Writing’s Not Enough

Yesterday, I read a post where the author said she did not tweet or promote because she’s too scared. She hates doing it and she has nothing to say ‘cause she never leaves the house. She writes. That’s it.

My first thought was man, that’s sad. Hardly anyone is likely to read her words. She may build up an audience through blogging, but in today’s world that’s not enough. In today’s world you have to put yourself out there.

Recently, writer Matt Baume did a wrap up of a talk by literary agent Ted Weinstein, who definitely agrees that you have to do more than write the great book.

Here are some nuggets from Baume’s post on the talk:

The facts are simple: “As a percentage of the population,” he summed up, “a much smaller percentage is going to be able to make a living.”

“The people who are going to succeed,” he says, “are the people who treat their careers as a profession and are businesslike and aggressive.” His clients aren’t just writers; they’re successful brands.

The point is that being a writer means more than just writing.

“How much time should a writer be devoting to writing versus marketing themselves?” I asked Ted. “It’s always been 50/50,” he answered.

“Stop thinking of yourself as an artist,” he emphasized as our fast-paced conversation wound down, small birds encircling my head. “You’re a businessperson. And the business is you.”

You can link over to read Baume’s full post called “Lit Agent Ted Weinstein: Successful Authors do More Than Just Write."

What about you? What are you doing to set up or treat your writing as a business? How much time do you spend promoting your books or yourself?