Hellooo, everybody! It's time to ruffle some feathers and piss off some Karens.
if you're involved in the writing community, whether that's through social media or writing groups, you'll see
a lot of "writer facts" floating around, and a lot of them are bullshit. Writers are like all other
people, we’re flawed and fallible. We spread misinformation usually because we haven't done
the research ourselves and don't know any better. But I've done the research, a lot of research,
and a lot of those "writer facts" are bald faced lies. Let's rectify that problem, shall we?
Today I am listing the ten worst lies told by the writing community, to the writing community.
There are so many lies out there. I could make a whole series on this topic, but today
I'm focusing on the most common, most detrimental lies to the writing, publishing, and marketing process.
For the sake of avoiding redundancy, I'm not going to cover some of the most obvious lies,
like writers don't need an editor, or writers can make their own book cover, or writing isn't a real job.
At this point you know know all those lies are crap.
And if you don't, I got nothing for ya, you're beyond help. The lies I'm listing today are the ones that I see
people regularly falling for. They take these lines as fact because they're so widespread.
Don't believe this crap!
I'm here to set the record straight, and save your future novel from potential disaster.
You're welcome. ​​
(The sound of a pen scratching. LOGO.)
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they’re awesome. Pick up a copy or two, or ten, or twenty today. Now I'm breaking down the ten worst
lies told by writers to writers. Today's topic was requested by one of my patrons over on Patreon,
Tremaine. They wanted to hear all the dirt about the lies spread within the writing community,
and you'll know me, I love to spread the truth. And I don't mind being a bit of an asshole,
which is perfect for this topic. Thank you so much for requesting this. The people need to know. When
you hear any of this bullshit, run in the opposite direction. Number One (1): All it takes is a good
book to be a success. So that's garbage. Yes, it's a lot easier to market a good book versus a bad
book. However, how many shitty books have become the number one New York Times bestsellers? A whole
lot of ‘em. Good marketing can sell anything. It's sold cigarettes, it’s sold the Kardashians,
hell it sold low rise jeans and brought them back. So if you think marketing is pointless in
the writing industry, you my friend or a dumbass. All it takes is good marketing, not a good book.
It takes advertisement, promotions, and exposure. This is not my way of encouraging you to write a
terrible book. We've read enough of that shit, our eyes are bleeding. My point is it doesn't matter
how beautiful your writing is if you don't market it. And if you don't believe me, for whatever
reason, take a good look at all the New York Times bestsellers that are objectively terrible. If you
wanna get into the industry, understand that your book is a product, and you need to learn how to
sell it. Number Two (2): Anyone can write a good book. This one's gonna get me in trouble, but what
else is new? Yes, it's true anyone can write a book, but not anyone can write a good book,
and this is why. There are two major components that go into writing a good book. First is
great storytelling. Second is great writing. Great storytelling is unbridled creativity.
This is a skill that you can grow, but there's usually some natural talent born into it. Great
writing on the other hand, is something you practice. You have to study grammar, syntax,
and punctuation in order to make your prose correct and engaging. However, some writers have
the innate ability to tell an amazing story, but their writing is crap, which unfortunately results
in a crappy book. Then there are writers without perfect prose, but their story is purposeless,
which also results in a crappy book. You need to nail both of these skills, storytelling and
writing, in order to write a good book. And plenty of writers can do this, but a lot of writers don't
want to. How many writers laugh over the fact that they have no concept of grammar, or brag about
the fact that they don't structure their stories. These are the same writers who wonder why no one's
reading their books. The point is, while everyone can write a book, not everyone can write a good
one. Not necessarily because they're incapable but because it takes a lot more growth and learning
than they're willing to put in. Too many of us are looking for a quick fix. And unfortunately,
the writing industry ain’t it. Number Three (3): You absolutely have to have a writing coach. Do
you really? Writing coaches, and really all kinds of coaches, are super popular on the internet for
a variety of reasons. One because people crave mentorship, they want someone to show them the
ropes. And two, because coaching is insanely lucrative. A lot of coaching services make grand
promises, especially via monetary goals. But have the coaches themselves met these monetary goals?
“But Jennaaa, my coach has! They promised me five figures a month, and they're making five
figures a month!” Did they say how they're making five figures a month? It's common for writers to
diversify their income. I do it myself. A lot of coaches will use their income as a selling point
to their very expensive services. What they're not revealing, is that it's those exact services
that are making up a bulk of their income. They're not making money from book sales. They're making
money off of you. And realistically if they were making five figures a month solely off book sales,
they wouldn't need to coach. The point is it's fine to seek out a coach, but do your research and
read between the lines. If their books alone were making them millions, they wouldn't be coaching,
so don't fall for that line. Number Four (4): Indie books can't get into bookstores. Well,
that's weird because my books are in bookstores. Here's the tea, getting into bookstores mostly
depends on reach, pricing, and demand. There's a whole lot more that goes into it, but I'm
summarizing. I'm gonna start with reach. If you publish your book through a wide distribution
network, like the Ingram network, that makes your book available to bookstores. IngramSpark
is an obvious choice for this because it has a direct link to the Ingram network, but publishing
through IngramSpark does not guarantee a bookstore presence. Which brings us to pricing: when you
publish physical books online, you essentially get to choose a percentage that will go to the
seller of your book and a percentage that will go to you. I'm putting this in layman's terms for the
sake of brevity all right. Bookstores typically have a seller price they're willing to accept,
and if your book doesn't meet that threshold, it's probably not gonna end up in their store. However,
if you do meet their threshold, that gives you a higher chance of shelving. Which brings us to
demand: it's common for retailers to stock merchandise based on demand, and bookstores
are no different. If your book is in high demand, bookstores will likely stock it,
cuz they wanna make money. The bottom line is indie books can absolutely be stocked in
bookstores based on these three qualities. The more qualifiers you meet, the better your odds.
