I am continually baffled by how much I am paid to write marketing copy to sell products that truly don't matter, vs how little I am offered when I write something actually useful, beautiful or worthwhile.
Anyway, I have been a fan of your work for a while. I'm hopeful to hear about your next project that might be able to push back against this system in some way. ✌️
Wonderfully written with no punches pulled, love it.
Illustrators and all other artists are in the same boat. Value is indeed bogus (as if a dumb Chanel bag made by Chinese slaves in a locked warehouse in Italy just so it can wear the ‘made in Italy’ tag is really worth 300,000$) and the world at large doesn’t really care about the existence or demise of any one of our individual creative endeavors.
I just got my very first email comment from a subscriber and it was to tell me how much I suck for putting a ‘buy me a coffee’ banner under my texts and how entitled I am to ‘prattle on about myself and then ask people for money.’ This person is subscribed to my newsletter. I do not comprehend how people think the content they like consuming is supposed to get made. I don’t even paywall anything.
It’s extra weird because he was like ‘you don’t even ask any questions you just talk about yourself’ so I wrote back going oh, well, feel free to tell me how YOU feel about how society measures success these days? Since that was what the newsletter was about, and then of course he didn’t write back. Like, I thought you wanted to be included? Go on then!
Of course I didn’t remove the banner 😅 I don’t put them everywhere, and I also have a couple more of different ones - one for coffee and one for the keffiyeh print. There’s definitely a banner on the piece he was commenting - ‘please stop telling me I don’t need success’, just not sure which one
It's been my goal since I was in 1st grade to be a published author. It's frustrating and sad to read truths like this. Even just the fight to keep the arts in school is an indication of how little society values art. I did achieve my goal - via self-publishing. I'm crap at marketing though. And don't get me started on the "free ebook" trend in self-publishing. It drives me insane. No author should be pressured to put their book up for free just to find readers! But at the same time why don't I feel legit enough? Why do I feel that I need some agent and publisher's validation? I want to publish a cookbook, but don't feel confident enough to self-pub it. So off to the trad publishers I go! 😭
Sarah, thanks for posting this, it's exactly how I feel, and like you I also self published a book, albeit ten years ago I too want to be a published author and post like this feel like a discouraging but helpful gut punch. I believe everything Lyta said in this post, and also I will be buying her book and continuing this irrational dream of being an underpaid/underappreciated published author one day. Is this some form of literary Stockholm syndrome?
There is a silver lining to this system, and it’s that the people who persevered enough to get their book published (or went through the effort of decent self-pub) most likely have passion. That’s something I value as a reader. I don’t want content for content’s sake, which is what you get when you put someone in a cubicle and tell them to “Do it again” for a steady paycheck. TV often has this problem; it’s entertaining but forgettable, because it’s repetitive. As a reader, I would rather 1 genius book from 100 different authors than 100 samey books from 1 author on the payroll. Though it’s unlikely that the 1 genius book could sustain them, and that’s a shame.
I wish this was entirely the case but a lot of writers (especially successful genre writers) pump out books at a really fast pace bc it’s the only way to make ends meet. The situation is a bit different in litfic, in which a book a year would be considered gauche—but a lot of litfic writers get by on teaching or family money or some other income. 1 genius book, even if you can manage it, doesn’t pay the bills!
I hear you. This is a conundrum for me because 4 of my 5 favorite novels took 10+ years to write, so I’m partial to well-cooked literature. But maybe I’m just pretentious? I can enjoy forgettable movies and games, but books I want more from. And that’s a problem because it means I’ve only paid my favorite writers like $15 total. Not sure how that’s supposed to support them… In an ideal world, writers would get paid even if their output rate is much lower than other viral media (YouTube channels, blogs, etc.)
Yup… now that I’m seriously looking into it, I’m starting to see this. And I’m STILL interested. (What it wrong with me ah well this is my broken self who wants to publish a book)
Great missive as usual but with this one - I'm mostly pleased with how keen you are to EGG THINGS. I haven't egged a thing in so long (even THOUGHT about egging..) so I'm going to go egg somewhere eggable this evening. Many thanks <3
I'm currently listening to this book a second time! I'm glad you wrote it. I'm surprised you were paid so little for it. I'll be recommending it a lot.
I was going to buy your book but then it's more expensive than my monthly subscription to ChatGPT Plus :D
Thank you so much for writing this. I only realized it when you said it: Zuckerberg and his ilk like to talk about "value" a lot when, in reality, their products have no inherent value. Even Facebook isn't truly valuable - unless one's strict definition for value is money. The unfortunate reality is that majority of people respond more to worthless superficial things over genuine value, which is how we got our present overlords.
Anyway, I hope my teeny tiny book purchase helps convince your publishers to bring out more of your books next time.
Holy crap I think you write about things I care to write and read about?? I actually had this book on my tbr (maybe from netgalley) and didn't even connect that it's YOUR book.
Wow you do complain well! And you lived to see it published. Having worked in the business and published my own books, I am astonished we still have a free press. And it takes chances on books that may be original like yours.
🩵 I will buy your book. The market is broken.
I am continually baffled by how much I am paid to write marketing copy to sell products that truly don't matter, vs how little I am offered when I write something actually useful, beautiful or worthwhile.
Anyway, I have been a fan of your work for a while. I'm hopeful to hear about your next project that might be able to push back against this system in some way. ✌️
Wonderfully written with no punches pulled, love it.
