Do you love reading? Of course you do. What about writing? Do you have expectations about writers? Want to know about the reality of writing? Maybe you have a deep hidden desire to write a novel. A story idea inside you somewhere that is begging to come out. But, what do you think being a writer is like? Sipping coffee in front of a laptop? Making millions on your book? Or, do you have another idea of what life as an author is? What are your expectations vs reality?
Expectations
Let’s get the most obvious expectation out of the way first. Wealth. How many of you believe that writer’s who get published make a lot of money? In some cases, this is true. For instance, take a look at J.K. Rowling. She had a brilliant idea that she planned and plotted, many times on scraps of paper, It was a brilliant book that amassed outstanding popularity. She has obviously capitalized on this success with multiple books published, movie deals, and even a theatrical play. A blog post on Mental Floss written in 2018 reports that she has a net worth $1 billion, which more than doubles even Stephen King’s reported net worth. So, yes, authors can make ridiculous amounts of money. But how common is it?
Another expectation is that we sit around at our computer desks with laptops or computers in front of us throwing words on pages. That is, when we don’t have writer’s block. We have loads of free time to write. Some believe that we sit around at coffee shops sipping on lattes as we mull over new story ideas.
And of course, writers are the best spellers. Oh, and they have grammar all figured out. After going to school for four or more years and getting their creative writing degree, they have it all figured out. I bet they do all their own editing and proofreading.
Reality
Now, you may believe that many of these expectations are true and in some cases they are. The fact is that a new author that gets published through a traditional publishing house receives a few thousand dollars as an advance. Usually in the contract they agree upon a certain percent to be paid to the author in royalties, around 15%, for each book sold. Once they sale enough books to earn back the advance, then they will get paid that percentage on each book sale after that. Unfortunately, most authors do not earn back their advance.
The other option is to self publish. There are many positives to self publishing. You have full control over your novel and its production and marketing. The downfall is that with full control, comes full responsibility. You have to pay for the website, the marketing, the book cover, and any other publication costs, including ISBNs and barcodes, editing, and proofreading. Self publishing services like Kindle Direct Publishing offer higher royalty payments than traditional publishing and this appeals to many new authors.
Most writers dream of writing as a full time job. However, many authors maintain full time jobs other than their writing career. They don’t sit around plugging at a computer to pump stories out to agents and editors. Although we do like hanging out at coffee shops, we have to schedule our time to get the writing in sometime.
As for grammar and spelling, writers are not always that good at it. Thank goodness for editors and proofreaders, right? Many do have degrees in creative writing, but many of us don’t. I have a degree in nursing. That is why we have editors. I am currently editing my first novel and editing has been the most difficult part of the novel writing process.
Wrapping It Up
These are just a few of the expectations vs reality of being a writer. We’re actually down-to-earth people, some of us with our quirks, but we love what we do. We love writing. No, we are not all naturally good at it. It takes work. No, we won’t all be rich and get movie deals, but some will and good for them. Being a writer is a lot like any other passion that you have. You do it because you love it. You work at it and get better because it brings you joy. Selling a million books doesn’t make you successful. Creating art that you love, that is what makes you successful.
So, were there any expectations that you have about writers that I didn’t include or were there some of the ones listed that you totally agree or disagree with? Let me know in the comments below. Are you interested in being a writer and don’t know where to start? Do you have a story to tell that is dying to get out? Shoot me an email on the contact page or leave a comment. I would love to hear about it.
Also, if you’ve been reading the blogs and there is a topic you want me to discuss or write about, let me know. I reply to all of the comments. I look forward to hearing from you.
