8 Reasons Not to Engage in the Business of Writing

by Monique Campbell

8 reasons not to engage in the business of writing

I started writing Once bad Intentions shortly after graduating from the London College of Fashion. A world I remained in awe of. Most of my writing consisted of poetry at the time. A few short lines of prose with rhythm and internal sound. Emotional peaks and troughs. A momentary dissection of a moment. Intellectual interpretation of an emotion. An observation. A frustration. An exhilaration.

Survival.

“Not to write, for many of us, is to die.”

Ray Bradbury, Zen in the Art of Writing

That’s what writing felt like then, as a graduate who had spent the last four years learning how to think and feel and access and interpret and share and re-interpret ideas and emotions, out of the box. I wasn’t a pro by any means. My grammar was terrible. Still is, though I’ve made significant progress. But there was something freeing in the process of letting these thoughts, characters and storylines come together. It’s addictive. By the time I entered the corporate world to settle my monetary woes, I still wrote, edited, and refined Once Bad Intentions more or less every day for the next seven years working in conjunction with a literary agent while we tried to land a traditional publishing deal. Unsuccessfully I might add.

It’s with this first person point of view that I completely get the 8 reasons writers may not want to engage in the business of writing. And it’s from this very lens that I share 5 key areas to the business of writing in this blog post.

The business of writing is just that. Business. A means in which to produce goods or a service for profit. Ideally. To you, the creative writer who enjoys the process of writing as a creator often languishing in his or her ‘flow state’, the business of writing can be daunting, off-putting, and something to ideally avoid. Leave up to the professionals once the creation is done. Or in some cases, no-one. Especially if a drawer or cupboard serves as the final resting place for the creation. A reasonable position to hold if you fall into one of the categories below and lack knowledge or interest in the business, want to maintain creative integrity or are very time constrained:

Reason no. 1: Purely Artistic Writers. Craft over commerce. Here, there’s a deep commitment to art. Writing is merely a tool in which to express that art, and focusing on the business aspect could compromise the art. The focus is on storytelling, literary experimentation, and personal expression. The act of creation can be viewed as an end in itself, rather than a means to the end of earning money.

If this is you, you may prefer the label of a poet, or maybe an experimental writer who use this medium primarily for self-expression or a reaching a small, niche audience. I can relate to this idea of seeking personal fulfilment through your work and being less concerned about commercial success.

Reason no. 2: Academics and Scholars. The focus here is academia, a community of teachers, scholars, and researchers concerned with the pursuit of research, education and scholarship, publishing in academic journals as a means to contribute to knowledge rather than selling books or building a personal brand.

This is your professors, researchers, and academic authors who publish essays, research papers, or theoretical works often operate in environments where success is measured by intellectual contribution rather than commercial sales.

Reason no. 3: Hobbyist Writers. Writing for Personal Satisfaction. For the joy of the process rather than as a career. You may write stories, poems, or personal essays without any intention of publishing or selling your work. You might share your work with friends, in local writing groups, or simply keep it to yourself.

You may be someone who writes memoirs, poetry, or fiction as a personal outlet or a creative hobby, like the purely artistic writer. You may never pursue publication or financial gain. You may avoid the business of writing entirely.

Reason no. 4: Traditional Literary Writers. Reliance on Agents and Publishers: This is where most writers reside, easily categorised by common genres for sign-posting, or subject matters for clearly defined and large enough audiences for mass marketing. Writers in the traditional publishing world prefer to leave the business side to literary agents and publishers. The focus is on your craft while relying on professionals to handle contracts, negotiations, marketing, and royalties.

You may be a romantic fiction novelist, or a crime fiction novelist working with a literary agent and publisher, delegating the logistics of book promotion, sales, and distribution while solely concentrating on developing scenarios for love. Crime. Writing. You produce the goods, they produce the money in exchange of the goods.

Reason no. 5: Writers with Day Jobs. No Financial Pressure. A stable income from other careers removes the commercial incentive. The financial need. The need to have an impact may exist though as a juxtaposition. Which makes the avoidance of the business side of writing so difficult. On one hand, writing is not relied upon to make a living, thus providing space for passion or a side projects without the pressure of monetisation; on the other hand, the opportunity to make a difference in someone’s life through writing requires the person to be exposed to said writing.

This was me at a point in my life. A full-time professional, be it a sales professional, teacher or lawyer writing novels, short stories, or essays in your free time. You may not need or want to engage in the commercial aspects of writing for financial reasons, however may develop an interest out of a desire to create impact.

Reason no. 6: Literary Purists. Anti-Commercial Stance and Values Integrity of the Art. You hold a strong ideological stance against the mass commercialisation of art, with a preference to remain untainted by market pressures and financial motivations. The business side of writing has the potential to corrupt or diminish the purity of your work. To resist traditional publishing and marketing strategies, opting to self-publish or distribute their work through non-commercial channels, is to remain pure.

You may consider yourself avant-garde. Like to associate with underground, or radical literary movements and avoid or resist mainstream commercial systems and practices in the belief that true literature should serve a higher purpose than profit and popularity.

Reason no. 7: Writers in Non-Commercial Genres. Niche Audiences. Certain genres or forms of writing may have very small, niche audiences that aren’t easily commercialised. Written potentially as a Literary Purist, Purely Artistic, or Hobbyist writer. Whatever the case, if you’re a writer in one of these areas you may not want to engage with the business side because your work doesn’t fit traditional publishing models or isn’t designed for mass-market appeal.

You like to experiment with poetry, prose, literary theory, or niche philosophical works for the hell of it. The focus here is on artistic innovation or an intellectual creative exploration rather than marketability.

Reason no. 8: Writers Focused on Community Impact. Service-Oriented. Your priority is having an impact on social or community endeavours over personal financial gain, and as a result may avoid the business side. Your work may be more about raising awareness, advocating for social justice, or contributing to cultural conversations than about making money.

Here writing is the tool for activism or nonprofit work, such as essays, op-eds, or speeches, to promote causes. And as such, influence is prioritised over income.

I get it.

For a myriad of reasons the business of writing may not matter to you. The skillsets required will see a blend of creativity, marketing, legal understanding, and entrepreneurship in active use. Skillsets you may not have, nor have the desire to obtain. At the very least an entrepreneurial mindset, where creativity resides, will be surfaced. It will provide a journey down a financial and operational management pathway to successfully navigate different platforms and mediums in order to drive success, however ‘success’ has been determined. Whether the business of writing matters or not, an awareness of the main aspects to consider allows for the option to explore it.

As mentioned, I’ve summarised 5 key areas to business of writing. And not all of them need to be utilised. Maybe you only have the capacity to understand the means to a viable end. For me, writing while simultaneously advancing an enterprise sales career that provided solid financial coverage, understanding publishing was important. For you it may be content creation and monetisation or how to read contracts and rights management.