I’m a Writer, Do I Also Have to be an Entrepreneur?

Maybe you just want to write out of a love of the craft. Maybe you take great joy in story-telling. Maybe you want to tell your unique story.

“But I’m a writer, I’m not into all that marketing.”

If you’ve said the above before, there are some harsh truths about the world of writing and publishing that you need to understand. Are you sitting down?

Planning to write for the joy of it is fine if writing is your hobby. If you write as therapy and catharsis, or even if you want to someday leave stories to your children, but don’t otherwise care who reads your words, then relax. You truly don’t need to give any f**ks about marketing.

If you plan on having wide distribution, if you want to become a bestseller (for real, not the Amazon variety) or if you want your work to have a broad impact, then I hate to be the bearer of bad news.

But.

You will have to dabble in marketing and business. Even just a little.

I know it’s unfair. I know you put all your heart and effort into the fun parts of writing, the research, craft, story structure, plot, characters. I know you’ve spent a fortune on various editors and book designers. But it’s not enough.