Is The Reward Of Being An Author Worth The Risk?

 

 

Many people will weigh the risk-reward ratio before pursuing something big. We ponder, with great fear and optimism, things like:

* Should you quit your job to start your own business? Or switch industries or employers?

* When should you get married — if at all — and to whom?

* Shall you move somewhere different, and if so, when and to where?

You calculate your odds of success or happiness of where you are at vs. where you may end up without change vs where you could be by making some moves. It is a roll of the dice. 

Being an author has lots of rewards and risks. Are you up to the task? 

As an author you can: 

·         Get to practice a craft that you love

·         Share your truth with others to help them

·         Receive public recognition and ego-boosting validation from reviewers, awards, and best-seller lists

·         Make money from book sales, a movie deal, or the spawning of other books, products, and services

·         Establish your legacy 

But you can also: 

·         Receive cruel public feedback and harsh criticism

·         Fail to sell more than a few books to friends and family who pity you

·         Be shutout by publishers, the news media, or social media

·         Spend time, money, and effort to pursue a goal that becomes a broken dream

 

Will you go for it with all of your might — or will you lapse into insignificance on the sidelines?

Some things in life have permanent consequences and can’t be undone.

Want to climb a mountain?

You risk death, paralysis, brain trauma, and broken body parts.

Others take all or nothing bets and let it ride.

Thinking of taking your life savings and investing it into a single, volatile stock?

You can get wiped out or win big.

Some decisions are based on emotions and the heart.

Maybe you want to get divorced, hoping you will do better with someone else.

You may end up alone, with a similar type spouse, or you will hit the jackpot and fall in love and have true romance.

Everyone has to choose what they want to do with their life. By doing nothing, you are still subject to change, only the changes will not be of your choice, and could come with a high price tag. 

What does it mean to write? You create. Your words matter to another. 

You may risk the embarrassment of getting bad reviews or failing to finish your book or get it published. So what? The effort and cost and rusk are worth it.

We all pay tolls to journey towards a dream:
— deal with your inner critic

— work around schedule constraints

— get stuck on a scene, a character flaw, a turn of phrase

— battle out frustrations with writer’s block

— sacrifice family time or other pursuits to do battle with the keyboard

Everyone should struggle a little with any bjg decisions but I say that no matter how you tally things up, the result has to be the same: You are a writer, so you write. And you keep at it until you get a breakthrough or a breakdown. Shut everything out and be who you are supposed to be and always have known yourself to be. 

Believe in yourself and your abilities. Have a vision and then pursue your mission. Be ready for a challenge, be prepared to make changes, and never, ever give up. 

Need PR Help?

Brian Feinblum, the founder of this award-winning blog, with over 3.9 million page views, can be reached at brianfeinblum@gmail.com  He is available to help authors promote their story, sell their book, and grow their brand. He has over 30 years of experience in successfully helping thousands of authors in all genres. Let him be your advocate, teacher, and motivator!

 

About Brian Feinblum

Brian Feinblum should be followed on www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2024. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog, and El Chapo, a pug rescue dog. His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent.  This award-winning blog has generated over 3.9 million pageviews. With 4,900+ posts over the past dozen years, it was named one of the best book marketing blogs by BookBaby  http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs  and recognized by Feedspot in 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by www.WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.” For the past three decades, including 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and director of publicity positions at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler. He hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America several years ago, and has spoken at ASJA, BookCAMP, Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, Morgan James Publishing, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. His first published book was The Florida Homeowner, Condo, & Co-Op Association Handbook.  It was featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald.