table of contents

Illusion about the 'writer's life'

I became a writer from an ordinary office worker, but my dream is still to be a writer. I want to become a full-time writer.

A full-time writer is a writer who can make a living only by creating.

Before becoming a writer, I thought like this. It is possible to write and to gain financial independence in return. Because there is Haruki Murakami and also Stephen King. The image of a writer sipping coffee elegantly and thinking about life... But now it's different. It was an illusion for a writer to make a living by writing elegantly. The world has changed. Artists also have to get their hands dirty.

Writers making money

After publishing a few books and running a publishing business, there are things I can finally see. The artist is no longer a mystical idol to me. It is just one of many jobs that focus on creativity. (Of course, this is one of my favorite jobs.)

Nine out of ten writers who make money work this way.

– This is a reasonable analogy from my publishing experience (publishing my book and the publishing of about 100 people I helped), stories of presidents and practitioners who run publishing companies, and indirect experiences on social media.

The process of becoming a bestseller

• You don't become famous by writing a book. People who already have some influence in the field write books.
• The book enters the bestseller list based on generous parameters.
• Publishers use it for marketing (advertisements, book reviews, reader events). Bestsellers spread further to readers within the field.
• After a certain critical point, books spread out of the field. It becomes the so-called “trend”. People who post photos of books for show off on Instagram are willing to pay for books to jump on the bandwagon.
• Up to this point, royalties from book sales (unless you are a national writer) are at most about the starting salary of a new employee. (At the 10% royalties rate of 15,000 won, if you sell 10,000 copies, you get 15 million won. This is similar to the income I earned from royalties for about two years after I became a writer.)

(The question of why there is no case where content becomes a bestseller is not discussed here.)

Post-Seller Post-Selling

For the book I made, I hired more than 20 paid influencers, the author participated in more than 10 events, and only 3 exclusive gifts cost 10 million won. I've done it about 2 times now, and I'm thinking about additional promotions. If you calculate the labor cost, there are also cases where it is a deficit.

president of a publishing house

What's interesting is the question of what played the most decisive role to this stage. not the book itself. it's marketing

Authors try these things to promote book sales and diversify their revenues. That's what writers who make money actually do.

• Special lecture based on the contents of the book
• Opening of paid online lectures based on the contents of the book
• Operation of a meeting-type paid kakaotalk room to implement the contents of the book
• 1:1 high-price consulting for those who want to apply the contents of the actual book to their lives
• Business services or consulting for companies that want to apply the contents of the book

At this point, the artist can create an independent economy with his or her creations. It brings us closer to economic affluence that could not be achieved through royalties alone. It is a way to become financially free while doing what you want to do. Of course, what I want to do here doesn't mean that I only do what I want to do. Paradoxically, some of the things you don't want to do are tied into a set of things you want to do, and they are macroscopically tied to the things you want to do. It doesn't match the front and back, but it is. Just like life always does.

We have shed light on this through the story of a visual artist who actually went to the brink of bankruptcy.

Redefining Sustainable Writers

This has led me to redefine what a sustainable writer is. In addition, the word full-time writer has become a world where it no longer works.

The model in which an artist releases his or her creations to the world and earns economic returns only in return is now obsolete. Even if you draw pictures, write poems and novels, write arguments and theories, sing songs and dance, it is not easy for them to be translated into capital.

In order for an artist to continue to create something (yes, this is called creation), economic support is essential. As Susan Cain said, “The most important thing you can live by doing what you love is a financial cushion.”

What is the most important thing for a writer to make money through their creations?

it's marketing

Creations that do not connect with readers cannot be found. In the past, huge art distribution companies, publishers, or critics chose 'which work will be a hit'. Not anymore. Human society has already begun to transform into a society in which individuals are connected to each other. The world where critics are now ignored by the public as 'something like critics' has really come.

Opportunities for your creations to be discovered by readers

In whose hands does this opportunity rest? It is in the hands of the author, the owner of the creation.

The writer must realize now. While concentrating on creation, on the other hand, one should carve out a market according to the law of maximum exposure that one's creations can be found by readers. We must accept that it is the duty of the times that the artist must have.

 Do not think that intellectuals only exist in noble professions such as humanities or language fields. Commerce provides them with what they want and need, including the luxury of art.

Harvard University psychology professor and thinker, Steven Pinker

Become a clown and a shaman

Let's go back to square one. While the artist is immersed in creation, “Someone will appreciate my workRather than expecting it to happen, you should quickly understand the role of the times and prepare to become clowns and fortune tellers.

Clown means this.

Someone who says what I want to say instead. Someone who can laugh, cry, and run in front of me instead of me and express my feelings inside. If life is difficult, “Cheer up. A bright day will come.” The person who says. One day, “Keep your mind straight. Life is not easy.” A person who nags.

This is what shaman means.

A person who speaks directly about anxiety and fear that cannot be explained in words. I don't know why, but when I see this shaman's sentences, songs, pictures, and dances, I feel like my inner self is healed.

Daily life of clowns and shamans

You can't make a living with the metaphor of a clown and a shaman. What a writer should do as a clown and shaman for modern people is as follows.

Things that can increase my influence

When your influence as a clown and shaman builds up, your work will begin to be discovered. Yes, this is the case. If you're a writer, you should be doing this already.

• Create content people will love and share it on social media. This should be consistent with the field the artist is aiming for. At the same time, it must be popular. This by itself is not money. It is a preliminary work to increase the discoverability of the work, marketing, and a realistic fan meeting to escape from the dreamy work. (Did you know that it's not the small number of fanatics that bring real wealth to writers, but rather the ones with a small spread of likes? Oh, of course, according to the targeting strategy, the existence of a fan base is important to get that wide audience. Do.)

