Authors Are Like Ducks

We might be calm on the surface, but we paddle like mad underneath.

Being an author honestly reminds me of that old saying:

Step one: Write a novel

Step two: ?

Step three: Profit

That question mark covers a whole lot of ground. It does a huge amount of heavy lifting because, frankly, that question mark encompasses the lion’s share of what we do as authors.

In addition to writing the books readers enjoy, we also need to handle book production (if we’re indie), engage with an editor, handle business decisions, and (worst of all) marketing. I say that because the vast majority of us hear that word and want to hiss and vanish in a puff of very ill-tempered smoke.

This pretty much sums it up.

You know, sort of like that.

There are some who don’t feel like that, of course, but the majority of us would rather have dental work done than market our books. Partially because we so frequently have no idea how to and because we also tend to be introverts, and the idea of selling our image and brand to others feels far too much like attention.

It’s my personal opinion that the business end of writing is given the short end of the stick by writers and colleges. They talk endlessly about the craft of writing (which I’m not ignoring as of vital importance), but they neglect to talk about what the hell you’re supposed to do after you’ve finished writing the next Great American Novel.

Publishing is an entirely different game.

Honestly, people like to claim the arts aren’t a viable career path, and media likes to portray us folks in the arts in a romantic, struggling light. We are usually struggling, but we do it in a pretty way. And most of our difficulties involve meeting deadlines, ducking our editors, and facing down writer’s block. Reality is, however, very different.

Yes, we do face down writer’s block with grim determination on the regular. We might have deadlines we need to meet (or editors we need to duck). We also spend late nights studying the open rates on our newsletters, considering the ROI on Amazon ads, and designing advertisements for our books in Canva. It’s far less romantic to think about because, while there’s still a lot of ennui, there’s a whole lot less sighing and staring into artfully placed gardens or drinking black coffee in a coffee shop on a rainy day than any of us will ever admit to.

Anybody who is looking to make the leap from “hobby” to “career” in the creative pursuits can tell you the same thing. It’s hard, grueling work that requires us to develop skills that often feel anathema to the core of ourselves. After all, making calculated, cool business decisions is entirely at odds with the passion of writing a love (or death) scene at 3am and riding that high on through the pressure of writer’s block.

It’s easy to look at some of the greats like Neil Gaiman, Garth Nix, and Nora Roberts and see the duck on the pond. They have wise, beautiful quotes on language and on writing. Gaiman is forever encouraging new writers, and I can say with authority that Nix’s personality is as delightful in person as it is online. I haven’t met Nora Roberts, but through her writing, I imagine she is a wonderful person to have tea with and likely has a wicked sense of humor.

What you don’t see is their feet kicking under the surface. While they might have made it out of the current and into calmer waters, they are doing all the marketing and business work the rest of us are. Or at least they did at one point in their career. They might be able to have others handle much of that at this juncture, but make no mistake: they started right where we are. I know. I’ve asked enough of them to be certain they will all say the same thing: “yep, I’ve been there.”

When I asked Raymond E. Feist for advice for new writers, he talked about how marketing is a necessary evil and talked about walking from bookstore to bookstore with a wagon of books, trying to pitch them to the store. Gaiman has similar stories. Garth Nix entered writing from the sphere of being a literary agent, so he knew what he was getting into. He worked just as hard.

What’s the point of all this? Well, for the readers, it’s a peek behind the curtain. We are all out here paddling against the current, even if it looks like we’re calm and unflustered on the surface. For authors, it’s that you are absolutely not alone in feeling how you do about this whole publishing business. While we’re all at different points in our lives and careers, those who are out of the current remember what it’s like to be in it. And those who are in it but ahead of you know where the rocks are.

We are all in this stream together, so rely on other writers — particularly those who have been where you are more recently. We are not in competition with one another, really, so lean on the community and share in the experience together. We are not isolated creatures alone in an ocean. We are a flock.

Yanno, to finish up the duck metaphor.