Agree! A lot of what makes it feel unfair is that the rewards don't directly match the effort put in. One can spend hundreds of hours on a project that earns nothing. Money and art have always been strange bedfellows!
Brent! So much this. As someone who came up in the worlds of science and industry, I find this constant lamenting about the "unfairness" of the "system" exhausting. Traditional Publishing and Hollywood are businesses -- dysfunctional ones, sure -- but businesses nonetheless, which are built around competition. In any competition, few win, and many, many, many more lose.
When I wrote my first novel I failed miserably. Then, I improved, stayed the course, and "won" on my second attempt. And now I'm starting all over again from scratch. That's the nature of the game.
Thank you, Amran. Yeah, I'm exhausted by the complaining too. And I say that as someone who thinks the system IS unfair! All the alternatives, though, seem almost as random. (So many of our problems boil down to "Us. The problem is us. The call is coming from *inside the house*.")
I never listen to podcasts -- never, my brain just doesn't work that way -- however, I DO read transcripts! Loved the conversation. Those who've been doing this a while know that it is what it is.
(In spite of everything? I STILL feel like talent and hard work are rewarded -- eventually, anyway, and certainly not for any *one* project. But the writers I think "deserve it"? They do find some kind of success somewhere. But I might not think that if not for Substack. It's funny how a little success makes you a *lot* less bitter. Hehehe.)
I went cold turkey on podcasts a few years ago because they take too much time. I'm dabbling in a few new ones again and I'll definitely give that transcript hack a try. Glad you enjoyed the discussion!
Great essay mate. A lot of your points cleared up things for me. I can see the "its so hard to get published" thing on the internet, in a much better context now. Very well-written, I'm sure I'm going to back to this from time to time.
Brilliant Brent. I don't think I'd be alive today if I would've succeeded in life as a writer when I was in my 20's. I would've died a drunk, or probably overdosed on something. But now, being a senior, I look at things differently. All the dreams I had in my youth have been laid aside and replaced with a general sense of being, and contentment. I don't think the system was being unfair to me. I used to send stories in and get rejected just like everyone else. But after a while, I was getting handwritten notes telling me to continue sending my stories in. And when I was finally accepted by an online magazine that didn't pay, it didn't matter, because it was enough for me to know that I could do it. I kept writing. So when I came here, and had no followers, and no clue as to what I could expect, I just put things up without any expectations. Now I'm 2 subscribers short of 500, for a total of 911 followers/subscribers, and I'm thinking, This is alright; this is enough for me; this is the place I want to be. I don't have to compete with anyone except myself. So while it's been a struggle, and it's been hard, I'm thinking it's been my own mindset that was holding me back. It's the letting go and not caring whether I make it or not that has set me free. I've discovered an outlet for my creativity that I never realized I needed, or wanted. Reading my stories out on my 'Stack has opened a new chapter in my life, as well. It's a new challenge, and something I want to face.
Great attitude! As for early success, I think it can be a great great curse. You think, "Oh the world is rewarding me for my talent!" And you still have to learn the all-important lesson of randomness in the arts. I think that destroys many young successes, I really do.
Brent, I love the get to work and get better attitude. The arts are a hard career choice; Iām learning that in spades. But, cream rises to the top. Somebody somewhere will snag your good story. They need it to stay in business.
I still think you're right, that talented and hard-working writers will always find success eventually, although it definitely doesn't apply to individual works. This is why I am always worried when a writer chooses to spend ten years on one project. Sometimes the timing is just wrong.
Spot on, Brent. I always thought the struggle to get good enough was the most valuable thing about it. Iām genuinely glad no-one took my first 3 novels because Iād be embarrassed about them now. My fourth was the perfect ādebutā and made a big splash!
Iāve written literally millions of words that didnāt go anywhere but it made me skilled at what I do, and Iām really grateful for that.
Youāre right though, a little success really does eliminate any bitterness! I know it can feel a bit gutting and disheartening on the other side of the fence.
Agree! A lot of what makes it feel unfair is that the rewards don't directly match the effort put in. One can spend hundreds of hours on a project that earns nothing. Money and art have always been strange bedfellows!
Oh exactly. It's 30% talent, 30% effort, and 40% sheer random chance. (I just made that up! š)
But it takes thousands of hours to learn the craft so none of that time is wasted.
Very true! Well, I made a lot of stupid, avoidable mistakes, so in my case, some of the time was wasted. š
Brent! So much this. As someone who came up in the worlds of science and industry, I find this constant lamenting about the "unfairness" of the "system" exhausting. Traditional Publishing and Hollywood are businesses -- dysfunctional ones, sure -- but businesses nonetheless, which are built around competition. In any competition, few win, and many, many, many more lose.