Illustrators and all other artists are in the same boat. Value is indeed bogus (as if a dumb Chanel bag made by Chinese slaves in a locked warehouse in Italy just so it can wear the ‘made in Italy’ tag is really worth 300,000$) and the world at large doesn’t really care about the existence or demise of any one of our individual creative endeavors.
I just got my very first email comment from a subscriber and it was to tell me how much I suck for putting a ‘buy me a coffee’ banner under my texts and how entitled I am to ‘prattle on about myself and then ask people for money.’ This person is subscribed to my newsletter. I do not comprehend how people think the content they like consuming is supposed to get made. I don’t even paywall anything.
Wow, that is unbelievably rude!
It’s extra weird because he was like ‘you don’t even ask any questions you just talk about yourself’ so I wrote back going oh, well, feel free to tell me how YOU feel about how society measures success these days? Since that was what the newsletter was about, and then of course he didn’t write back. Like, I thought you wanted to be included? Go on then!
Of course I didn’t remove the banner 😅 I don’t put them everywhere, and I also have a couple more of different ones - one for coffee and one for the keffiyeh print. There’s definitely a banner on the piece he was commenting - ‘please stop telling me I don’t need success’, just not sure which one
It's been my goal since I was in 1st grade to be a published author. It's frustrating and sad to read truths like this. Even just the fight to keep the arts in school is an indication of how little society values art. I did achieve my goal - via self-publishing. I'm crap at marketing though. And don't get me started on the "free ebook" trend in self-publishing. It drives me insane. No author should be pressured to put their book up for free just to find readers! But at the same time why don't I feel legit enough? Why do I feel that I need some agent and publisher's validation? I want to publish a cookbook, but don't feel confident enough to self-pub it. So off to the trad publishers I go! 😭
the important thing is to not give up!!!
Yes! It's finding the right path that's difficult to sort out.
Sarah, thanks for posting this, it's exactly how I feel, and like you I also self published a book, albeit ten years ago I too want to be a published author and post like this feel like a discouraging but helpful gut punch. I believe everything Lyta said in this post, and also I will be buying her book and continuing this irrational dream of being an underpaid/underappreciated published author one day. Is this some form of literary Stockholm syndrome?
It is the same in every creative industry. It’s the artist exploitation industrial complex.
There is a silver lining to this system, and it’s that the people who persevered enough to get their book published (or went through the effort of decent self-pub) most likely have passion. That’s something I value as a reader. I don’t want content for content’s sake, which is what you get when you put someone in a cubicle and tell them to “Do it again” for a steady paycheck. TV often has this problem; it’s entertaining but forgettable, because it’s repetitive. As a reader, I would rather 1 genius book from 100 different authors than 100 samey books from 1 author on the payroll. Though it’s unlikely that the 1 genius book could sustain them, and that’s a shame.
I wish this was entirely the case but a lot of writers (especially successful genre writers) pump out books at a really fast pace bc it’s the only way to make ends meet. The situation is a bit different in litfic, in which a book a year would be considered gauche—but a lot of litfic writers get by on teaching or family money or some other income. 1 genius book, even if you can manage it, doesn’t pay the bills!
I hear you. This is a conundrum for me because 4 of my 5 favorite novels took 10+ years to write, so I’m partial to well-cooked literature. But maybe I’m just pretentious? I can enjoy forgettable movies and games, but books I want more from. And that’s a problem because it means I’ve only paid my favorite writers like $15 total. Not sure how that’s supposed to support them… In an ideal world, writers would get paid even if their output rate is much lower than other viral media (YouTube channels, blogs, etc.)
Aaaaaah! Why do I want to be published? This is all horrible and I'm a total bootlicker.
It’s still worth doing! just super frustrating.
Yup… now that I’m seriously looking into it, I’m starting to see this. And I’m STILL interested. (What it wrong with me ah well this is my broken self who wants to publish a book)
Me too sis, me too.
Why are we such gluttons for punishment, Stanleyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy 😭😭
Great missive as usual but with this one - I'm mostly pleased with how keen you are to EGG THINGS. I haven't egged a thing in so long (even THOUGHT about egging..) so I'm going to go egg somewhere eggable this evening. Many thanks <3
I HOPE YOU ENJOYED YOUR EGG EXPERIENCE
hey lyta -- congrats on the book! thanks for the shout, and solidarity!
Have read two of your articles now and just wanted to say how much I enjoyed them. Keep going x
I'm currently listening to this book a second time! I'm glad you wrote it. I'm surprised you were paid so little for it. I'll be recommending it a lot.
😭 thank you so much, that means a lot to me
I was going to buy your book but then it's more expensive than my monthly subscription to ChatGPT Plus :D
Thank you so much for writing this. I only realized it when you said it: Zuckerberg and his ilk like to talk about "value" a lot when, in reality, their products have no inherent value. Even Facebook isn't truly valuable - unless one's strict definition for value is money. The unfortunate reality is that majority of people respond more to worthless superficial things over genuine value, which is how we got our present overlords.
Anyway, I hope my teeny tiny book purchase helps convince your publishers to bring out more of your books next time.
❤️ Thank you so much!!! This made my night.
Holy crap I think you write about things I care to write and read about?? I actually had this book on my tbr (maybe from netgalley) and didn't even connect that it's YOUR book.
Don't worry. I'm buying your book!
❤️❤️❤️
Wow you do complain well! And you lived to see it published. Having worked in the business and published my own books, I am astonished we still have a free press. And it takes chances on books that may be original like yours.
Thanks for sharing, Lyta. And interesting and illuminating read.
The brutal truth of the matter is this: People will take the piss if they can get away with it, and only stop when they can't.