tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7396437919069310850.post1890876041757755895..comments2023-05-30T08:29:42.770-04:00Comments on The Erotica Readers & Writers Association Blog: Writing For Exposure And Other FrustrationsCroco Designshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04417265522875605547noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7396437919069310850.post-12438705046130692482015-03-31T09:07:22.913-04:002015-03-31T09:07:22.913-04:00Thank you, Lisabet! I like writing for the ERWA bl...Thank you, Lisabet! I like writing for the ERWA blog, and it's one of my forms of promotion. I hope every newbie learns something from my post.Elizabeth Blackhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02322056244180901707noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7396437919069310850.post-29195586032842320082015-03-31T08:03:47.804-04:002015-03-31T08:03:47.804-04:00I think every newbie needs to read this, Elizabeth...I think every newbie needs to read this, Elizabeth. In fact, I'm going over to shout it out on Writers.<br /><br />(And thanks for contributing to the blog for free!)Lisabet Saraihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05162514190572269660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7396437919069310850.post-56996099456148709912015-03-30T00:32:28.652-04:002015-03-30T00:32:28.652-04:00Thanks, Remittance Girl. When it comes to my own w...Thanks, Remittance Girl. When it comes to my own writing, I've always made more money on my nonfiction writing work than on my fiction. Much more. I wrote copy and SEO for a sex toys company as well as nonfiction articles about sex and relationships. I was able to use my imagination in way many writers under similar circumstances aren't. That said, making a living writing fiction for many is mostly a dream. And I agree with you that the pricing of novels on Amazon especially these days doesn't help. The return policy allows people to read a book and return it without paying for it as you said. Piracy doesn't help matters, either, but those people wouldn't have purchased the book to begin with. It seems to be an uphill battle for writers these days.Elizabeth Blackhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02322056244180901707noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7396437919069310850.post-38526491495941382012015-03-29T21:40:16.879-04:002015-03-29T21:40:16.879-04:00It seems so ironic to me that, at a time when the ...It seems so ironic to me that, at a time when the world seems to be consuming more content than ever, the content creators have not seen the benefit of this.<br /><br />I'm fortunate in that I have had day jobs, and I don't need to feed anyone on my writing. My father DID feed his whole family on his writing and I saw what he had to work on to do it - he had to write advertising copy. It was lucrative. He provided for us very well, but I also know it took an incredible toll on his creative writing mindset. I also know a writer now who makes his living writing technical manuals. The pay is excellent, but his will to write what he loves is gone.<br /><br />I think this is a real and thorny dilemma. Very few writers in history ever made a good living writing what they loved to write. Most of them had to supplement it with very tedious and unfullfilling writing tasks. Meanwhile we have this fatal flaw - we want to be read and read for what we love writing. It makes us hugely vulnerable to exploitation.<br /><br />It has now been made worse by the fact that the productivization of novels have meant that readers expect to be able to purchase a novel for a few bucks, and if they don't like the novel, they can return it after they've read it from places like Amazon.<br />Remittance Girlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07902713020074243375noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7396437919069310850.post-38739325784456554922015-03-28T20:08:59.302-04:002015-03-28T20:08:59.302-04:00This is the first time I've posted on the subj...This is the first time I've posted on the subject, Jean, but it does come up frequently. I also have written for grassroots publications when I did political work, but I need to eat and pay the rent, too. It's hard to balance the love for writing with the need to feed myself and my family. There has to be a happy medium.Elizabeth Blackhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02322056244180901707noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7396437919069310850.post-16111066662931194322015-03-28T20:07:22.959-04:002015-03-28T20:07:22.959-04:00I agree, Mitzi. Book sales don't cover even a ...I agree, Mitzi. Book sales don't cover even a tiny bit of the cost of public engagements (especially conventions where you need a hotel room, food, etc.). I do like going to cons but the monetary aspect makes them not worth it for me. Giving away books for free or for pennies also makes the problem worse.<br />Elizabeth Blackhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02322056244180901707noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7396437919069310850.post-90719041145682086652015-03-28T18:58:49.140-04:002015-03-28T18:58:49.140-04:00I think I read this post before somewhere, but it&...I think I read this post before somewhere, but it's still valid and timely. Shame on Oprah, as well as Showtime! In the past, I have often felt moved to write something for a grass-roots publication that really can't afford to pay contributors (and would fold if no one provided it with content), but as Mitzi Szereto pointed out, publishing is a business. If it didn't make money for anyone, no one would publish. Jean Robertahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08805088081675965859noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7396437919069310850.post-58089936373113586302015-03-28T18:01:20.421-04:002015-03-28T18:01:20.421-04:00Excellent post, Elizabeth! It's shameful how l...Excellent post, Elizabeth! It's shameful how little respect and value is given to authors. And yes, it's being exacerbated by all these writers giving away free books or selling them for pennies. Add to it the authors willing to travel all over the place at their own expense and spend time writing articles for which they won't be paid - it sets a dreadful precedent. It's bad enough most authors only earn a pittance from their published books (though someone must be laughing all the way to the bank or why publish in the first place?).<br /><br />Although I enjoy meeting my readers, I've made it a policy not to pay out of my own pocket to travel to do readings, talks or writing workshops in hopes of selling a few copies of a book that won't even be enough to buy a cheap lunch. Think about how much you earn per book with the average publishing contract. You'd need to sell a shed-load of books to cover your travel costs and hotel. To those who aren't familiar with the numbers, take the average book selling for USD $14.95 with a 7% royalty rate on print copies for sales in North America. That's one dollar per book. You do the math.<br /><br />The only people benefiting from all this free labour are the events people, the publications and the publishers, who don't need to fork out a penny when they have writers foolish enough to spend their own money to market and promote books they'll only earn a small amount on per copy. Of course we need to promote our work as best we can, but there's a difference between promotion and bad business practice! What's going on these days is simply bad business - or at least it is for the author. Mitzi Szeretohttp://mitziszereto.comnoreply@blogger.com