Author business is not a phrase that conjures up creativity, fun and playful inspiration, and freedom of expression.
Many writers struggle with the idea that their author life is a business.
It’s the word “business” itself that brings the problems, bringing up images of suits and offices and marketing scams, and capitalist pursuit above all else.
But that’s not the reality.
If we change the way we think about business, then running an author business becomes just as fun and creative as the rest of the writing life.
Use A Different Word
Business doesn’t have to be “business.”
Nonprofit Creative Enterprise.
Book Royalty System.
Author Living Fund.
Self Patronage.
It’s all the same thing – putting out books for money – but described in more creative, playful, and perhaps more applicable phrase than the stifling “business.”
Consider Why Do You Avoid “Business”?
A person opening a store or some other entrepreneurial operation rarely shies away from the word “business”, so why do authors have such a problem with it?
Do you believe you are not “business minded”?
Do you not understand business subjects like taxes, profit-and-loss statements, income and expenditure tracking, ROI?
Business terms are just another language to learn. We don’t have to be fluent in a foreign language to explore a different country. And we don’t need to know all the ins and outs of business talk to do business. You understand making something. You understand money coming in from that. And you understand spending money.
Forget Branding
The entrepreneurial space loves to talk about branding. And author-preneurs are no different.
Branding turns a lot of writers off. We’re not Coca Cola or Apple, or any of “those” brands.
We’re just people writing stories and telling other people about them.
It only gets complicated when we believe “branding” is some serious business practice.
The Essence of An Author Business
Write your books, be yourself, track your income and spending, and tell other people about your books. That’s all an author business is. When the more detailed nuances of how that plays out arise, figure it out in the way that makes sense to you and keep on writing.
