Writing - what business are you in?

A few more random thoughts on the business of writing.

Last time, I mentioned a load of different roles a businesslike writer should be aware of. I reckon that if you think about what you're doing, you'll find all of them are there to some degree, whether front and center and employing a high degree of discipline and maturity, or just enough to get by, or simply glossed over in passing. And you'll have made your own decisions those things you choose to do for yourself, and those you farm out to others.

If you intend to be in any way businesslike about things, one role that I suggest you should pay attention to - but which I bet most people wouldn't even think of - is that of business planner.

Do you have a business plan?

Was that a roll of the eyes there? Or a grimace of distaste? If the very idea sounds way too serious, then maybe that's because you don't truly understand...

What is a business plan?

There's all sorts of information out there, with guidelines and templates, and intimidating business jargon. It can all get a bit daunting, and it sounds way over the top for a humble indie writer.

To me, the one real purpose of a business plan is to get down on paper what is it that I'm trying to achieve - my goals. In other words, why am I doing this?

Put it like that, it's a lot closer to home. Have you ever asked yourself why you write? More tricky maybe, why do you want to be published?

Why is a business plan important?

To put it simply, if you don't understand why you're doing this, how do you know what success looks like? You've set off on a journey that will consume many hours of your time over many years, but how will you know when you've arrived somewhere worthwhile? And how can you tell whether or not your efforts are taking you in a worthwhile direction?

Well, if you make a few millions and can retire comfortably on your writing income then that would count as success in most people's books. But what if you put years of effort into earning those millions, only to realize that you're still not happy and you can't quite put your finger on why? More importantly, what about the other 99.99% of writers out there who will never earn enough to live on? Are they all failures?

Thing is, success comes in many different guises, not all of them measured in dollars. Defining success is an intensely personal process, which is why each of you should have your own business plan.

My own (very early and embryonic) plan is very brief and mentions a few goals, mostly to do with recognition: to be recognized by friends and industry colleagues as a successful writer; to hold a published copy of my work, and see it on bookstore shelves; to see my own artwork on a book cover. It only mentions one, extremely modest, financial goal: to break even in the second year of trading. In other words I just want my hobby to pay for itself.

This is very rough, and it could do with some tightening up to make the goals more "SMART" (= Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Timebound), but it encapsulates the elements that are most important to me in my journey.

You'll notice it is not in any way ambitious financially. I wouldn't turn my nose up at a comfortable income, but that is not my goal at this point. This means that if I achieve these goals and it remains nothing more than a self-sustaining hobby I will be happy.

Of course, at some point in future I may wish to revise my plan and set myself new goals. That's OK. A plan is meant to guide me and free me from distractions. It is not a prison. If I want to change it, I will. But I will do so in my own time and on my own terms.

This is not something you can leave to an agent or publisher. They will define success in their own financial terms. Your business plan captures what is important to you.

So, what are your goals in writing? I don't just mean "publish novel X by date Y", I mean what are you trying to get out of your writing endeavor?  
What is important to you?

How many hats can you wear?

Last week, I talked about the business of writing, meaning taking a businesslike approach to the process of getting your writing out there into the big wide world. Even if you don't intend to create an officially registered business, it's worth asking yourself how serious you are about the whole process and how businesslike you want to be.

Being businesslike simply means applying suitable disciplines and making informed and deliberate choices to stack the odds of success in your favor.

As I've researched the ins and outs of self-publishing, it's become clear that an independent writer hoping to make a serious go of self-publishing has to juggle an awful lot of hats along the way.

That doesn't mean you actually have to wear all these hats, but you should at least be aware of them and decide what (if anything) you need from each.

Skipping the rather obvious role of actual writer (which is probably what most of us would like to concentrate on and skip all the rest), there are other obvious roles directly related to writing a novel, such as researcher, editor (in various flavors) and critiquer. Many of these, you may well do largely yourself or with the help of critique buddies.

These get you the meat of your product - the words on the page. To turn this into a marketable product (assuming you don't have a traditional publisher to do this for you) you need to throw in things like cover artist, graphic designer, book designer and formatter. Most of us would do well to get some expert help in these areas.

That gets you the content, and from there it seems a deceptively easy step to publication - pop it up on Amazon in a few minutes and wait for the $$ to roll in.

Yes?

Wellll...you certainly can do that, and therein lies the problem. It's so easy, and a lot of people are doing it. Trouble is, will it achieve your publication goals - and do you even know what those are?

