A Little Fish in a Big Pond

Do you ever go out to a local bar, club, or street dance and notice that the band playing is really good.  I mean so good that they grab your attention from talking with your friends and hold your attention while you think to yourself, wow, they are really good. Sure, we’ve all heard the bands that match the environment that they are playing in, good, but relegated to background music while you visit. There are also the bands that make you cringe and try to tune out because they are so awful. The largest group is in the middle, of course, the bands that have the music down well enough that a non-musician wouldn’t notice a missed note or two and a lead singer that does a decent job.

It’s happened many times where I’ve really noticed how good a band is in a small time venue and wondered what separates them from the top bands, the ones that everyone knows their name and they sell over a million copies of their songs. Because some of those small time bands are really, really good. What pushes the big bands out in front? What makes them succeed in the big league when equally (or sometimes better) bands never go past the local venues?

Yes, there’s commitment, dedication, and sacrifice but all those things don’t guarantee a spot in the limelight. Sometimes it feels like a lottery where some will make it and some won’t and it has little to do with talent.

It’s the same thing with writing. The need to write is a need to write. No writer has ever decided to write a book to make a million dollars the first year of publication. It simply does not work that way. I’m sure there are a few, the same ones who play the lottery every week in hopes of winning. Anyone who thinks publishing a book is a guarantee of a large cash flow hasn’t published a book.  The average income for published authors is $10k/year. That’s average. To get an average you take Stephen King and Rawlings and average their millions of income with those at the other end, those who don’t come close to even thousands of dollars per year.

Sometimes it feels like luck (or lack of luck) to even be seen in the world of millions of books published and available online. Being invisible is the biggest curse. Even authors with one or two successful books can fade into invisibility with subsequent books. It’s a tough world out there for authors. We’re all little fish in a big pond with other little fish and a few big fish.

We do it because it’s a need. Much like swimming for fish. We write because the need is stronger than the rejection and invisibility. Most authors would settle for enough book sales to pay the mortgage and electric bill so they can keep writing. Commitment, dedication, and sacrifice are all part of any artist’s life, whether that artist plays music, writes, or paints.