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How Much Her Novel Cost

I came across an interesting post by Emily Gould the other day.

In 2008 I sold a book-in-progress for $200,000 ($170,000 after commission, to be paid in four installments), which still seems to me like a lot of money. At the time, though, it seemed infinite. The resulting book—a “paperback original,” as they’re called—has sold around 8,000 copies, which is about a fifth of what it needed to sell not to be considered a flop. This essentially guarantees that no one will ever pay me that kind of money to write a book again.

It took me a while to realize that my book had failed. No one ever told me point-blank that it had.

It was more like the failure occurred in tiny increments over the course of two years, after which it was too late to develop a solid Plan B.

This is my nightmare. That I will have failed and, because I didn't think to set up the proper criteria for success, or because I was delusional, or not paying attention, or whatever, I wouldn't even realize it.

Maybe that's why artists go around half the time assumed they've failed. (The other half of the time, we're certain that we are geniuses ahead of our time.)

Blerg. 

What is this Patreon Thing

I know a lot of very fine people on Patreon. So it's with some embarrassment -- maybe even shame -- that I confess the whole concept kind of makes me uncomfortable. But my thoughts around it are really not very clear, so I'm just going to list a bunch of questions I have about it, and maybe that will help me figure out my thoughts.

Is it the 21st century equivalent of passing the hat around after a street performance?

And if so, is there anything wrong with that? (Yes: they don't always cough up the dough.)

In theory, it's great; and Patreon founders have this very rah-rah let's-all-support-each-other way of talking about this that makes the optimist inside me shine with rainbows while the cynic hurls. But in the end, does Patreon simply perpetuate a class system that I hoped died out with the di Medicis? (You can say it -- how naive of me.)

What does a creator owe a patron? What do patrons expect? Is it like a donation, or more like a subscription? Will creators be free, or will they feel burdened and beholden to their 20, 300, 1000 patrons? (I suppose if you have 1000 patrons you've figured it out and you're doing all right. Unless they're each giving you 50 cents, in which case, you should look for richer patrons.) Say you're doing really well, and you're making enough to get by, pay your rent, manage. Will other potential patrons decide you've earned enough and decline to support you? 

Does Patreon constructively add to the conversation of what art and and artist are "worth"? Does it successfully intervene in a broken system, or does it simply patch it up and replace it with another, just as broken?

This is a larger issue of course about supporting the arts. I'm not, I should say now, a capitalist. I don't believe that some mythical free market will distribute money equitably to those who "deserve" it, who provide "value." No. I'm an anti-capitalist in fact. Capitalism is completely broken. And the fact that creators go broke is a symptom.

But Patreon feels so ... regressive to me. We're going back to the time of generous rich patrons, who pay big bucks to be inserted into a church triptych, and have pissing contests over whether their Michaelangelo is better than that other guy's artist. Okay, I exagerate. Many of Patreon's patrons are not, in fact, rich. There's a lot of evidence that many creators are funding each other. And I totaly understand that we need a new, healthy ecosystem that can support the arts.

How about we increase funding for the arts? How about we work on diminishing inequality across the board? How about we create a government that commisions works of art, that funds libraries who buy books and music and magazines? How about we fund school to pay artists to come give workshops and lectures to classes? How about we stop Wall Street predation? How about we, I dunno, start a fucking revolution so we aren't faced with the grim sight of artists begging for livable salaries? (Among many other sights that are, admiteedly, far worse. Prisons, hunger, mental health, too many guns, you name it, we got it.)

I'm sorry. I guess this topic makes me a little angry. I get it. I'm also speaking from a position of privilege, and I understand that. I worked for years in pretty well-paid positions, and I haven't been a freelance starving artist in a long time. And now that I'm independent again, I have enough savings and support that I'm not worried about where my next meal is coming from. (From the Thai place down the street.) So I can afford to sit up here on my high chair and criticize.

Let me be clear: I criticize no one for going on Patreon. If they find success there, I celebrate that.

I guess all I'm saying is, is this what we've come to? Funding our artists one measly dollar at a time?

Can't we do better?

Mondays are for Motivations

Ah, the life of a freelancer. I remember it well. The glamour, the travel, the drinking... or wait, that wasn't me, that was my Katherine Hepburn fantasy. The real deal is the slog of never-ending work tightly coupled with the anxiety of never knowing when you'll have more work.