To be businesslike in all this, there's a milliner's paradise of ancillary hats to consider. Just from a quick brain dump I came up with: business owner, business planner, project manager, accountant, resource manager, lawyer, contract manager, promoter and sales person, web site designer and administrator ... maybe you can suggest some more that I've missed!

Of course, as I said earlier, you may not actually need all (or even any) of these. But before you discard them out of hand it's worth understanding what they might bring to the table and whether or not they might help you reach your goals. Some might be useful disciplines even with a traditional publishing deal. After all, the publisher's first interest is their own bottom line. Who's really looking after the dreams and ambitions of you, Solitary Author Inc.?

The question to ask in each of these roles is: how much (if anything) do you need to support your publishing efforts, and how much can you/should you do for yourself?

The business of writing

I haven't talked about writing in a while now, but it's still very much in the forefront of my non-work life. After family and vacations and other such things, of course.

Tiamat's Nest is still working its way through the critique queue. Should be finished in October, then I'll let it rest a while before getting stuck into revisions.

Meanwhile, I'm skirting the fringes of self-publication of Ghosts of Innocence. This is a three-steps-forward-two-steps-back kind of dance. I'm a planner in most aspects of my like, and this is no different.

Having the text of a novel is only the first (and an obviously important) prerequisite. But step back a bit, and there are all the other elements that go into a finished book, not least of which is the book design and formatting. Back up further, and you need cover art. Long before I started writing, I had dreams of seeing my own artwork on the covers of books. Now maybe I can realize two dreams at once.

But that means I need relevant artwork. Right now I'm working on some rough drafts and at some point will post the results for feedback.

So far, so good. But to get to the point of this post - how much do you treat writing like a business? I'm curious because I'm considering setting up a formal business to handle the sales (if any) of my books.

Yes, you can self-publish with very little financial outlay ... if you don't care too much about the end result.

However there are costs involved in doing it properly. And costs are tax-deductible if you are a business rather than just an individual.

The above-mentioned book design for a start. Plus setting up and running a promotional web site. And if I'm planning to distribute through US-based avenues such as Amazon, they'll automatically deduct 30% US tax unless I register either as a non-US individual or a business. The former route is complex and involves hefty fees. The latter is easier and free, and alone is worth the expense of registering as a business.

So, those of you who've trodden this path already, how much do you treat writing like a business, rather than just a hobby?

Google Minus

There's a creeping infestation spreading its ugly way through the blogging world these days.

It's called Google+.

A few blogs I follow have switched over to using Google+ comments. And I have sadly stopped commenting on them.

I have two issues with Google+.

Firstly there's the way comments are shared.

Maybe I'm just out of step with the rest of the world, but if I wanted every one of my online acquaintances to know every time I speak, breath, or scratch my butt, I'd go on FaceBook.

I don't. So I don't like the way Google+ assumes you want to share everything with everyone who knows you.

When I comment on a blog, the implicit deal is that I'm sharing my comment with the blog owner and anyone else who visits that blog. In my mind, the connection and community is centred around the blog and its readership.

I might visit and comment on two entirely unrelated blogs, and to me those are two separate communities. A bit like separate conversations with different circles of people at work, at home, or in the gym.

But Google, in it's infinite wisdom, seems to have turned this on its head. The sharing of comments is now centred around me and my circles of friends. It's cut the blog and its community out of the picture, unless I want to share my comment with everyone who knows me - regardless of whether they care about the blog in question. It's as if instead of the blog being the centre of a community, the blog is now a subject of discussion about it amongst groups of strangers whispering secretively amongst themselves.

Sorry, but that to me has seriously eroded the point of blogging.

That might be tolerable, but then there's the question on online identity. I've spent years establishing myself as "Botanist" both here and in other forums. It's not that I'm strict about remaining anonymous - folks out there who know me know who I am - but I chose not to broadcast my real name everywhere I go.

Google+ has taken that choice away from me.

Sorry, but when I want to go online as my real self, I would rather it was on my terms and for reasons that make sense to me. It's not up to some faceless executive or gormless tech-head to make that choice for me.

So if I still visit you but have gone quiet on the commenting front, please know that it's not personal. It's not you, it's Google.

Flying platypi, and fields of puppies and kittens

I felt it was about time to toss out another Blog of Outstanding Natural Beauty award.

Today I'm honoring Valerie, lady of the Flying Platypi.

Valerie's blog never fails to make me laugh. It's a surreal slice of life, with mannequins, drunk texting, and puppies. And nothing is safe from the impulse to lick everything in sight.

