"I wanted to be a writer not a content creator"

Not the article you think it's going to be

I am pro-complaining.

I believe we all need space to air our grievances. Especially Artists— we are up against so many opposing forces. We can’t always turn the other cheek, sometimes we need to shit on the institutions and cultural narratives that fuck with us.

So please, let’s shit on Zuckdaddy. Let’s discuss how these apps capture our value and don’t pay us right. Let’s be frustrated when our audience doesn’t see our art, but let’s also acknowledge that we are living in THE BEST TIME TO BE A WRITER BECAUSE SOCIAL MEDIA EXISTS.

Four Ways Artists Hate Social Media and Why I Disagree

I watched a reel the other day. It was a writer lamenting the fact that she had to both write novels and make content in order to sell the novel. Today, I am going to be unpacking why this mindset frustrates me by responding to the four most liked comments on this reel.

“Can’t we just go back to the days when marketing was the publishers job. I want to be a reclusive artist, not an influencer.”

Authors have always had to promote their work. We’ve always had to fight for our creations. Authors back in the day did not just write and let everyone else do the work.

Charles Dickens was a pro at the book tour, travelling all over the US and UK doing readings and promoting his work. The Dude FOUGHT for his books. He wanted his stories read. I just know he would have a podcast if he was here today.

Hemmingway also had to promote his work. In fact, he was a branding machine, developing his image as a bullfighting, safari touring, public menace, so he could sell his books with a bad boy persona. If he was with us today, he would be a problematic tiktok power user.

Okay one more (I have loads; I went deep). Beatrix Potter self pubbed Peter Rabbit, printed 250 copies and then sent copies to all the influential people she could think of (not unlike me sending copies of Regrettably to book tubers). Classic influencer marketing! She was Peter Rabit’s tireless champion, and I am so thankful she was because her books changed my life.

“Born to be a NYT bestselling author, forced to post constant reels”

About a million books are published a year in the USA. The chances of becoming a NYT bestseller are really, really low. You know that. People won’t shut up about how hard it is to be an author (something that annoys me no end). But guess what, you get to up your odds of being a NYT bestselling author by taking advantage of platforms that let you be seen, without permission, essentially for free.

Without the internet, we have so much less power as authors. We get to build relationships, trust, connection, so that we can publish books that impact people! I had been rejected literarily hundreds of times by publishers, until I decided to stop asking to be seen and just share my writing online. It gave me so much power! It made me so happy! I was able to connect, iterate ideas with people, build connections, then build audience, and then eventually, publish my own books, and then eventually be published by a publisher. If I ever become a NYT bestseller, the fact that I dared to take up space on social media will be the reason why.

“I was not made for marketing, I was made for art.”

I hear some variation of this every day. Artists love the idea that they are good at the craft, but shit at marketing. I think what these artists actually mean is the following:

• I’ve never tried marketing my art because it seems embarrassing and cringey.

• I don’t want to champion my book because what if no one else likes it and I look stupid?!

• I have never been taught to take up space and back myself, so I believe I can’t do it.

All valid fears. But none of these things make you bad at marketing.

The truth is that marketing is a highly creative endeavour. Artists are sort of MADE FOR MARKETING. The creative process, the writing process, is about connection. Marketing is about connection. You know how you crack people open in your romance novels? Use that incredible ability to impact people with words, and crack your audiences open, now, before you publish, so they buy your books. Creative people know how to make other people feel. Artists know how to be provocative. Artists know how to sell.

“But I’m no good at short form video content creation!” you retort. You might not be good at making reels, but guess what — you don’t have to make reels. Reels ain’t the only way to market your art! You are not confined to one kind of content. If you don’t want to make tiktoks, don’t. Get on Substack, share your words on a carousel on instagram. Make people fall in love with you in your half hour vlogs. Do it your way. Marketing is an art. Decide how you want to do it.

“Born to be a writer in the woods, but forced to suffer promoting myself online.”

This is a variation on comment 2. My big issue here is the word “forced”. Creators feel like they are being held hostage by Zuckdaddy online. They HAVE to do reels. They MUST be on tiktok. I want you to reclaim the power. You absolutely do not have to be online. Do you know how many people still thrive in the real world? I speak to so many authors and artists who make so many more sales in the real world. They setup stalls at fairs. They talk to people at bookshops. They get boring old publishing deals or show their work at galleries and get lucky with word of mouth. You don’t have to be online. You certainly don’t have to make reels.

But you know what social media helps with a lot? The life of a writing recluse. Writer in woods, benefit muchly from internet. I am tucked up in an english village, honouring my highly introverted ways. I see few people. I write every day. It is delicious. I also share something I’ve written or made each day, on the internet. The internet allows me to connect with audience, whilst being a reclusive little hermit. It’s so cool.

And look, I know, it would be lovely to live in a time disconnected from the net, and just write the books - but guess what, you can fucking do that. Have three months off of socials as you finish this project. Come back, share, update, be fresh and new. Stop pretending we are trapped. We are not.

It is your job to champion your art

I found an english translation of a diary entry from 1521 by the famous artist Albrecht Dürebr. He would make prints of his work and sell them at much lower costs to try and reach a larger audience. It’s a mundane sentence, but it speaks to our job as creators: "I have also made prints of the ‘Knight,’ the ‘St. Jerome,’ and the ‘Melancholia,’ and I shall sell them wherever I can.”

His instagram would be lit.

Whether you choose to do it online, offline, reels or no reels, the Artist’s Job is AND HAS ALWAYS BEEN, to make something cool and then champion the something cool. It is your job to back you writing. It is the writer’s job to back their writing.

The desire not to champion your art feels cowardly to me. You want someone else to back it? You wrote it. You must be the first to back it. You don’t want to promote it? Why should anyone else? You’re the author!?! Dare to champion your creations. It’s what we’ve been doing for ages.