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Earning a Living Via Your Art
Some thoughts on the various inherent challenges.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, I had a decent, albeit part-time, job. It allowed me some freedom to do more writing, but it still took up the majority of my day.
When the lockdown began, the job ended. Rather than lament this, I shifted my focus and attention and dove headfirst into writing more. A lot more. In 2020, I devoted a great deal of my time and effort to completing and publishing the books in my Void Incursion series, began plotting and writing my Forgotten Fodder series, and refined and published my standalone fantasy/Steampunk Novel, Infamy Ascending.
By the end of 2020, I’d published 3 books. In 2021, I published 6 books. With this, I launched into writing full-time and started to work with it as a means of earning a living. Since 2021, I’ve written and published 5 more books and will add another 2 before the end of 2025.
Earning a living via your art is not for the faint of heart. A lot of time, effort, and work go into this. Making the art is the easy part. Marketing and selling it, however, is a whole other ball of wax.
The authorpreneur
Yes, I’m the author of 17 self-published novels. The storytelling is my favorite part and brings me a lot of joy. But being self-published, I’m not just an author. I’m an authorpreneur.
That means I am a business. Which is necessary for earning a living via your art. What it takes to go from idea to plan to story is one thing. The work to move it to a format where it can be shared is another. Then, earning a living via sales is a whole other matter.
I can write and publish more and more books, which is cool. But getting them sold takes a whole other set of skills and work. Becoming a published author was a lot easier than becoming a true authorpreneur. But this is where I’m at.
Now comes the greater challenge. Getting seen and noticed to develop fans and sell more books.
Earning a living via your art
Being a writer, for me, takes on 3 distinct forms. First, there’s the author who writes and publishes sci-fi novels. The second is the writer of this and other blogs to share processes, challenges, and more personal journeys. Third, there’s the content creator who builds websites, blogs, and other online content part-time for a digital marketing agency.
It’s the first where I put my focus on earning a living. That’s because it’s as an author of sci-fi novels that I find the most joy.
Earning a living this way, however, is not just about writing and publishing books. There are things I need to do to market, promote, and put myself out into the world. What’s more, there’s no One True Way or singular method to do that with. Trial and error, getting help where I can, and taking new and different steps are a constant part of the process.
It can be deeply disheartening. Especially when I read other indie-authors enjoying more success than me. (Note – indie-authors are NOT in competition. This is not about competing with other authorpreneurs. It’s just your garden-variety envy, and I recognize it, acknowledge it, then let it go.) More than once, I’ve had conversations with other authorpreneurs to learn what I can from them (and share thoughts to give back and teach what I can, too).
Because I believe in my art, and that this is the path I belong upon for my life experience, I keep going and doing and trying new things (at least, new things for me).
You’re not alone
Earning a living via your art can feel incredibly lonely. As a creator, I’m very much in my head a lot. Sometimes this is an amazing place to be. Other times, this is kind of a weird, twisted, disjointed place.
Even when you feel alone, you’re not. Every single artist, author, and creator who’s focused on earning a living via their art has the same experience. That’s why artists form colonies, authors create writing groups, and various communities for sharing ideas exist across social media.
For me, the next steps are going to require moving further out of my comfort zone. For the record, “comfort zone” isn’t a place where I’m comfortable, per se. It’s a place of stability, being in the know, and familiarity. This, of course, isn’t necessarily comfortable. Especially when it stands in the way of growth, change, and/or earning a living via your art.
What will this look like? I suspect if I knew, I’d already be on it. But knowing there are a lot of resources out there, and people I can turn to for assistance, I know that I can work out the next steps. Because I believe that earning a living via my art, authorpreneurship storytelling, is ultimately what’s right for me.
Thanks for reading. As I share my creative journey with you every week, please consider this: How are you inspired and empowered to be your own creator, whatever form that takes?
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