![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Why I give it away free
Apr. 24th, 2010 10:54 amJim Kelly, writing in Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine (May and June 2010 issues), has been exploring the notion of the growing motion towards giving stuff away free—something I've been doing for years with pretty much all of my writing. His two articles motivated me to re-examine my own motives.
There are many reasons for this. For example, my book Effective Onscreen Editing is emphatically not free; I sell it. To some extent, the credibility and reputation I've achieved within the technical communication community (particularly among editors) through my published articles and inability to say no when someone asks for advice are the selling points for that book. But the book stands on its own merits, and it's selling well enough that I have to figure people find it useful for its own sake.
Undoubtedly, though, some people buy it because they like me and support what I've been doing. That's cool too.
In terms of fiction, I confess that I've largely given up on the zero-sum game that is modern publishing. A magazine such as Asimov's has a fixed amount of room, typically enough for a half-dozen or so stories. Surely there are at least six established, really good writers who generate at least one story per month? That doesn't leave room for merely good writers like me. Since I'd rather be read than published, I took the path of least resistance and chose self-publishing. The primary goal is to be read, and to enter into dialogues with my readers as a result. Can't do that with the professional markets, alas.
Probably the biggest reason why I give away so much of my material, and particularly my fiction writing, is that I enjoy the journey (the task of writing and revising) as much as the destination (being published). If I can't achieve the latter, then I'll content myself with the former.
There are many reasons for this. For example, my book Effective Onscreen Editing is emphatically not free; I sell it. To some extent, the credibility and reputation I've achieved within the technical communication community (particularly among editors) through my published articles and inability to say no when someone asks for advice are the selling points for that book. But the book stands on its own merits, and it's selling well enough that I have to figure people find it useful for its own sake.
Undoubtedly, though, some people buy it because they like me and support what I've been doing. That's cool too.
In terms of fiction, I confess that I've largely given up on the zero-sum game that is modern publishing. A magazine such as Asimov's has a fixed amount of room, typically enough for a half-dozen or so stories. Surely there are at least six established, really good writers who generate at least one story per month? That doesn't leave room for merely good writers like me. Since I'd rather be read than published, I took the path of least resistance and chose self-publishing. The primary goal is to be read, and to enter into dialogues with my readers as a result. Can't do that with the professional markets, alas.
Probably the biggest reason why I give away so much of my material, and particularly my fiction writing, is that I enjoy the journey (the task of writing and revising) as much as the destination (being published). If I can't achieve the latter, then I'll content myself with the former.