I only meet two of them, but I'm doing pretty great. Number Five (5): You have to release five,
ten, or twenty books a year to be successful. Not sure if this was clear already, but the number of
books you release isn't directly correlated to your success. It all depends on, what was it?
Oh right, marketing. A lot of platforms recommend the rapid release method, which is a valid and
proven tactic. Rapid release relies on releasing a ton of books in rapid succession, in order to make
a solid profit. This method relies on quantity, you've got a zillion products available, which
means you're diversifying your chance for income. Thus, if one book fails, that's fine because you
got other books out there to make money. This is a method that works for plenty of people,
but to claim that it is the only valid method, especially for indie authors, is ridiculous.
There are a ton of ways to make good money off of slower releases, and all of those ways boiled down
to having a strategic marketing plan. If you're a slower writer like myself, you don't have to
worry. You can release your novels at a reasonable pace. Just be sure to research the marketing side
of the business. Number Six (6): You have to write every day. Nope. Let's get the obvious out of the
way. The more often you write, the sooner you'll finish your book. That doesn't mean you have to
write every day. You don't have to do anything anyone tells you to do. All you have to do
is whatever works for you. Some people write every day, others physically can't due to work, health,
family, or school obligations. That's fine. This whole writing thing ain't that deep.
I’d spend more time figuring out which writing method is enjoyable and productive for you,
versus trying to fit into arbitrary rules that don't even exist. Number Seven (7): If you can't
pants a novel, you don't have the natural talent to be a writer. Imagine thinking that a lack of
foresight and organization makes you superior. I'm just gonna wing it, cuz I'm better than you.
In no other career is this considered positive. If you were about to go under the knife,
and your surgeon said ‘I'm just gonna make it up as I go along, because I got natural talent’
you would run for the fucking door. I'm not here to shade pantsers. It's fine if that's the route
you wanna go. But natural talent has nothing to do with your preferred writing process. Natural
talent has everything to do with your creativity, imagination, and the end result of your story. Pay
attention to the people who repeat this lie. It's usually guys who have never published
a book in their life, but they assume pantsing makes them special because Stephen King does it.
Number Eight (8): No tears in the reader, no tears in the writer. What if I told you some people just
aren't that emotional. This is another situation where process doesn't dictate talent. People
are varied and diverse. And writing processes are also varied and diverse. It's kind of like saying
if you're not method acting, no one's gonna believe your performance. Over half of Hollywood
would beg to differ, a lot of people think method acting just makes you an asshole. Writing
is a different experience for everyone. Some writers see their characters as precious babies,
and they mourn the loss of every single character death. Other writers see their characters as cogs
in their glorious writing machine, and they feel nothing when they make them suffer, nothing but
pride and validation. Additionally, being super emotional about your writing can potentially
be a hindrance. Sometimes you're so emotionally invested in your story you can't see its flaws,
or you may be unwilling to make necessary edits. Basically, this claim is false because it's
subjective. Writing is art, and the emotional impact of art depends on the readers, not the
writer. Number Nine (9): Self-publishing is easier than traditional publishing. If you genuinely
believe that self-publishing is easier than traditional publishing, it's either because you've
never self-published, you’re self-publishing incorrectly, or you're a dumbass. People make this
assumption because there's no rejection process. You don't have to query agents. You don't have to
hope and pray that a publisher is going to pick your story. That doesn't mean it's easier. It may
be quicker, sure, but not easier. Self-published authors have to do everything themselves. They
have to research, vet, and select their own editors and cover artists. They have to format
their novels and submit for copyrights. They have to research and select publishing platforms,
and then upload price, and publish their books. Traditionally published authors don't have to do
any of that stuff. This is why it's really important to remember that self-publishing
is a business decision. It isn't the easy way out because there is nothing remotely easy about it.
It's a calculated move typically based on creative control and increased royalties, and in turn,
you're putting in a lot more work. And Number Ten (10): You have to publish traditionally to
be successful. I almost didn't add this one to the list, mostly because whenever you see people
perpetuating this lie, they're either really old or really out of touch with the market. It's also
almost not worth addressing this lie because all you have to do is look around to disprove it.
There are countless examples of indie authors who are very successful, and making bank. And
honestly I'm too exhausted to make that list for you, Google it. Truthfully, every single author
I know personally who is supporting themselves off their writing is indie. That's not to say
traditional publishing isn't a valid choice, but it stopped being the sole superior option
a decade ago. Indies are in bookstores, we’re in libraries, we’re on bestseller lists, we’re
making money. Like I said, this lie is outdated and if you wanna perpetuate it, that's fine.
Just know that you kind of look like the people trying to convince everyone the earth is flat.
Indie has been a valid and lucrative option for years now, but if you got ear muffs on
that's not my problem. So that's all I got for you today. A huge thank you to Tremaine for
requesting this topic. If you'd like the chance to have a video dedicated to you,
or if you want access to tons of other awards, check me out on Patreon. You get early access to
my videos, there's an exclusive writing group, we have monthly live streams, you get signed
books. It is super awesome. Check it out. It's linked below. Don't forget to subscribe to my
channel. I post new videos on Wednesdays. And if you wanna be alerted as SOON as I upload,
ring that bell. The Savior's Champion and The Savior’s Sister are available in ebook, paperback,
hardback and audio books. So if you wanna check out my best selling, award winning, dark fantasy
romance series, and I know you do, definitely give them a look-see. They’re linked below,
do it! I will be forever grateful. And be sure to follow me on social media, I'm on Instagram,
Tumblr, Facebook and BookBub. And of course you can tweet me @JennaMoreci! Bye!
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