Wednesday, February 9, 2011

If I Were a Rich Girl

Last week’s rejection got me thinking.  What would I do if I were filthy rich?  Would I still write?  (you know- in between traveling and eating out a different restaurant for breakfast, lunch and dinner? )

Would I still pursue an agent?

I suppose being richer than God (as my father would say) could facilitate the process.  I could fly to every writer’s conference all over the world until they finally get sick of me and offer to take on my book.   Or bribe someone.

But would I do it?   Or would I hold out for true love?

And what about self publishing?  If I had the money to publish my own books, market them, buy publicity and pay to have them put on the shelves at all the leading stores would I do it? 
And the answers I came up with were pretty surprising:

YES, of course I would do it!

*snort*  

 Just joking

But really, I would write no matter what.  It’s become a part of who I am. 
And truth be told it brings me joy when others read my work and fall in love with the characters I’ve spent so much time with.  It’s like every person who reads them makes them more real. 

Do I think my books are worthier than any others that are already in print or about to be published? 

Hell no!

But I do think they ARE worthy.  They have worth and they’re entertaining in their own right.

If I believe in them-  I have to believe they’re worthy enough to earn their own agent, own publisher, own readers without money being thrown around. 

Even if I end up old and grey before this happens. (which is looking like a serious possibility at this point)

It’s like the situation in day-time soap operas where the rich corporate boss pays people off to accept his kid in their elite school/club/law firm.

The kid is always so pissed when he finds out.

Because it’s like their father didn’t believe they had what it took to begin with.  And even though my books won’t slam the door in some dramatic exit if they discover their editor received a private donation, it’s still a disservice I don’t think I’d be willing to do them.

What about you?  What would you do if you were a rich girl or a ‘reech mahn?’ (Is it just me, or did that come out sounding Jamaican?  I was going for fiddler on the roof Russian.  Oh well.  Off to study how to write dialects…)




40 comments:

Candyland said...

I would have MORE time to write because we' have the money for my darling child to GO DO STUFFFFFF.
(quiet time!)

Stina said...

I'm with you. I want my books on the store bookshelf because they EARNED their place there. :D

DL Hammons said...

I'm like Candy...I'd quit my day job so I could write more and stop doing everything half-assed! :)

Will Burke said...

Oh yeah, I'd quit the job and use the time to write, but I may go the self-pub/promo route, after hiring an editor to help polish. Besides, with money, we'd travel a lot, and with that much time on planes, I'd be reading and writing a LOT!

Aleeza said...

i totes agree with you here. as mind-wreckingly arduous the whole publishing journey is, at the end of the day, you DO getting better and better as you progress. so while the traditional way may bring many more tears and despair and all-things-angsty, at least by the time i get published ill be much better than i wouldve been if id self-published.
just my opinon :)

Aleeza said...

i meant...you DO get better and better.
whoops. see, id be completely lost without a good editor :D hehe.

Colene Murphy said...

That would be awesome! So much time to write, if I was rich! Ah...money dreaming...I'd still want to get published, not really about the money for me.

Unknown said...

Think of all the free time I'd have to write!!! It would give me the range to travel to different places, meet different people. Experience life in a different way to gain more fun with writing. The writing never disappears. I think you're born with it and when you unleash it, it runs through your blood.

Tatum Flynn said...

I'd hire minions.

Angela said...

Fictional characters don't get their feelings hurt in real life. Thank goodness. Otherwise my characters would have staged a rebellion by now, tied me up in bed and lit my sheets on fire.

Tracy said...

Well, dammit, it didn't sound Jamaican until you said Jamaican. Now I can't hear the fiddler. :(

I've often wondered that myself. I think if I were richer than God, I'd probably lose a couple of writing years to traveling around the world and doing all the things I can't afford to do now. But eventually, when all of that wore off, I'd have to find something to do to make myself feel useful.

Which would lead back to the writing. There would just be a lengthier hiatus in between finishing one MS and starting another me thinks.

Jamie Gibbs said...

Hehe, Fiddler on the Roof, Jamaican style. That sounds pretty entertaining :)
Were I rich, I'd likely start my own publishing company. That way I'd be surrounded by fantasy fiction and I'd get so much know how from the industry it would help my writing, which I'd still do as a passion and a hobby.

Old Kitty said...

I'd like to think I'd be still be the writer I am now even if I was rich!!! :-) But I'd have a hell of a lot of proof readers lined up though! LOL!! Well you gotta have some fun with your money!!

I now have that song and dance in my head - you know " if I were a rich man, la-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-daaaaaaaaaaa!!" Shimmying away..! Take care
x

Matthew MacNish said...

If I were super rich I would just write first drafts, publish them, and everyone would still read them. Kind of like Sookie's book.

Angelina Rain said...

Oh how I wish I were a rich girl. I would have more time to write, as cleaning the house, grocery shopping, and other inconveniences would be the responsibility of the housekeeper. Now, I can’t afford that housekeeper.

mshatch said...

