The obvious business model of a successful writer of the early to mid-21st century
Today, I would like to share with you some reflections that I was encouraged to read here by this text. In it, the well-known network writer L. Kaganov persuades his readers not to download his next work, but to purchase a book in paper form. The text is permeated with despondency and leaves a painful feeling of doom. News agencies suffering from SEO and copy-and- pasteing are voting in his tone. It seems that everything is bad, everything will die, the generation of content will stop, and the Earth in the near future will fly on the celestial axis.
Before we groan, let's see why and why people read the same Kaganov or Kommersant magazine. Few of them at the same time pursues any utilitarian goals. Most reads only for the purpose of entertainment, to kill time. And this means that the same Kaganov as a writer has to compete not only with fellow writers, but also with the entire media entertainment industry. In fact, the amount of consumer attention is limited and there is a struggle for using more and more sophisticated technical means, and not only Hollywood and advertising agencies apply them, but also Kagan's colleagues in the workshop. In fact, we are witnessing a transition from artisanal hudlitproduktsii to more productive methods - large-block assembly of works (countless serials of the class “Vanya Spotter and the retaliation boot”) or conveyor production (modern detective, created by crowds of litnegres under the common brand for a small price). Where does the poor artisan go? Who said "in litnegra"? No, this path does not suit us. And let's look at the structure of modern production of goods? Is there a place for artisans? Of course there is!
Chinese factories produce tons of clothing of acceptable quality and at a fairly low price. But at the same time, there are quietly model houses and small studios, whose products are completely in demand. The global automakers produce millions of cars, but there are also luxury factories, where almost all operations are still done manually, but they are not going to go bankrupt at all. A bakery in a large city produces a wide range of products and recently strangled the last major competitor by dumping, but at the same time, there are mini-bakeries that successfully compete with them in a separate neighborhood. And there are many such examples.
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The modern writer has no choice but to join this segment. The segment has its own characteristics. Forget about millions of copies and worldwide fame. In this market, all niches are already occupied by bigger players. Not necessarily that they are better, but they know how to create a product and sell it to the consumer, they have the infrastructure, advertising, offices and a crowd of managers. There is a demand for their products. And on yours - not yet.
“Demand cannot be created. But you can create conditions that will cause demand. ”- so said John de Graffenried Atwood, a character in the famous O'Henry story cycle . His consumer must be found and educated. And then the consumer will pay back for it a hundredfold, including money.
Let's make a small digression. Why does a writer write? Is it just for the money? Not always. The objectives of writing a work may lie very far from commerce. Stories there are many cases where the author is not what did not receive a penny, but he was exiled , imprisoned or even burned at the stake. In this case, not all goals require publication of the work in large quantities. As an extreme case, you can consider works written solely for the sake of one person, for example, a girl, with the aim of obtaining a certain kind of favor from her. It seemed to me, or someone mentioned Lewis Carroll? Often, the target audience may be limited to visitors of a single site or forum, which gives the author an invaluable opportunity to use local folklore and slang expressions that are incomprehensible to those who are “not in the subject.” And the more “readers” will be attached to it, the more elite they will feel.
And here is another example - a book written for an “indefinite circle of people” in the genre of “alternative history”. For my taste, in places it is quite boring, but its value is not in form, but in content. In fact, this is a policy document setting out the position of modern Russian nationalists on all major issues. Obviously, making money on its publication is not the main goal of the authors, however, without any doubt, it will bring them and their associates considerable benefit.
All this is good, but where is the money, you ask? Money can also be extracted, for example, as Yana Frank does. She wrote a book and sells it, sending to grateful readers. And still complains about the lack of copies. Moreover, outside of her LJ book is almost unknown, at least I have not been mentioned about it. In addition, additional income can be derived from organizing meetings with fans, selling souvenirs, etc. I am sure that Yana's readers, though they are few, will buy the next book and all the rest. And buy yourself and give friends. After all, a sense of belonging is very expensive. What is not a successful business model?
Before we groan, let's see why and why people read the same Kaganov or Kommersant magazine. Few of them at the same time pursues any utilitarian goals. Most reads only for the purpose of entertainment, to kill time. And this means that the same Kaganov as a writer has to compete not only with fellow writers, but also with the entire media entertainment industry. In fact, the amount of consumer attention is limited and there is a struggle for using more and more sophisticated technical means, and not only Hollywood and advertising agencies apply them, but also Kagan's colleagues in the workshop. In fact, we are witnessing a transition from artisanal hudlitproduktsii to more productive methods - large-block assembly of works (countless serials of the class “Vanya Spotter and the retaliation boot”) or conveyor production (modern detective, created by crowds of litnegres under the common brand for a small price). Where does the poor artisan go? Who said "in litnegra"? No, this path does not suit us. And let's look at the structure of modern production of goods? Is there a place for artisans? Of course there is!
Chinese factories produce tons of clothing of acceptable quality and at a fairly low price. But at the same time, there are quietly model houses and small studios, whose products are completely in demand. The global automakers produce millions of cars, but there are also luxury factories, where almost all operations are still done manually, but they are not going to go bankrupt at all. A bakery in a large city produces a wide range of products and recently strangled the last major competitor by dumping, but at the same time, there are mini-bakeries that successfully compete with them in a separate neighborhood. And there are many such examples.
')
The modern writer has no choice but to join this segment. The segment has its own characteristics. Forget about millions of copies and worldwide fame. In this market, all niches are already occupied by bigger players. Not necessarily that they are better, but they know how to create a product and sell it to the consumer, they have the infrastructure, advertising, offices and a crowd of managers. There is a demand for their products. And on yours - not yet.
“Demand cannot be created. But you can create conditions that will cause demand. ”- so said John de Graffenried Atwood, a character in the famous O'Henry story cycle . His consumer must be found and educated. And then the consumer will pay back for it a hundredfold, including money.
Let's make a small digression. Why does a writer write? Is it just for the money? Not always. The objectives of writing a work may lie very far from commerce. Stories there are many cases where the author is not what did not receive a penny, but he was exiled , imprisoned or even burned at the stake. In this case, not all goals require publication of the work in large quantities. As an extreme case, you can consider works written solely for the sake of one person, for example, a girl, with the aim of obtaining a certain kind of favor from her. It seemed to me, or someone mentioned Lewis Carroll? Often, the target audience may be limited to visitors of a single site or forum, which gives the author an invaluable opportunity to use local folklore and slang expressions that are incomprehensible to those who are “not in the subject.” And the more “readers” will be attached to it, the more elite they will feel.
And here is another example - a book written for an “indefinite circle of people” in the genre of “alternative history”. For my taste, in places it is quite boring, but its value is not in form, but in content. In fact, this is a policy document setting out the position of modern Russian nationalists on all major issues. Obviously, making money on its publication is not the main goal of the authors, however, without any doubt, it will bring them and their associates considerable benefit.
All this is good, but where is the money, you ask? Money can also be extracted, for example, as Yana Frank does. She wrote a book and sells it, sending to grateful readers. And still complains about the lack of copies. Moreover, outside of her LJ book is almost unknown, at least I have not been mentioned about it. In addition, additional income can be derived from organizing meetings with fans, selling souvenirs, etc. I am sure that Yana's readers, though they are few, will buy the next book and all the rest. And buy yourself and give friends. After all, a sense of belonging is very expensive. What is not a successful business model?
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/89182/
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