Art vs. Business

I have come to a conclusion about something. It's nothing new. I have heard it before. But it is really sinking in.

Writing is an art. It's about word usage and painting a picture. Or it's like a singer illustrating a scene or developing a mood with their voice. Or a dancer making the perfect jump. It's art.

Getting published, on the other hand, is business. You can have the best written novel ever __ it can be really beautiful, a work of art __ but that isn't enough to get it in the hands of readers. Words alone between book covers isn't enough.

A writer must market themselves, first to potential agents, then to editors and publishers, and finally to readers. I was reading something last week in Writer's Digest where someone said book publishers are really good at some things __ getting a book, having it edited, printing it, packaging it, getting it into book stores and getting it on shelves. But what they are not good at is getting people to take them off of shelves. That, in large measure, is up to the writer.

But the writer can't do that with writing alone. There are sales and marketing strategies to work out and consider. There's money that will be needed. And all of this is needed whether a book is well-written or a piece of crap.

I am still working on the business end. I have a plan for finding an agent, I have this blog and perhaps will get a website, I am talking to other writers and some book store owners. I am networking. And if I get an advance on my novel, I will probably start a savings account solely dedicated to marketing and get a literary publicist.

Don't think I am getting ahead of myself. Of course, writing __ and writing well __ are the first part of my business plan. But it would be stupid to solely focus on the art and not consider the business.

That's all for now. Have a good weekend, enjoy the Oscars and I will see you next week.

Thanks for reading and don't give up on writing.