Ah, the dream of being independently wealthy and having nothing to do but write, travel to places that might be like the place you're writing about, or maybe that writing conference they have in Hawaii ...yeah, I could do that.

Melissa said...

I'd still write. It's become so much a part of me that I don't think I could ever really stop. Even if I actually wanted to. Money would give me the freedom to pursue my dream with everything I had.

Elena Solodow said...

Jamaican, though I don't think there's any way around it.

I'd still write. I would just have more time to do it. And more chocolate.

Lindsay said...

I'd still write if I were rich. Although, if I were rich, I'd have more time to write, but I want my book/s to deserve to be published. I want that agent/book deal etc., because I worked my butt off on my writing. :)

Gina Ciocca said...

I was kind of hoping to get rich FROM writing, but I know how rare that is.

If I had unlimited funds it would mean I could travel (thereby providing lots of inspiration) and not work (thereby providing lots of free time). So what better to do with inspiration and free time than write?!

Shannon O'Donnell said...

I would be able to spend more time on my writing because I wouldn't have to write AND work full time. And THAT would be awesome! :-)

Stephanie said...

Even if I was a rich girl, I know I would still need to earn any success I found. I've always been that way. There's satisfaction in doing things myself.

The difference...I'd be writing my books from a Caribbean island. :)

Katie Anderson said...

I read an article a few months ago about a man in his seventies who got published for the first time. He'd been writing his whole life. I found this story reassuring and horrifying at the same time...

Let's hope we're still young and pretty when we take our author photos for the inner sleeve!

Jessica Bell said...

LOL, no I definitely couldn't pay for it. It wouldn't feel real! Plus, yes, that was kinda Jamaican! ;o)

Carolyn V said...

Yeah, I'd still write too. But I'd have more expensive chocolate to snack on while doing it. =)

Nicole L Rivera said...

Keep writing, but do so on exotic Islands, in cheery-wood forests, on large boats with all amenities included, you get the idea. Keep on trying to get a publishing deal and when I do higher the best marketers money can buy OR just start my own publishing company and do it myself and publish other peoples stuff I like as well. Then if all else fails, start my own reality show.
Keep on keeping on. You're fairy god-agent is out there somewhere.

Carolyn Abiad said...

I'd definitely write...from a different, inspiring location every six months. :D

Melissa Gill said...

I'd quit my day job in a second and have so much more time to write. But I'd never give up writing. I'd just donate all my proceeds to charity when I got published. I probably wouldn't self publish. I'd use my resources to become the kind of writer that an agent/publisher would want to publish. (Not that I'm not trying to do that now, but with more $ I'd be able to do it faster. I'd also be able to travel to places like Sumatra, Uganda, Svalbard, Antartica, etc. where I want to set future stories. But no I'd never give up writing.

Nicole Zoltack said...

I would write until I couldn't write anymore, meaning I died.

Susan Fields said...

Yes, that was Jamaican sounding, but I still read it as Fiddler on the Roof, so it had a good bit of that in there, too.

I would absolutely keep writing if I were filthy rich, I'd probably just do it from more exotic locations.

Erin Kane Spock said...

Okay, now I'm singing. Look what you did.
What would I do with unlimited resources? Travel for the sake of historical accuracy. Attend conferences.
And, I agree, I would rather my books be published based on their merit.
BTW, you have an award at:
http://courtlyromance.blogspot.com/2011/02/on-blogging-and-new-award.html

Tabitha Bird said...

I'd write. Yup. And also fly to every conference on the face of the earth until I finally meet someone who was my one true agent match... or something like that :)

Christopher said...

I'd probably develop a drug problem and pay an aspiring writer to follow me around and make a novel out of all the nonsense I spew. And then have him/her make a book out of it without giving him/her any credit.

India Drummond said...

Same here.. I'd keep writing, but I'd hire people to do the tedious things, to correct my errors, pick up my laundry, type my notes, etc.

Unknown said...

I stopped by to see if you had a new post and glad I did! Though I already commented I also noticed you held a clue :) Imagine my excitement!

Samantha Vérant said...

Nothing wrong with doing a little writing on my yacht. Care to join me?

Anonymous said...

Yeah, I woulnd't know what to do with all that money if I were ever RICH.

Would be nice to spend more time writing and less time working, though, LOL!

Kelly Polark said...

Absolutely! And I'd finally go to the LA SCBWI conference! And I'd buy a round of drinks!. :)
I wouldn't want to be too rich though. Seriously. I like my life.

Windy Aphayrath said...

I go through this every time I see something like ... oh I don't know, Snooki's book in an ad. would it mean as much if I didn't work hard and earn it? probably not. though I wouldn't snub my nose at being filthy stinkin' rich either ;)

Raquel Byrnes said...

Yeah...I would totally wait for a real agent to take me on as a client.

I would forever be second guessing myself and wondering if I can really write or not.
Edge of Your Seat Romance

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