My guest today is Simon Whaley. I've known Simon for a few years now via social media and his articles in Writing Magazine are the ones I turn to first. Simon is also a short story writer, tutor and a terrific photographer. One thing about Simon is he's never been too busy to answer any questions I've had regarding the business of writing. Likewise, I've always been very happy to contribute to his articles when asked which is why I'm pleased he's brought out a new book on this very subject.
I'll let Simon tell you about 'The Business of Writing' himself!
Writers
are special. Well, the ones I know are. Because whenever you ask for help they
will always provide it, if they can.
It’s
something I learned as a budding writer in my early teens (gosh, we’re talking
more than three decades now). At the time, I wrote to several famous writers
(Alan Ayckbourn, Alan Bleasdale, John Sullivan, and David Crofts) asking for
advice. And guess what? Every single one of them wrote back. (I still have the
letters.)
Some of
the advice was general. John Sullivan suggested that as I was 14, there was no
need to panic just yet. I had plenty of time to experience life, because that’s
what writers draw upon. Alan Bleasdale hinted that other careers were far
easier and more rewarding financially. He based his argument on the assumption
that it takes seven years to become a brain surgeon, and therefore it was
probably quicker, and easier, to become a brain surgeon than a published
writer. Looking back, he was spot on.
Alan
Ayckbourn wrote three sides of A4 paper. I’m sure it was a ‘stock’ reply, but
the fact that he’d sat down at some point to create a ‘stock’ reply still
suggested a keenness to help other writers, even though he was pressed for
time.
Perhaps,
strangely, even though writers are often competing with one another, we still
take pleasure from other writers’ successes, which is why, I think, we’re
willing to help out. In particular, when it comes to a competitive market such
as writing fiction for the women’s magazines, where we are all in competition with
one another, we’ll still offer our thoughts and advice when a fellow womag
writer asks for them.
In my
Business of Writing column in Writing
Magazine, I frequently ask other writers for help. When discussing a topic
such as earning money from secondary rights like PLR or ALCS, I think it’s
important to get comments from real writers who are out there, doing the job,
and dealing with these aspects of the writing life on a daily basis.
Whenever
ALCS is mentioned on Facebook groups, someone asks what it’s all about, and
then everyone piles in explaining what the writer needs to do to register to
get access to this money. This is despite the fact that those helping out may
get less money in the future, because the pot of money has to be distributed
between a greater number of writers. If you want to know more about ALCS, check
out this post on my blog: http://www.thebusinessofwriting.co.uk/up-and-down,
or buy a copy of my book ;-)
All
writers are busy people. We earn our money by writing, not by helping out. Yet
every writer I’ve ever approached for help when writing my column has always
kindly done so. (Including Wendy, thank you!)
It’s one
of the reasons why I wanted to gather some of my Business of Writing articles
together into a book. When writers have helped out like this, I feel their
generosity of advice should be available for a lot longer than the month of the
issue the article appeared in.
So to all
the writers who’ve helped me with my column since it began in 2014, thank you.
(And thank you in advance to the writers I’ve yet to knock on their door asking
for assistance.)
If you’re
looking for advice from fellow writers about how they improve their
productivity, determine which rights they sell in their stories, deal with
crises of confidence (yes, we all have them), stay within the law of libel,
create a business-like workspace, cope with rejection, and much, much more,
then do check out my book, The
Business of Writing.
And if
you’re always looking for hints, tips and advice about the business of being a
writer, then please visit my blog: www.thebusinessofwriting.co.uk.
It’s free. Because as writers, we know how important it is to help each other.
Thank you!
Simon
