Bala karthiga M

[Note: This applies not just to writers, but also to musicians, artists, movie makers and even dancers – or any person in the creative field.

I will be using the term writing and books in this whole post because that’s the field that I have hands on experience with, but feel free to substitute whatever terms your career demands 🙂 ]

Writing is an art. 

A form of creative expression. 

We all know that. Enough has been talked about that.

But here’s a hard truth that makes every writer cringe – A book is also a product for consumption. 

People usually shy away from this topic.

If you ask a writer to talk about their creative process, their inspiration, their muse – they will sit down and animatedly discuss it for hours, giving it every impressive philosophical insight possible – but wait until you start using words like sales, logistics, promotions – the conversation usually hits a wall.

Most of the time, it ends nastily.

I’ve had enough experience with such burst bubbles and hurt egos over the past five years, that I’ve finally gathered sufficient courage and wisdom to talk about it.

For some reason that escapes my understanding, creative people look at the word “business” almost as if it’s blasphemy.

As if even uttering that very word is going to contaminate the purity of their chaste work.

I found some time to spare, so I thought I’d write a post about hitting the various myths around writing and publishing – with some hard facts.

To begin with, let me tell you, it doesn’t matter if you’re a published author or an aspiring author, you probably know that there’s a lot that goes into a writing career, besides just writing.

There’s royalty calculation, event management, page formatting, designing, sales tracking, editing, logistics – and the list goes on.

Now, some people might tell you, ‘Who cares? Just focus on the writing, and let someone else worry about all that technical business stuff.’

These people are idiots.

Or they simply hate you and don’t want to see you succeed.

DO NOT BELIEVE THEM.

Here’s the simple logic:

If you plan on making a career out of selling your novels or any piece of creative work, you need to have a firm and thorough understanding of how the industry works!

Who is your target demographic?

How do the supply and demand look like for your book?

If you’re self-publishing or doing partnered publishing – do you know how to budget?

How much to allocate for your editor and your cover artist?

How many copies will you need to sell in order to cover your initial costs?

What happens if you want to expand your work into other languages? Are you going to reinvest your profits?

What is the opportunity cost?

Do you even know what an opportunity cost is?

Now, some of you lucky champs out there are probably reading this, and thinking, ‘I can skip all that. I am going to be traditionally published / I’ve paid a huge sum to a self-publishing company that will take care of all this for me so that I can focus only on the writing…’

And these writers are just…..um, what’s the nice word for…….*insert polite smile*……..stupid?

These precious little snowflakes have taken a deep cut detour over logic and shrewdness while landing straight on a pit of comfortable ignorance.

Sweet darlings, if someone else is handling your books, your business,

IT’S ALL THE MORE REASON TO EDUCATE YOURSELF!!!

That way, you have a full understanding of the decisions being made for your platform, your book, and your career…!

We have all heard stories about writers being screwed by publishing scams. And these sorts of heavy financial losses and heartbreaks can be avoided with some basic business education.

Now, I’m not saying you have to write CAT or GMAT and go join the IIMs to get a business degree.

No!

(But if you’re into that kind of stuff, and it is feasible, you can do it.)

I’m just saying – read about the basic business skills that your industry needs. Talk to experts, keep yourself connected to the rest of the world.

Observe industry trends, subscribe to magazines and read HBR papers……it’s 2017 guys.

Knowledge is easier to acquire than it ever was!

I can talk about how to educate yourself free of cost in an entirely new post.

I hoard knowledge.

I love reading out of my prescribed academic syllabus, I love discussing these ideas and thoughts with my trusted circle of friends, and I am just passionate about knowing.

However that will turn out to be a long post, so I’m just going to concisely talk about a few essential skills you need as a writer.

First. 

Create spreadsheets.

Be comfortable with excel, because you need this to keep track of sales, to keep track of events, royalties received, expenses and revenue.

Second. 

Learn Basic Marketing.

People (into writing, movie making, music and the creative arts) still ask me, on a daily basis – ‘But Bala, do I really need to market my work?’

YES!!!!! 

YOU BET YOUR SWEET LIFE YOU DO.

It doesn’t matter how amazing your book is.

Nobody is going to buy it unless they know that it exists! There are literally millions and millions of books online. What are the practical odds that someone is just going to accidentally stumble on yours, and then give you their money?

Third.

Social Media.

*Takes in a deep breath*

Every once in a while, I will meet an aspiring writer or a creative professional who says, ‘what’s the deal with facebook? or twitter? don’t you just miss the days when writers didn’t have to worry about any of this?’

No.

I don’t miss those days.

You do realize that back in your so called ‘good old days’ writers, poets, musicians, and artists were hardly ever paid for their work?

The most genius of minds actually just starved to death.

Social media is one of the biggest changes that has allowed creators to prosper out of their talents. An online presence – is an asset to you as a writer.

It allows you to connect with thousands and thousands of potential readers. It helps you connect with other writers, find editors, agents, and publishers.

And most importantly – it’s FREE.

If you’re trying to turn your writing into a career, or even a side income, it’s in your best interest to not only create a social media presence but also learn how to maximise your influence.

What I mean is, it’s not enough to just have an Instagram account.

You need to learn how to post beautiful pictures, and which hashtags to use in order to increase your reach.

Business education is equally important for those in the creative arts, in order to take their talent to different levels, and to march forward with their dream.

I am a hard-core fan of Rahman, for this very reason.

I worship him as a professional.

I will swear by his work ethic, any given time. Even if I do become a professor one day, I will talk to my students about the incredible approach that he had towards his career.

I worship him as a professional idol because he was one among the very first South Asian composers who talked about royalties, publishing rights and keeping the musicians out of starvation. He even took it a step forward now with his One Heart foundation that aims at keeping the lives of talented musicians financially stable.

You see, when I talk about money, I’m not being ‘materialistic’ or ‘unartistic’ or breaking the ‘spirit of creativity.’

When I talk about business and money,

I am talking about DIGNITY.

I am talking about VALIDATION.

The very things that being paid for your work the way you deserve to, stands for.

Do not look at the words money or business like they’re bad words.

There’s nothing poetic about being broke.

There’s nothing poetic about being impoverished and penniless because you decided to pursue a creative career.

I can’t stand it when someone blames the art for the messed up lives they are living.

Because being creative does not mean being weak.

Or poor.

I repeat, there’s nothing romantic or glorious about suffering. 

Your art, your love for your art, must empower you.

And above everything else, don’t blame the art for the life you might be living. Blame your laziness and your lack of shrewdness.

In the spirit of Rahman’s One Heart, and the wonderful life that he is living as an example – this post is a tiny step towards breaking the mass delusion and stereotype of the suffering artist.

Being successful is pretty simple.

You have all heard this. You begin by loving what you do. You have to want it. You have to want it more than anything else in the world – you have to be ready to die for it, sure – but the legacy you leave behind shouldn’t be how much your writing or your music ruined your life. When you die doing something you love, you should have given everything you had for it, and in turn, received so much that you have empowered other people like you. You are finally in a place, because of your art, that you are able to bring changes in other people’s lives because of what you created.

Be smart about the business behind your work. Don’t shy away from it. Don’t argue against it.

The work that you leave behind must be wonderful, yes.

But the life you lived should also be one of dignity, respect, and glory.

Empower yourself with knowledge, education and right action – so that nobody can scam you out of your love for that art.

XOXO,

Bala ❤

Buy my short story collection  Small Town Girl – http://goo.gl/VUxfeq  

Buy my novel Butterfly Met Hurricane —-> https://amzn.to/2zMUTLp

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