On Writing Full-time

I've always thought the lowest-stress to highest-quality method would be to have a couple weeks' stash of written material so that you would always have a buffer in case of illness, emergency, whatnot. I know at least a few webcomic artists do it with some success.

Despite pondering doing a serial, I've never seriously considered it because of the time commitment. I'm never terribly consistent with my writing, which would be a huge problem when trying to release things regularly.

All these people who just *know* how easy it is ? They must be right - I mean, they're reading the stuff every day, the least the author can do is to provide for them...

I'm writing non-fiction for a living.
One day it comes out crisp and clear.
And then the next day I stare at my two diagrams all day.
And the next day I'm rewriting and rephrasing and restructuring a something and I find myself scribbling some music on my drafting pad. Or biographies of fictional characters. Or the diagram I needed the week before...

My brain, although trained at length to produce readable stuff, is not a machine - and every full-time writer knows that (even the ones like me, with cushy non-fiction jobs).

Yeah, they have found our secret: all of us, we're just being lazy. (*grmble*)

I have the impression that Meilin's post is referencing me, which is fine. Assuming that's the case, I want to clarify my comments a bit because I don't think they came across the way they were intended.

My aunt has written children's books, my mom has been a lifelong librarian allowing me to meet/talk with all kinds of famous authors and I know a lot of web comics, some who do it as a job. In other words, I understand when it comes to creative things, you cant just plop down in front of pc with a cup of coffee and crank it out. You have "on" days and "off" days. Some artists I know will put out as much material that they can on "on" days and then break it up so they can stay a chapter/comic strip ahead. Maybe that doesn't work for everyone.

What bothers me the most is when readers get told, "If you donate money, I will write updates every [blank]" or "If you donate money, I'll give you X bonus stories/strips" and then it doesn't happen. It just seems a bit like false pretense to me. If that promise wasn't involved, I wouldn't care if the artist asked for money for different things every day, or updates happened randomly and sporadically.

I wanted to make sure others knew I'm not stupid enough to think writing a chapter is as much work as making a Big Mac. And it's quite possible that my opinion is wrong, unfair and/or too harsh, which I'm ok with. My job involves taking a lot of money from a lot of people and delivering an event worthy of their expectations, and if I don't deliver, I'm in some deep hot water so it's quite likely I impose too high a standard on others.

Anyways, that's my story and I'm sticking to it, and I apologize for offending.

I simply bow down to you in all of your awesomeness. I have delusions of being a webnovelist or a webcomicer, but I can't make up my mind about which to do and I'm far far to pessimistic about my own skills, I'm slow, distractable, and only just now getting any kind of handle on my mental problems.
So I am just a loyal fan. I tell you when I love it. I tell you when I hate it. And I tell you to take breaks when you need and I'll still be here waiting. I can't afford to donate so I make fanarts and do my cheerleading routine. But I admire you and AE both, and all the artists who can do a comic everyday, or every week or any kind of consistant at all.

This is a touchy subject and there's a number of fine lines around what I see as fair ground--so I'll try not to step over them while still telling it like I see it. (V? Le gasp!)

I get that writers haven't traditionally had to maintain a consistent daily output of reader-ready material.

Maintaining a consistent output of final quality product, however, is NOT limited to folding t-shirts at the Gap or making Big Macs. Don't demean it like that. It's the standard for a *lot* of industries, probably most. This isn't just every service industries dealing directly with the consumer--most any supervisory or management position requires your best effort, all the time, or things screw up and people get angry. It doesn't matter if you're the foreman on the assembly line or CEO of Motorola (2008 pay over $100,000,000)...have a bad day and there are consequences. Working as an engineer I have a little more leeway to smooth out the peaks and valleys in my work product but I still interact with co-workers who are essentially my customers each and every day. I need a consistent, quality daily output, too.

Most readers don't take the time to consider this as the writer does...trying to change the historic pattern of "write when the muse strikes" + "go back and edit" into something more consistent that can be serialized. I'm sure that it's very hard, that it's a job, that slipups will happen, etc etc...but that isn't the point. Once goals are stated or donations are accepted, people view it as a commercial transaction and the writer's held to the same standards as any other producer of value..."What did I get for my $$?" Don't assume readers will care more about you as a person than "someone from whom I buy entertainment". It doesn't matter if for *them* it's free...they expect that people who work for a living work each and every day, and that "work" has a form that is more repetitive than jobs which operate primarily on creative processes like writing, painting, sculpture etc.

This isn't helped when you look at the way people traditionally receive writing they've purchased: books are sold only in completed form. Newspapers run stories *after* they've been drafted, refined, run past the editor, and then proofread. Understanding this new world of online serials is going to take time.

People's opinions *should* change. Others in the thread have done a good job explaining real, reasonable challenges that writers face.

That said, recognize people's opinions *will have to* change because the normal, reasonable paradigm for a reader first encountering web serials is "This is writing. I should get quality stuff as soon as my money's handed over" or "Writers who write for a living make quality stuff on a regular basis, just like I do in my own job".

I like the "any monies are purely goodwill and a donation for previous work--I hope you keep it up" paradigm. I admit I don't contribute well under it. I'd much rather stick with the established paradigm--pay for the product--and pay significantly higher rates for something tangible like an edited hard copy that DO reflect the niche where the author works, the enjoyment I get from the community, and the benefits of seeing the drafts on a regular schedule. I don't expect to pay $6.95 for the paperback because I understand the size of the audience, the lack of traditional publishing and retail outlets, and all that jazz. Just allow me to bulk-load my full contribution into the familiar "Money for product--right now" and we'll call it good.

I'm not much for the "If I receive $money I will write on $schedule" although I admit I'm going to strongly favor serials that do maintain a regular schedule. It's work, it's going to be hard, and the few who *can* meet that criteria will preferentially prosper. I think this is true for a lot of people.

This has gotten longer than I intended so I'll stop it here and hope that I left some useful nuggets without too much filler. V out.