Writing fiction for profit – a mercenary perspective

Image by TW Collins via Flickr

This morning while browsing through my regular alerts, I came across a wonderful piece by writer and artist “OokamiKasumi,” entitled “Writing for PROFIT.” Ookami writes several fantastic tricks and tips for writers, but this particular tip makes sure that dreaming fiction writers see, for certain, that writing for money is not an artistic endeavor; it’s a job.

Says Ookami:

Writing may look artistic, and creative writing certainly is artistic (that’s why they call it Creative Writing,) but writing for a living; writing for publication with the intent to get paid on a regular basis is NOT artistic, it’s NOT always fun, and it certainly is NOT easy.

She goes on to elaborate the many half-truths that fiction writers are inundated with, discussing how the publishing industry actually works. If any of you are considering becoming fiction writers, please let me recommend you strongly to read the full piece.

Fiction and non-fiction writers always hear “You must have it easy!” when we tell what we do for a living; it couldn’t be further from the truth. We work as hard, if not harder, to meet the demands of our clients and employers. We’re not allowed to have writer’s block; we have to often put the kibosh on that perfect metaphor; and we certainly don’t get to wait around for our muse to inspire us.

While I’m at it, let me highly recommend Kowloon by Night, a blog dedicated to writing and editing by a Twitter acquaintance, Adrien-Luc Sanders. It’s always a great read, and gives some fantastic insight into the fiction writing industry.

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