What if you create content on social media but don't gain subscribers or build a passionate fan base? Should I use my artistry to cater to the palate of this petty public? Won't you do this?

Imagine that my work ended up in the warehouse without anyone reading it.

And I have to keep doing this.

• Find and collaborate with influencers in your industry and field. It is an interview or collaboration. Exposure can be increased.
• Distribute free materials that can be helpful to appeal my value.
• Acquire an email list through free resources or engaging content. Email lists have proven to be one of the most valuable marketing tools. (If you don't know why, you should study marketing.)
• Increase your number of followers on social media.
• I constantly explore opportunities to be introduced to the media. (Think about the little-known reason why Tim Ferris' "I Only Work 4 Hours" was such a worldwide success. )
• Numbers matter. Content that does not increase the number is just a lazy employee who eats away at the writer's precious life. (If you hire it, it will be a big deal. If you hired it, fire it right away.)

As an actor, I have always focused only on the artistic side. I thought that my job was to decide what to show the audience and practice. But it wasn't like that at all. Successful actors, unsuccessful actors, and even those who have given up on acting have something they should never forget. It's just a number.

Dita Von Teese, renowned satirist

At the same time, it helps to create

You must clearly understand the difference between “things that can increase my influence” and “actual creations”.

• If increasing influence is the jab, actual creation is the hook. This comes from Gary Bynerchuck's metaphor about boxing. The jab is a process of preparing with many attempts, and you can KO your opponent with a decisive hook.
• Content You Can't Sell vs Content You Can Sell
• Not making money vs making money
• Trends and Known Information vs. Your Own Creativity
• Popularity vs. Reflection of specificity of the industry and field
• Broad consumer group vs. consumer group in the field

Rather than recognizing these two as completely different tasks, it is better to find an intersection. It's easy to say, it's difficult. Let's see a real example.

How to create two-way content

The creator I paid attention to was Tim Ferris. He works to increase his influence, and at the same time, he even creates creations just for that work.

Here's what Tim Ferris is doing to increase his influence.

• Find and interview successful people in the industry. (Mark Zuckerberg, Seth Godin, Gary Vinerchuck, etc. are world-class)
• Interviews are uploaded to the podcast 2-3 times a week. (No. 1 in 'business sector' according to Apple Podcast)
• I edit the fun and interesting content and upload it as a short video on Instagram and YouTube.
• Edit and upload interesting content during interviews or behind-the-scenes stories of interviews to a blog.

Tim Ferris's creations are primarily books, and seeing what he's done brings a punch to the knee.

• Summarize interviews with successful people in the industry. (which has already been done)
• make it a book
• Tim Ferris's early books 'I only do OO for 4 hours' (work, cook, exercise, etc.) All the books that came out after the series are organized based on this interview.
• For example, these books have swept the world's bestseller lists.
  • <Tools of the Titans>,

Incredibly efficient. If you continue to interview, exercise influence, and organize the action well (“documentation”), it becomes a creation. Tim Ferris is only doing one thing. It's amazingly efficient, and it's a very streamlined business process.

Here's a simplified flow chart of Mahjongga-style content creation that draws inspiration from this.

Mah Writer's Content Creation Principles

Let's take a look at my case, where I've been walking steadily after seeing all the bitterness and sweetness through content for two and a half years. It's only a very small success, but it contains a lot of trial and error and worries.

For me, YouTube is mainly a tool of influence, and I ask these questions before creating any content.

“Can this content be turned into my creations later?”

“Does one thing help me to accomplish another?”

If the answer isn't cool, don't make it into content.

If I were to draw a cycle diagram of what I am doing to become a sustainable artist, it would be like this. these works not segmented, one helps the other, and the result affects the outcome of the next.

• For one YouTube live every week, I study one topic and leave it as a blog in advance.
• For one YouTube regular content every week, I study another topic and leave it as a blog.
• make a youtube video Use the pre-made blog as a script.
• In this way, two blog contents and video contents are created per week. It's not just about dissecting what I know. I study new topics and try to convey them with my voice. In a way, in addition to increasing influence and creating creative works, it is like studying and growing on your own at the same time. In that respect, blogs are the source of all creations.
• edit youtube videos If possible, edit in the direction of 'expansion of influence'. I do not lose the field where I can position myself as an expert, but I try to expand to the public taste. This is always accompanied by an internal conflict between pride and expansiveness. (If you are a writer, you will understand this at once)
• Even when uploading YouTube videos, pay special attention to thumbnails, titles, and tags. I feel like I won't make a video that can't make even one subscriber.
• Monetization (harvest) – Based on the blog, but supplementing the reaction on YouTube, weave it into a book every six months or once a year. If my content is great, it will sell better, but even if it is somewhat less, my influence is sold.
• Monetization (Harvest) – Create a paid online course through the above process.
• Monetization (Harvest) – When market demand is confirmed, the company launches the product/service as an official product and promotes full-fledged growth through investment such as advertising. (After becoming a writer, I established a corporation to provide media content services to clients)

That's it. I hope this helps if someone is dreaming of becoming a writer. If it's not a famous writer, but an unknown writer like me, it's a tombgun fight.

Socrates said. know yourself and do what you do

The work you repeat creates the future. (Note: Things that get better with repetition)

There is not much time.

log record

Draft November 12, 2022

Issued on November 14, 2022

Edited on 16 November 2022

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