When I wrote my first novel I failed miserably. Then, I improved, stayed the course, and "won" on my second attempt. And now I'm starting all over again from scratch. That's the nature of the game.
I realize listening to me talk for 80 minutes is a monster ask, but I think you might enjoy a recent podcast discussion I had with a fellow writer: https://stockfiction.substack.com/p/talk-fiction-e4
Anyway, thanks again for writing this kickass piece. It's just what everyone needs to hear.
Thank you, Amran. Yeah, I'm exhausted by the complaining too. And I say that as someone who thinks the system IS unfair! All the alternatives, though, seem almost as random. (So many of our problems boil down to "Us. The problem is us. The call is coming from *inside the house*.")
I never listen to podcasts -- never, my brain just doesn't work that way -- however, I DO read transcripts! Loved the conversation. Those who've been doing this a while know that it is what it is.
(In spite of everything? I STILL feel like talent and hard work are rewarded -- eventually, anyway, and certainly not for any *one* project. But the writers I think "deserve it"? They do find some kind of success somewhere. But I might not think that if not for Substack. It's funny how a little success makes you a *lot* less bitter. Hehehe.)
Ha!
I went cold turkey on podcasts a few years ago because they take too much time. I'm dabbling in a few new ones again and I'll definitely give that transcript hack a try. Glad you enjoyed the discussion!
Great essay mate. A lot of your points cleared up things for me. I can see the "its so hard to get published" thing on the internet, in a much better context now. Very well-written, I'm sure I'm going to back to this from time to time.
Thank you for saying so.
This was encouraging and good perspective for me as a brand new author, thank you!
Thank you š
Brilliant Brent. I don't think I'd be alive today if I would've succeeded in life as a writer when I was in my 20's. I would've died a drunk, or probably overdosed on something. But now, being a senior, I look at things differently. All the dreams I had in my youth have been laid aside and replaced with a general sense of being, and contentment. I don't think the system was being unfair to me. I used to send stories in and get rejected just like everyone else. But after a while, I was getting handwritten notes telling me to continue sending my stories in. And when I was finally accepted by an online magazine that didn't pay, it didn't matter, because it was enough for me to know that I could do it. I kept writing. So when I came here, and had no followers, and no clue as to what I could expect, I just put things up without any expectations. Now I'm 2 subscribers short of 500, for a total of 911 followers/subscribers, and I'm thinking, This is alright; this is enough for me; this is the place I want to be. I don't have to compete with anyone except myself. So while it's been a struggle, and it's been hard, I'm thinking it's been my own mindset that was holding me back. It's the letting go and not caring whether I make it or not that has set me free. I've discovered an outlet for my creativity that I never realized I needed, or wanted. Reading my stories out on my 'Stack has opened a new chapter in my life, as well. It's a new challenge, and something I want to face.
Great attitude! As for early success, I think it can be a great great curse. You think, "Oh the world is rewarding me for my talent!" And you still have to learn the all-important lesson of randomness in the arts. I think that destroys many young successes, I really do.
Thank you for putting me over 500!
LoL you're welcome
Brent, I love the get to work and get better attitude. The arts are a hard career choice; Iām learning that in spades. But, cream rises to the top. Somebody somewhere will snag your good story. They need it to stay in business.
I still think you're right, that talented and hard-working writers will always find success eventually, although it definitely doesn't apply to individual works. This is why I am always worried when a writer chooses to spend ten years on one project. Sometimes the timing is just wrong.
Thatās a good point. Hadnāt thought of it that way. Put it in the drawer and move on. Thanks for the insight.
Spot on, Brent. I always thought the struggle to get good enough was the most valuable thing about it. Iām genuinely glad no-one took my first 3 novels because Iād be embarrassed about them now. My fourth was the perfect ādebutā and made a big splash!
Iāve written literally millions of words that didnāt go anywhere but it made me skilled at what I do, and Iām really grateful for that.
Youāre right though, a little success really does eliminate any bitterness! I know it can feel a bit gutting and disheartening on the other side of the fence.
Thank you! For me, it was my first EIGHT novels (and my first fifteen screenplays!). But same result in the end. š
So glad others have āHope these novels never see the light of day!ā We get better each time we try, donāt we?
We very definitely do. I look on those first three novels as apprenticeship pieces.
Unfortunately I look back even on my early published works, and I cringe. I can do so much better! But all art is a moment in time.