Monday 6 January 2014

Work to Live, or Live to Work?

Happy New Year!

So, what's with the post title? I've entered 2014, in case you haven't noticed, in a thoughtful mood.... and when I got to thinking about where I am and where I want to be, that title just about summed up what's been on my mind.

It's all about balance... (stick with it, the hamster and the rose are relevant!)



Okay, so some background to those weird thought processes I call my own (and these are just my own thoughts and views). Last year was great, but a bit of a roller-coaster ride in some ways with its ups and downs. Some 'ups' that felt like 'downs' and vice versa. The human mind can be a fickle thing. What happens when you get a gift that should be the answer to your dreams? Well, sometimes it can just raise questions.... Maybe, sometimes, chasing a dream is easier than actually, well, achieving it. Is that just because we're always just striving so hard for the next goal, so we don't take the time out to appreciate just how much we've achieved? Or is it partly that just as we reach the winning post we find it has moved a smidgen?

Publishing is an ever changing landscape, so the goal posts are forever moving. I was first traditionally published just over eighteen months ago, and entered the self-publishing arena twelve months ago. And one year on much has changed.

What? My gut feeling is that we've crested the wave with e-books and we're waiting to see what happens when the water settles. A year ago I put out a book that soared effortlessly up the rankings - and I know many other authors who experienced the same. The message was, and still is, to promote on Facebook, Twitter, to push out the promo message, drop prices and offer freebies. Twelve months on and there have been subtle changes - it no longer seems the right approach.

Why? There are more e-books out there - not just an increase in the number of self published titles, but also an increase in the number of traditional publishers who have looked to explore the 'digital first' route. And over the period there has been an increase in the number of titles being put out by the digital only publishers that already existed (my feeling on this one though, is that many of these smaller publishers are now either looking to partner with bigger organisations, or slowing their output as they realise the market has become saturated). Last Christmas brought bargains that people snapped up to fill their e-readers, this year there were more bargains and freebies than full priced books (or that's how it felt!) - and e-readers were already cram packed with lots of unread stories (aka irresistible bargains) that had been snapped up over the year.

Now, I'm not saying that there aren't still a lot of people out there who genuinely love to read good books - but my feeling is that the surge of 'new' readers that appeared in the wake of some best sellers, and as a response to the growing popularity of e-readers, has now 'dampened down' to how it was a few years ago.

Lots of people love to read, but there are now many more books on offer - and at much reduced prices. And a lot of those people have become immune to the white noise of constant 'buy me' that has been encouraged. One year, two years ago, the tweeting and FB ads were a novelty - now they're an incessant chatter. Gathering 'likes' on your FB page is no longer a promise of success - with only a small fraction of your followers seeing each post (unless you pay to promote) the times they are a changing - writers are more likely to alienate than win over potential readers if they don't spot the warning signs and adapt.

So, maybe all this is good news. Maybe we've hit the bottom and it's time for a new approach. Will prices go up? Will old fashioned customer loyalty and branding (which never went away, it just got slightly overshadowed) become more important again? Will print books re-gain popularity (POD is losing some of its stigma)? Will the slow and steady writer who produces one, very good story become the norm again, and the drive to churn out as many books as possible in as short a time scale as possible diminish? Can we step out of the hamster wheel, stop chasing our tails - or is that just a sign of the times? The future? Will young readers only be interested when books become as interactive as every other part of their lives?

I'm not one for turning the clock back. Going forward is good, innovation is exciting. Human nature is to be wary of change - but evolution and growth are important. But where is the path leading us in publishing, in writing, in how we get the word out there?

I read an interesting post by Dean Wesley Smith the other day. He says '...To make a career in publishing, you have to be ready for a long haul, often over decades.
Most beginning writers who went indie two years ago didn’t want to do that, didn’t find the “gold” they were promised after a ton of wasted promotion efforts, and have stopped. Nothing unusual at all..... But now it’s not quitting after fifty rejections, it’s quitting after three books up and very few sales.' [This is just a small part of a post that looks at traditional and indie publishing - the rest can be read HERE]
How true. It's easier than ever to get published today, authors have many more routes and opportunities. But in the past, as Dean says, many of these writers would have given up along the way - now these same people will be published before they realise it's not the career for them, that a handful of books might not make them their fortune.
Now, that's good in a lot of ways, but it also means there are more books out there all clamouring to be bought. Good thing, or bad? Lots more opportunities, great for authors. Lots more books to choose from, great for readers... but e-books aren't like print, e-books stay around for ever. So, if you publish a book today you have to work harder to get it noticed than you did twelve months ago... more promo, lower prices, more time marketing, less time writing (you can see where I'm going with this one)....

Dean also mentions control and freedom - two valuable assets that writers have earned and now have to learn how to use...

Which brings me back to balance. (Yep, I got there in the end!) I worked hard in 2013, juggled normal life, a job, family and writing, as many other authors do. I've crammed every spare hour with writing and promotion. I've tweeted, posted, blogged, guested, gone on tour, spread the word for myself and other authors. And now it's time to examine the balance sheet.