There is nothing to do on receipt of this award, no obligations, no questions to answer, no requirement to pass it on. Just bask in your own awesomeness.

And this award is free for anyone to hand out. If you see a truly beautiful blog, feel free to bestow this award. You do not need to be tagged first. Just grab the image, say why you are awarding it, and let the recipient know.

So if anyone's still out there after my highly sporadic blogging this year, pop on over to Valerie's blog and say "hello". And give her a big hug. She likes hugs.

Meanwhile, back in the Real World

I'll post about the Writing World another time, but today it's time to take a breather from all that and talk about the Real World.

Seems like July is nearly over before it's begun. Canada Day feels like a mere blink of an eye in the past. Ali and I found our usual spot to watch the Sidney parade, where we've been every year since we moved here in 2005 (when not actually taking part in some way or another).

The sporadic and heavy rains that had characterized the year so far stopped at the end of June, and we've had unbroken summer all July. I just hope it remembers to hang around for August, when we're taking our usual camping vacation!

We got an exceptionally early delivery of firewood this year...

This is now all stacked away ready for winter. One less job to worry about later on.

The blitz on all things botanical that I talked about in May has withered in the heat. Battle will be resumed when things cool down again.

With Megan getting ready to go off soon for three weeks on a Guides international jamboree, I took a couple of days off work to make an extra-long family weekend.

On Thursday, we packed up the propane barbecue and a picnic and headed off to French Beach.

Note for future reference, although the sun was out, there's always a strong and chill wind coming off the Pacific. We sunbathed for a bit, played bocce on the grass, then the kids wrapped themselves up in towels and picnic blankets to keep warm.

Next time, bring sweaters!

Yesterday we played mini-golf.

In between times, we've had long rounds of cards on the deck (did you know Uno could be so competitive?) and badminton on the front lawn. Megan and Matthew both started playing this year and are both getting good.

Under Heaven

This is a first for this blog. I've sometimes mentioned aspects of books I'm reading, more than anything to comment on how reading/publishing tastes have changed over the years, but I've always left the books themselves firmly anonymous.

Until now.

I've just finished Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay, and felt the need to rave about it! Only rarely do I find it so hard to put a book down, and so easy to make excuses to abandon other tasks in order to pick it up again.

Shen Tai, mourning the death of his father General Shen Gao, pays homage by setting out to bury the bones of thousands of warriors killed in battle high up in the mountains. The site is said to be haunted, and no-one willingly ventures near there, let alone stays after dark.

During his lonely assignment, Tai is kept supplied by monthly visits from military outposts on either side of the mountains, from his own Kitan empire to the east, and from the rival Tagurans to the west. The visits are staggered so the rival soldiers never have an excuse to fight, and they are careful to leave again well before nightfall, leaving Tai to his labors and the sounds of a hundred thousand ghosts moaning outside his cabin walls.

One such visit becomes anything but ordinary, when Tai is handed a letter. While he's been cut off from the outside world, the world has nevertheless taken note of his courage and determination. The Tagurans have gifted him 250 prized Sardian horses. An extravagant fortune beyond imagining, and an unwittingly deadly tribute. Tai realizes he has no way of claiming his gift and staying in one piece.

That same day, an assassin tries to kill him. He realizes he has to abandon his labors and re-enter the cutthroat world of Imperial politics that he'd set aside while in mourning. He develops a plan to ensure he is worth more alive than dead, while he tracks down the person behind his would-be assassination and fends off the powerful factions vying to trap him and claim control of his fabled horses.

His journey takes him into the heart of the Imperial court, through a maze of intrigue, and into a cataclysmic civil war.

The novel is set in Tang dynasty China. It is classed as a fantasy, but the fantastical elements are very subtle - hints of sorcery with just enough substance impinging on the story to lift them above easily-dismissed superstition.

Throughout, Kay did a first class job of immersing me in another culture, distant in space and time and yet portrayed with such everyday detail and matter-of-factness that it felt like home.

His writing style took a bit of getting used to, with sentence structures and lengthy departures and asides that made some demands on my patience and memory. Kay delights in making teasing statements and leaving them dangling for a while before eventually circling back with an explanation. But he always does tie up the dangling ends, and once you commit yourself to his storytelling care the waits are worth it. It's a bit like re-discovering the hidden treasures of winding country roads after too long on the highway.

If you like mystery and suspense, intrigue and action, with breathless rollercoaster twists and turns, along with historical detail so vivid you can reach out and touch it, then this is a must-read.