In that sense, Mondays are really just another day. But I still find Mondays particularly tough. Mondays actually start on Sunday night, when I log on to email, or review that to-dolist (which is in my head because I don't actually keep a to-do list. Maybe I should. Note to self: create to-do list.) After dinner at some point I'll wander away to my desk and start frantically trying to tap out 300 words here, 150 there, telling myself that doing that will make Monday easier...

When in fact what I accomplish is to ruin a perfectly good Sunday night.

So, no more of that. I'll enjoy my after-dinner Sunday beer and instead let the Monday open a new door to possibility. Yes, I have many things to write and finish up this week, but I'll get them done, and if I don't, well.

There's always next Sunday night!

But I digress. I wanted to write more about things that will keep me motivated this week:

On Writing: 10th Anniversary Edition: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King. Just finished this last week, and while I can't say I've read a lot of his fiction, this memoir-slash-compendium-of-advice is inspirational. And hilarious. I forget how funny King can be. He writes about typing out Carrie in a laundry room while living on $6400 a year as a teacher. He writes about why his desk is not in the middle of the room. He confesses that he does not plot his books (this was particularly welcome to me, as I think I ODed on all those plot formula how-tos). There's a lot of wisdom here for all creators.

Inkheart (Inkheart Trilogy) by Cornelia Funke. Lovely Middle-Grade fantasy with charming characters and real stakes. It's about the power (and responsibility) of words and books! Plus it features a slightly dangerous but super cute marten named Gwin. Lots of imagery and evocative language, which I loved. I'm looking forward to reading Inkspell next.

The World of the Shining Prince: Court Life in Ancient Japan by Ivan Morris. Wonderful companion volume to Murasaki's Tale of Genji (which I am also reading but it is, needless to say, going a little more slowly.) It's not perfect -- in particular, Morris sometimes falls into old-fashioned gender constructions, although to his credit he is very conscientious about trying to understand the context and perspective of his subjects and combats his contemporaries' critiques of Heian courtiers as trivial aesthetes. It's gracefully written and fascinating and wide-ranging. Highly recommended.

So, let's go forth and create and make things! Hooray for Mondays!

[Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. Assuming I built them correctly. We'll see! I'm sure I'll be rolling in cash money in no time!]

 

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Reading Problem

I have been reading, you guys. A lot. I think I may have a problem.

Ever since I got my iPad a few years ago, one of my favorite things to do has been to download ebook samples. Because why not? If I'm remotely interested in a topic or a cover, I'll download it. Back when I used to travel a lot, I'd download 20-30 samples before a flight, to keep me occupied.

Well.

This is a problem because I am a really fast reader. I have tried to slow myself down, but I can't help it. I just want to tear through the book as quickly as I can, I'm so eager to know what happens. And yes, I know, some books ought to be savored like a fine cognac and not gulped down like a shot and that is why I am also an incorrigible re-reader. I read the first time to find out what happens; then, if the book is good, I read the second time to savor. To delve. To get immersed in the language, the world, the characters. But you see, since I've already read the book, this second read goes pretty quickly too.

So, you have a situation when I have like 25 samples of wonderful books and a Buy It Now button... which means that my conversion rate from samples to full books is pretty high. I would estimate that it's at 50%. I should really go back and try to figure it out. But I suspect it's scary high. I've had to restrict myself from getting samples, because the temptation to buy becomes way too strong.

And that means that yes, I'm spending far, far too much money on books. (But! Books! And now I am no longer confined by space on the bookshelves! My books can roam free in the ether!)

The library, you say? Why yes. We have a wonderful library here in Santa Monica that also lets you borrow ebooks. But the other part of my problem is that I like to m guessing that it won't quite work for me because I like to hold on to my contents. They comfort me on a dark night, as I browse through past titles of books I have loved, liked, and hated passionately (there aren't that many of those but there are a few. FIFTY SHADES, I'M LOOKING AT YOU.) My preciousssss...

I warily checked out Kindle Unlimited, Amazon's new book streaming service. Book streaming? Books-on-demand? Book subscription? I get one month free. We'll see. I suspect I'll still want to HAVE the books rather than merely have access to them...

As a writer, I confess I'm leary of subscription models for books. I want to be optimistic. I want to embrace the new. But. We'll see.

In the meantime, I have sixteen brand-new samples I've got to get reading, so...