Writing is a Business
Yes, I know it’s Thursday, and my post is supposed to be one of encouragement. All butterflies and rainbows. Not gonna happen today. As some of you may have heard, we’ve had some bad news in the world of Christian fiction this week. B&H has decided to close down its fiction division. To add to your depression, writers who were scheduled to have books released through B&H have had their contracts cancelled.
Understand, these are mostly new writers, never before published, who’ve worked hard, suffered one setback after another, and finally, finally gotten a contract with a major publishing house. Only to get within a few months of their release date and have the plug pulled. Karen Ball explains it well in her post over at the Steve Laube Agency–The Painful Side of Publishing.
Weep with those orphaned authors. Pray for them. If you’re one of them, my heart aches for you. I hope it never happens to me or any of my close friends. But I know there’s a good chance it will.
Are you a Writer?
Before I move on with Depression Thursday, I have a question for you: are you a Writer or someone who likes to write?
The distinction is critical. If you are someone who likes to write, you’re in good company. If I were to guess, I’d say that 99% of the people who ever decided to write a novel fall into that category. Just like 99% of the kids who played little league baseball never worked their way into The Show.
I don’t care if you’ve been published. You are a Writer long before you ever see your book in print. No one ever went from the occasional writer to first contract without making the decision to be a writer.
Know your business
So, assuming you’ve made that decision, here are the facts of your business:
- Publishers must make a profit or they go out of business.
- It is not a publisher’s job to promise any writer a long career.
- There’s no such thing as a Christian publisher or any business, for that matter. Christians work there, but the purpose of a business is to make money, not spread the love of Christ (that would be your job).
- You do not work for a publisher. You work for You, Inc. You enter into a business agreement with a publisher. If it falls through, you move on. Yes, it’s painful. But you’re a writer, not someone who just likes to write. This is your business.
If you think it’s unfair, then you’ve never been in business for yourself. Unfair would be to continue a money losing venture until you’re forced to close down and lay-off a lot of employees who rely on you to make the tough decisions and keep their families fed.
Writers Move Forward
Now for a bit of sunshine, sans rainbows. Most, if not all, of those writers will find a new home. They’ve lost some time, but in a few years, they’ll hardly notice the difference. And they’ll be wiser for the experience.
There’s still a market for X number of Christian fiction novels out there. The hole left by B&H will be filled quickly by another publisher, who will need to sign more authors to fill it. I love the free market. It’s never not worked.
If you are a Writer and God has called you to this ministry, you will not be deterred by changes in the business climate. If you are a Writer, then you truly love to write, and write well. If you are persistant, you will be published. It’s the lesson we’ve all learned here at Writer…Interrupted. It’s why we’ve adopted the motto “No Writer Left Behind.” We’ve watched one friend after another go from horrifyingly-bad-first-attempt writer to multi-published author. They didn’t give up.
That’s why they’re Writers. Writers never give up.
What about you? Does the B&H news frustrate you or have you simply sidestepped it and moved on?
