Authorship in the Information Age

[Kali Yuga]

Originally Posted by Moejoe

I think we have to expect, and your experiment proves it to an extent, that the money is just not there any longer in fiction.

When was there ever Big Money in midlist or genre fiction?

Seriously, the most surprising element of this experiment to me is that there is a public impression that authors are millionaires. And I assume he did not mean that everyone thinks that writers have trust funds....

Originally Posted by MoeJoe

The mid list was destroyed a long time ago in print, and it has zero chance of surviving in the digital age.

I concur that the midlist titles are getting slammed. But that is also the pool from which the blockbusters arise, so I suspect it will continue in some form or another.

Also, while I do think it would be great if more good authors could earn a living exclusively from their creative pursuits, that is a rare occurrence in almost every creative profession. Lots of painters, for example, spend years teaching or assisting other artists -- even ones who are routinely showing their work in galleries. Dancers, musicians, poets (!), actors (!!!), the overwhelming majority earn a pittance from their art. A huge percentage of photographers earn their living from commercial assignments, which may or may not satisfy them creatively. E.g. a lot of Richard Avedon's best work was made for commercial purposes, while other works were done as personal projects; he probably could not get access to certain subjects, let alone afford to run his studio to his exacting standards, exclusively from print and book sales. Many professional artists merely recognize the need to supplement their incomes, and find ways to do so without compromising their aesthetic goals.

And yet, people keep plugging away at it, and other people do continue to buy books. Things might get worse for authors, they might get better. Prophesies of doom for a specific medium or artform are not always realized.

Ergo, I don't think we can determine, based on this experiment, that "professional fiction is dead." Only that the donation model -- particularly in its current iterations -- is not viable, at least for writers.

[Kali Yuga]

Originally Posted by Richard Herley

Sad to agree with you, but when you're right, you're right.

Yeah, that happens every once in awhile.

Good luck with Smashwords, hopefully it will turn out to be a beneficial arrangement for you and your readers.

[alvico]

Originally Posted by Kali Yuga

Seriously, the most surprising element of this experiment to me is that there is a public impression that authors are millionaires.

Yes, it's a hard one to shake. Television shows like Bones and Castle do not help the cause either.

Originally Posted by Kali Yuga

Ergo, I don't think we can determine, based on this experiment, that "professional fiction is dead." Only that the donation model -- particularly in its current iterations -- is not viable, at least for writers.

Agreed.

[K-Thom]

The donation model will only work with software. Where you may need bug fixes, extensions, add-ons, individual solutions. Software usually never is finished. So users better donate to get the next job done ...

A novel is finished as soon as it's out. What should any reader pay for? Additional chapters, different endings, a "director's cut" version? Maybe for a personalized version, but this just works for books as gifts.

Donations to programmers is a different kind of payment.
Donations to authors is a sympathetic act.

[alvico]

Richard, I've been giving a lot of thought to your post, but I'm still confused about where you're coming from with the subscription idea.

The sort of feedback you talk about here is invaluable to a writer. If there's any paying going on, it should be the other way around. Especially when your judgement is final anyway. Or have I completely misunderstood?

Subscribers get to discuss the work with me and among themselves. They can suggest changes or point out absurdities. I can ask them to go off and do research on my behalf (entirely voluntary on their part), freeing up some of the time that I spend updating the blog. If bullied sufficiently, I will set up polls so they can vote on plot details ("Should Edward try to seduce Mandy at their first meeting? Yes/No/Maybe"), but not on overall direction. I can be persuaded, but my judgement there is final, even though I risk the ire of the community, since a novel by its nature cannot be a true collaboration.

[DawnFalcon]

Originally Posted by K-Thom

The donation model will only work with software. Where you may need bug fixes, extensions, add-ons, individual solutions. Software usually never is finished. So users better donate to get the next job done ...

Only if it's a lump "novel". Why not make it episodic? Why limit yourself to a novel format?