to get better, and I’m committed to learning and improving. That includes all the elements about publishing and being a writer as well as the words on the page. If I hadn’t invested my time, effort, research, and a few quid, you wouldn’t be reading even this, after all!
Stay safe,
Kit