I'm a business, and the business is me. Writing is more than just putting words on a page and creating stories - an author has to be prepared to sell that idea. Sell themselves. But, I did get to the end of 2013 feeling a bit like that hamster in its wheel. I was left wondering if I'd stopped gaining ground, if I was running as fast as I could to simply stay in the same place - and now had to start thinking clever. True, I've written a lot of words. But this year I want to write more, worry less, and make every minute count. And enjoy more minutes. Have some down time. Chill. I'd rather be the swan (I prefer swan to duck) that looks serene on the surface but is paddling like hell under the water - but moving, progressing, getting a change of scenery not running on the spot.

A tall order? Maybe. But I'm up for the challenge. I have a lovely editor who has encouraged me to head in a new exciting direction - a direction I've been tempted by, but not dared risk before. It's a bigger story. In the time it takes to write I could publish two or three others, it could fail, it might be a wrong turning. Or it could just turn out not only to be the story I want to write, but the one others want to read. And I've decided now is the time to slow down and write it. To take control.

I have an awesome author friend who has some brilliant ideas for spreading the word about our books - a way we can harness that energy we throw into promotion, direct it more effectively, try something new. So, yes it's time to step off the promo treadmill and explore.

A writer needs time to feed the muse, experience life, smell the roses (ah yes, I remember saying that in a previous post). Inspiration needs a spark, imagination needs space.

This year for me is, I think, about gaining freedom through control. About being more selective in what I do, being more productive with my time and appreciating what I have. I write because I want to, I love to - and maybe the greatest risk is that if the balance isn't right, that desire will flounder. It's a wonderful time to be a writer, the possibilities are out there, accessible to all... you just have to take the time to spot them.

I hope that 2014 is a great year for all of us, and I, for one, intend to take the time to appreciate the good bits as well as moan about the bad! To get back to enjoying my writing, and to make more space for other aspects of my life. What about you?

Photo courtesy - Bobby Mikul 


18 comments:

  1. This is a great post, Susie! I wish you great success with your new 'direction' and all the best for 2014! x

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    1. Thanks Sam! Hope you have a great 2014 :-) x

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  2. Great post, Susie. It's all very exciting and frightening at the same time, isn't it?! Caroline x

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    1. It is. It will be interesting to see what happens next - exciting times! x

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  3. What a great post, Susie! Must admit to feeling the same way at times, and I think you're right in needing to find the right balance. Will be interesting to see where we are in a year's time. Best of luck with all your writing ambitions for 2014.

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    1. Thanks Jill :-) Good luck with the new release - we will all have to catch up again this time next year!

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  4. Excellent post. Like your point about too many "buy me" messages... I think you need to attract customers by being interesting and entertaining with social media and interacting with readers, not beating them over the head with constant sales pitches.

    But I don't think anything is bottoming out... on the contrary, I think this is simply the start of an amazing new era of publishing.

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    1. Hi Nic. I think you're right - exciting times ahead. But, to me, it's a bit like a bouncy ball and it's hit the ground and going off on a new bounce! I think times are changing, and our approach needs to as well.
      I'm hoping I can keep me eye on it and also ensure that 2014 is not quite as frenzied for me as 2013 was!

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  5. You hit points that other writers surely relate to, Susie! I agree w/ Nic...I think we're on the tip of e-publishing! But there will be as you say, Susie, changes happening, but I think it's all good, and all doable! Have fun w/ all you do, whether writing or dancing or whatever catches your fancy! Have a great 2014! :)))

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    1. Change is nearly always good! One thing that does play on my mind though, is that maybe, as sales of e-books have soared, expectations have got too high. There are now a lot more books available - good ones will always sell, but the way we sell them will have to adapt to get noticed.
      I've also read that audiobooks and reading on mobiles are getting increasingly popular - so, another avenue to explore!

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  6. Great post Susie, and I agree with every point you make. I've started unfollowing loads of people on Twitter because the white noise had turned into mega shouting. Every tweet seemed to be 'buy my book!' until I was so overwhelmed I just wanted to crawl under the duvet and hide from the world.

    This year I plan to slow down and pace myself. I really need to approach my writing career as a marathon and not a sprint, and don't want to burn out before I've even reached the half way mark!

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    1. I've had a purge on twitter too Romy - I steered clear of it for a while because it was a permanent advert break!
      I'm with you on the slowing down, last year I felt the burn - here's hoping we both get into a steady stride this year that will carry us on into 2015 and beyond! Happy New Year - I hope 2014 is a great one in all ways for you x

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  7. This echoes a lot of things I've been worrying about promo wise.people "like" things they've not even read and rarely click the far more useful share button, even when you ask them to!

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    1. Hitting the like button has become an automatic response - we're being conditioned! But it does make it all have less value - I'm determined to concentrate my efforts where there will be some benefit (if I can!), and leave myself some time to enjoy life!

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  8. Great, Susie. The voice of reason. Enjoy!

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  9. This is a fantastic post. I feel exactly like this when it comes to promo - the amount of time it's sucked from what I really should be doing (the writing) makes me grind my teeth, and I don't believe all that promo really delivers. I killed myself to get a Christmas story out into a saturated Christmas market where so many books were sold for peanuts or even less. I'm taking a step back from the social media push and just going to try and write the best I can this year.

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    1. I'm with you on that Charlotte :-) I feel that if I can't write something that I'm proud of, and enjoy doing it, then something has gone wrong.

      Talking of grinding teeth, I've had toothache, maybe that's why!

      Hope you have a wonderful 2014 x

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