Writing as a career

      "Dear author...thank you so much for submitting your query letter and first fifteen pages (or entire novel if you actually made it that far) and giving us the chance to read you work. We thoroughly enjoyed your submission. Unfortunately, we didn't connect to the reading as much as we would have liked, so we are going to have to pass on representing your work. We wish you the best in your writing journey and finding representation." While not a direct quote, I'm certain anyone who has pursued the dream of having their novelistic works shared with the world has heard this or some other variation of rejection too many times to count. The other part we have all heard is to "keep submitting...don't quit...keep sending your work."

         While those encouraging words sound nice on paper, how realistic are they? How much of a good use of time are they? Are they just a means to keep your pipe dream alive and keep you busy? Let's dive into the meat and potatoes of all this. How many times do you submit your work to an agent and/or publisher before it turns into your desire to be "validated" by an alleged "industry professional" as opposed to searching for true business representation on your behalf? 30 times, 50 times, 80 times....5,000 or more? Only you can answer that question. The point is at some point, that question must be asked, and you must give an honest assessment as to what you are doing when you hit the submit button to these people.

         Considering that roughly less than 1% of people who pursue careers as writers/novelists actually get book deals, how great of a time investment is it to choose writing as a career? Let's do the math. If 500,000 people submit their book/story ideas to an agent/publisher, 1% equals 5,000. That means a rather meager 4,999 or less will get the grand deal they are looking for. That doesn't sound that promising or impressive to me. If those stats were applied to almost any other decision (say a business or job oriented one), it would be very unlikely the person or company would bank on those odds. With that in mind, is "less than 1%" a quality gamble on your most valuable asset...your time?

       On the flip side, you actually get that big book deal you're looking for. You shout to the heavens and tell every family member and close friend who actually likes you enough to listen. You even get a fat six figure advance to the tune of $200,000. Life is pretty damn good. You're watching all of your dreams come true right in front of your eyes. Wait a minute....what is that your eyes also see? It's the rest of that contract stating in laymen's terms that the advance you just received was the publishing house purchasing all of the rights to your book. Read this part over again and very closely. It says they now own the rights to the book, meaning you can do absolutely nothing with the work you wrote without their permission or profit. They can even change the title of your book, reject the author photo you want to use, change your bio, and most importantly change the content of your work!! Does this deal still sound so phenomenal? Oh, I almost forgot to mention the grossly lopsided royalty and commission structure. Not only does the publishing house get to determine the price of the book, they are also going to pay you roughly 12-15% of the royalties. Time for more math. Let's say they set the book price at $27 and set you at 12% royalties for every book sold. That gives you a whopping grand total of...wait for it...$3.24 for every book sold. This figure is only paid out after the book has sold enough copies for the publisher to recoup that $200K advance they fronted you (yeah, it wasn't free). Does this career still sound appealing? Yes? Awesome...let's keep going.

     In keeping with the above mentioned figures, have you spoken with your accountant and bank account to calculate how much money you are actually making? If not, you may want to schedule a consultation fairly soon. You may be surprised to find out unlike John Grisham, Carl Weber, and Eric Jerome Dickey, you aren't exactly raking in anywhere near enough bread to quit your day job, go home, sit at your computer, and be creative all day long. In fact, majority of writers, whether novelists or screenwriters don't actually make enough money to make writing their full time gig. The media simply shines the camera often enough on those who do in order to create the illusion that you too will be just like them. In reality, you will more likely still have to get and up and still punch the clock for quite some time before you get to "live that dream."

      Lastly, what is one of the world's most lucrative professions? I'll give you a hint. It's one of the most overlooked occupations out there but happens every day. That's right...DREAMSELLING. It is without a doubt a billion, possibly trillion dollar industry and is never going away. Don't believe me. Go visit Los Angeles for a week and tell someone you're an actor or actress. Tell me how many people tell you within six months, they can have you in some kind of movie. Take a look at how long the line is of women dying to be extras in some rapper's music video because someone told them it was the best way to get started in their career. How much money are photographers making hand over fist to take headshots of aspiring actors/actresses and models? How many writers are taking class after class after class to become "better writers" only to find themselves no further along than when they started but their bank accounts noticeably emptier? The scheme is even deeper now with these things called "Master classes." "For several thousand a pop, I've got the brilliant advice you need in order to achieve your goals," is the basic groundwork for all of these sales pitches.

     With all this and more in mind, I don't fully discourage writing as a career. However, I would not hang my hat on it. Whatever direction you take your writing, make sure the joy remains, and you are adequately compensated.