In the Era of Subscriptions...

How do writers sustain themselves in between books? When I first wrote and promoted my series in 2015 Generative A.I wasn't even on the scene. Were there still other indie authors mass-producing slop stories to gain a steady income...absolutely. But at least they were writing their own slop...or paying other real writers to do it for them.

They also were putting out 5-7 books a year, in a similar vein to seasoned authors like Danielle Steele, who has perfect her formula over time.

The average author spends years researching, world building, drafting, re-drafting their books. Sometimes if you've already done the research and world-building work and you're working on a sequel you can get that written, and to publication in a year. That is being generous. I released my first book in my series in 2015. I published my sequel in 2017. I wrote a novella in between. The product was how we got paid. If I didn't have a book for sale, I couldn't earn royalties and didn't get paid.

If all I had to do in my life was write, I might be able to crank out several a year. However finding time to write between FT office job and other life responsibilities means maybe carving out a couple hours a week. Regardless, I am always working on at least 3 different books. Currently I am working on 5.

This work goes unpaid for an indie. There is no advance to sustain you or to motivate you.

So when I see even successful and established authors turning to subscription based services like Substack and Patreon I wonder if this is the future of sustaining art. Instead of fans and followers supporting your art by purchasing your book, album, painting...artists are requiring a monthly subscription to even be able to create the art in the first place.

The costs of printing eat into the profits of as well. POD has made it easier for authors to have their product available without holding inventory but when you want to price your paperback 'reasonably' you end up with a $0.50 return on your book, or less. An author can make more on an e-book because it limits the need to print your documents, but even so people are less willing to pay for a digital copy when companies keep removing your ownership.

At every turn there is a shift to come for the arts. The greedier tech gets, the less risks people are willing to take on new art. Is Substack the next way forward? Sharing your writing journey with those who are truly interested in the aft form of creation?

I am currently pondering my next journey as I sit on these five projects, all so vastly different from one another.