Writing Struggles
How I Work Through Them
Writing struggles are real. Unless you are fortunate enough to land a book deal, the burden of navigating those struggles is entirely on you, the writer. Aside from challenging legal issues such as copyright infringements, plagiarism, and even outright theft, there’s the rise of AI, which brings a whole new level of concern.
Some of these struggles leave writers with little recourse without expending precious capital to challenge suspected abusers. In this article, I’ll look at some of the more manageable struggles writers face, struggles such as writer’s block, time management, and self-doubt. I’ll also touch on looking at your writing from a business perspective. So let’s get to it.
Writer’s Block
It seems we can’t talk about this topic enough. We certainly can’t simply dismiss it. Especially for those of us who’re invested in making a living through writing. There is no one way I deal with this phenomenon. I have a few default methods I rely on, but there’s no guarantee they’ll work. Here are some examples of things that have worked for me in the past:
Taking breaks and working on other projects
Delving deeper into a character’s development
Rethinking a scene’s development
Enhancing character backstories
And then there’s the dreaded drop everything and walk away for a day, a week, a month. This one works every time, but it absolutely destroys project timelines.
While this is not an all-inclusive list, they are methods that have worked for me in the past.
Finding Time to Actually Write
This is big. Having recently retired, I thought my days of scrambling for time to write were over. I had visions of spending ninety-nine percent of my time focused on writing and one percent on life outside that environment. I had visions of pumping out nine to ten novels per year and raking in the big bucks. But life stepped in to demand I get out of the house and participate in life, if only long enough to recognize how ridiculous my visions were.
Through all the above, I’ve found that finding time to “actually” write is the key to finding time to actually write. After retirement, it surprised me how much time I spend writing to support ill-conceived timelines. But when I take the time to step away from things, for instance, a walk on the beach, or lunch at a favorite restaurant, I come back refreshed and ready to go. I realize now that I usually pick right up where I left off without the self-imposed pressure. I’ve found that finding time to actually write is much easier than I ever imaged.
Dealing With Self Doubt
Like writer’s block, this can be an outright vibe killer. I’ve been writing for years and I still go through bouts with self doubt. I know I’m not alone because there are many documented stories of some really successful authors voicing the same. One way to deal with it is to throw fate to the wind, find your niche, pour your heart into it, and let the chips fall where they may. No one is immune to it. I’ve found that if I simply keep writing, often, every day, I can power through bouts with it and move forward. Here are some ways I address the issue.
I acknowledge the feeling is real, but not unique to me
I go back and embrace the horrors of some of my past writing. The embarrassment gives me the kick I need to continue honing my skills
I acknowledge failure as a real possibility and then, like a soldier in battle, I pick myself up and leave fear in my rearview
I stop imagining fame and fortune and get back to basics. If even one person finds my works worth reading, then it was worth writing
To be sure, self doubt is a real thing, shared among some of the most renowned authors in the business. When I sit down to write, I do so having acknowledged the possibility of failure, and then move on. I move on because having a dream squashed by cowardice is much worse than having not pursued it at all. A few years ago, I began using a new writing program. The first thing it prompted during setup was to choose a famous author whose style I wanted to mimic. I thought it strange because I wasn’t interested in copying someone else’s voice or style. I chose “none” and then clicked the “next” button.
Generating Revenue
As a self-published writer, you’re required to wear many hats. If your goal is to fund your lifestyle, your success or failure is entirely on you. I’ll keep this section short, as it is the most basic of everything I talk about in this article.
Marketing - is key to the success of any business. Unfortunately, marketing can be very expensive. Consider you’ve written that next best seller. You’ve probably already incurred extraordinary expense just to get it get it to publication. Now you need readers to purchase it. Uploading the manuscript to Amazon or any of the other big five publishers is a good first step, but no one will find it if you don’t let them know it’s there. You’ll have to develop a marketing strategy. Setting up ads via Facebook is the easiest and most cost-effective I’ve used. I’ve found it boosts sales each time I run an ad. But the boost is short-lived. I’ve tried running Amazon sponsored ads, but my budget hasn’t yielded near the results I get from Facebook. There are many, many companies who will handle your advertising needs for a fee. Tread lightly. Due diligence is a must, as is reading the fine print. You’ll need to weigh your chances of success against what your budget will allow. Decide whether you’ll target repeat customers or focus on gaining new ones. The cost will vary depending on which route you go. Consider establishing a website, a blog, and/or a newsletter. Consider author portals like StoryOrigin or Bookfunnel for cross promotion and email list building. I’ve had success with StoryOrigin in building my newsletter mailing list.
Pricing strategies - A good place to start when considering pricing is to look at how authors in your genre are setting their prices and use it as a guide. I approach pricing as an exercise in trial-and-error. There’s an ever-evolving sweet spot and I guess as best I can in determining where on that scale to set pricing on new releases. Pricing too low can be just as bad, if not worse, than pricing too high. Looking for indicators that show when to adjust can be tricky, especially with ebooks. While the .99 cents deal may seem like a sensible strategy, I’ve seen mostly negative responses to leaving those adjustments in place too long. I’ve had more success when I use such offers as incentives in short-term ad campaigns or rewards for newsletter sign-ups. With print books, you’ll need to consider production costs. Shipping and print costs vary according to the number of pages, type of binding and any discounts or incentives I can get from various printers. This is especially true with longer novels. The production costs can put the purchase price out of reach for some readers. I have to take that into consideration as I write. By that I mean I keep an eye on the page count. While it sounds good to say I’d never compromise intellectual creativity in my writing, I have to consider the reality of having to price the book beyond what the market will bear.
Confronting Competition, Theft, and AI
As if competition in the writing world was not fierce enough, add theft and the emergence of AI to the mix and things can seem pretty depressing. While theft may not be as prevalent as some think, it is out there. Imagine searching for your next read and find that someone has slapped their name on one of your unpublished manuscripts and selling it as their own. Getting resolution for acts like that can be daunting, if not impossible. I am very cautious about who I give manuscripts to. I typically publish only with the big five: Amazon, Apple, Barnes & Noble, Rakuten Kobo, and Google Play. Any company outside this circle gets thoroughly vetted.
While AI-generated books are nothing new, it has become more mainstream, and the technology seems to get better each day. Forget the fact that it has gotten better by harvesting the words of copyrighted works published by humans. Readers have no responsibility to care about that. Nor should they. While there’s nothing to really work through with this struggle, the bigger concern for authors is market dilution and human devaluation. AI-generated books are flooding the market and there seems to be no slowing it down. The ability to combat plagiarism and other ethical concerns seems hopelessly destined to become unworkable. Questions abound about the use of copyrighted material to train AI models. Meanwhile, publishers offer minimal resistance to publishing blatantly obvious AI-generated books.
So what can we do to combat this assault on literary integrity? Make sure your work is as good as it can be. Voice your concern to the publishers you intend to use about AI-generated content. Consider using only publishers who have policies in place to address AI abuse.
Conclusion:
Writers’ struggles today involve dealing with obstacles on multiple fronts. Writer’s block is big, followed by finding quality time to write, and then dealing with self doubt. Writers, both traditional and self-published, face harsher realities than ever before to becoming self-sufficient. Until you reach the best sellers list or have gained thousands of positive reviews, success can seem unobtainable. But, like beauty, success is in the eye of the beholder. Not all authors seek fame and fortune. Some are content just to see their works in print and available for public enjoyment. Facing sometimes seemingly insurmountable competition, writing is still an extremely worthwhile endeavor and a critical requisite to a thriving society.
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