Thread by @Rachel_Aaron

I've been seeing a lot of "advice" for self-publishing around the internet that basically boils down to "write as fast as possible, publish as fast as possible, repeat until rich."

Folks, this is not how being an author works. (THREAD)

This is not to say you can't sell books this way. If you're writing fast in a hot genre & putting out hooky ideas, you can absolutely get people to click. But if your only focus is on mass production, the chances of those people buying again are very slim indeed.

And before anyone says anything about speed of writing =/= quality, you are preaching to the choir! I'm the 2k to 10k lady, I get on my soap box every damn day about how writing fast does not mean writing schlock. BUT

BUT BUT BUT BUT

There is a HUGE DIFFERENCE between writing quickly because you've already done all the work of figuring out what you're writing ahead of time and just vomiting thousands of unplanned words onto a page and calling that a finished draft.

Discovering the story as you go is a perfectly valid way of being a writing, but good pantser/gardener/discovery writers know that they have to go back and EDIT all those words into a cohesive whole. Editing takes time. Planning takes time. Time and care are what make good books.

It write this not because I'm a hater, but because I get emails and see posts by authors who are desperately trying to figure out how to use 2k to 10k to put out 10/12/15 books a year because they think that's what they have to do to be successful, and that's just flat wrong.

The point of 2k to 10k is about figuring out the hard stuff ahead of time so you don't waste time being lost in your writing. It's not an excuse to bang out a first draft in four weeks and then slap it up on Amazon. That is irresponsible and a huge waste of everyone's time.

There is nothing wrong with a crappy first draft. That's the point of a first draft! It gives you something you can polish into a book you're proud of. But first drafts are NOT meant for public consumption.

When you put up an unedited, unproofed book full of typos and lazy writing on Amazon, you're pairing your name with a low quality product. Even readers who like your ideas and characters will be put off by the bad production and lack of quality control.

There is no amount of production speed that can make up for losing readers to sloppy books. Building readership is how you make money long term as a writer, but that readership has to be earned through quality.

People ask me all the time why I only put out two books a year when I write 10k a day. The answer is that quality control. I am not afraid to rewrite chapters if they're not what I want. I also have three rounds of edits to make sure my manuscripts are flawless when they go up.

All of that takes time, but it's worth it. Not only am I creating a book I'm proud of, I'm putting out a product I know my readership will enjoy and recommend for years to come.

This is CRITICAL to any author's career!! Authors who write fast, disposable books do make money, but they don't build readership. If you're not building a solid selling backlist, you will be forced to keep writing books at a breakneck pace for the rest of your career.

This publish or perish cycle isn't just exhausting, it's deadly to your creativity. It's also probably not why you became a writer. If you want to work 80 hours a week, go work a corporate job. At least then you'll get benefits and vacation.

But if you want to be a writer who creates books people love, then you have to actually make a book worthy of that love. A quality story that shows off what you're really capable of. Anything less is disrespectful of your readers and again, a waste of your time and creativity.

Every author I've ever met puts so much thought into their ideas. Writing a book--even a short, fast one--requires enormous amounts of creativity and effort. Why would you waste all of that work on a sloppy, low quality product? Why would you sell yourself so short?

I know there are a lot of self-pubbers out there who publish fast and often, and no disrespect meant to them. If you're proud of your books and happy with your career, this thread isn't about you.

But if you're a writer who feels pressured into going faster than you're comfortable with b/c you think that's the only way you can make a living, I'm here to say that's wrong. It is TOTALLY possible to have a successful writing career putting out 2 books a year, or less!

It does take longer and cost more since you'll need a copyeditor (or a grammatically inclined friend), but the extra work pays for itself in the long tail. If you keep putting out quality books, readers will keep coming back for more, making each launch bigger than the last.

You'll build a backlist that keeps selling with minimal effort on your part. Keep adding books, and eventually that backlist will make enough money to support you all by itself. Sure it takes a while, but that's why it's a writing career, not a writing get-rich-quick scheme.

Of course, if you want a get-rich-quick scheme, then more power to you. But if you're like me, & you dreamed of being a writer, then don't be afraid to take your time. Doing your best work, respecting your readers, putting out the best book you can--these efforts are never wasted

You may never make a living off writing--even in the age of Amazon, most writers don't--but that's even more reason to write books that make YOU happy. Books YOU'RE proud of because it's YOUR work. YOU are on that shelf. Don't put yourself up there in anything less than your best

Writing is a creative art. It should be fun and bring you joy, and I say this as a very commercial genre writer. Writing pays my bills, but I got into it because I couldn't do anything else. I HAD to write, and I know lots of you feel the same. Respect that feeling.

There is no shame in writing books that don't sell. There is NEVER shame in art. Money and sales are not a measure of worth. If you want money, there are waaaaaay easier ways to make it, but your stories are your own. So is your time. Don't turn either into a cheap commodity.

End of rant! Now go write something amazing!!