How to earn a living as a writer with just 1,000 followers of your work!
Wednesday, March 5, 2008 at 8:14PM Yes, I know that for the 'pious', 'un-worldy', readers of this blog, for whom money is of no consequence whatsoever, this post will be of no use... Ha ha! Just kidding! I know we all have bills to pay!
For the struggling authors (like Wessel and I, who are needing to have our kids braces tightened and get new retreads put on old car tires...) it may be of some use ;-)
Regardless, there are two reasons for this post. It makes a lot of sense! Although, in truth, I think that finding 1000 people (described as 'fans' below) who would buy EVERYTHING that I write will be a little more difficult than the author things... Secondly, this is post number 667... I couldn't exactly leave my blog on 666 for too long!
This comes from an original post entitled 'How to earn an artist's living in the 21st century: 1,000 True Fans'
Kevin Kelly's just posted "1000 True Fans," a business plan for all kinds of creators in the twenty first century:
Link (via Waxy)
A True Fan is defined as someone who will purchase anything and everything you produce. They will drive 200 miles to see you sing. They will buy the super deluxe re-issued hi-res box set of your stuff even though they have the low-res version. They have a Google Alert set for your name. They bookmark the eBay page where your out-of-print editions show up. They come to your openings. They have you sign their copies. They buy the t-shirt, and the mug, and the hat. They can't wait till you issue your next work. They are true fans...Assume conservatively that your True Fans will each spend one day's wages per year in support of what you do. That "one-day-wage" is an average, because of course your truest fans will spend a lot more than that. Let's peg that per diem each True Fan spends at $100 per year. If you have 1,000 fans that sums up to $100,000 per year, which minus some modest expenses, is a living for most folks.
One thousand is a feasible number. You could count to 1,000. If you added one fan a day, it would take only three years. True Fanship is doable. Pleasing a True Fan is pleasurable, and invigorating. It rewards the artist to remain true, to focus on the unique aspects of their work, the qualities that True Fans appreciate.
Technorati tags: creative economics, earning a living, 1000 fans, not so easy
Reader Comments (3)
I wrote a book for NaNoWriMo in 2006, and I can't even give it away.
I challenged all fans of Charles Williams to write a Charles Williams type novel, and I was the only one who completed it. But none of them were willing to read it.
true fans pirate everything you produce ;)
Hey Dion,
Essentially this has been my business plan (or at least an important part of it) for a few years.
While I have not yet reached the 1000 true fans - I still have some more focussed work to do on that - I have seen the power and value of creating a small following who will buy self-produced products. Heck, the last two years would not have worked for me at all if I hadn't been able to do this at least to some extent.
Our world tends to be focussed on the "big hits" - if you're not selling a million copies, you're not a success. But, I've found that just selling around 100 units of product a month can be enough to make a decent living.
Of course the secret is not to stop once you reach the 1000!
For what it's worth....
John
________________________________
Sacredise - Seeking to be Fully Alive