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Week 26: Balancing the art and the business

One of the most difficult questions to answer directly or succinctly: How does one balance the art and the business of writing?

The short and unsatisfying answer is that everyone is different. What is balanced for one person is imbalanced for another. And, frankly, I’m not sure balance is the appropriate goal. In both editions of my book, I discuss how strategic writers will consider three key factors: (1) Does this writing work satisfy my creative goals or mission? (2) Does this work earn me money? (3) Does this work bring me important visibility or new readers?

Most writing you undertake is not going to satisfy all three factors, but know which ones you are satisfying, and consider what sacrifices and compromises you’re making over time, and how that affects the way you feel about your work and identity as a writer. Creativity can flourish and great work can still emerge when you face market restrictions or financial difficulties (or vice versa). Consider:

• Louisa May Alcott wrote Little Women because her publisher asked her to write a girl’s story because he thought it would sell. She thought this was a stupid idea, but wrote the story anyway because she needed the money.
• Jorge Luis Borges came from wealth, but when hard times struck his family, he had to take a day job. This was when he wrote some of his most famous and successful stories, partly inspired by his work as a municipal librarian.
• George Eliot received a record-breaking advance for Romola and left her long-standing publisher in order to secure that big advance. But that’s not the work she is most remembered and celebrated for.

I advocate not for balance, but self-awareness. What choices you are making and why? Then pay attention to the results.

I find that early-career writers are in danger of losing their creative convictions and paying too much attention to the careless words of agents or publishers. To be sure, agents and publishers can tell you a lot about the market, and offer ideas worth your time (see Little Women), but let that inform rather than dictate your next steps. Publishing professionals are not all-knowing, and you yourself must have respect for the work you’re producing.

This is why I think writers risk failing themselves when they take directives from agents and publishers to do things they don’t understand or don’t believe in. It can result in empty action. By all means, play the game and do what you need to do to achieve your goals—I certainly do—but I know I’ve crossed a line when I don’t respect my readers or myself while doing it.

Exercise

Draw a triangle on a piece of paper and label the three points: creative fulfillment, financial reward, and visibility/readership (or platform building). For each creative project you’re currently engaged in or considering, place a dot somewhere in the triangle based on how it matches these goals. Projects that equally satisfy all three would be in the center. Label each dot with the project name. If someone has significantly influenced the creation or direction of the project, mark it with an asterisk. Then look at the big picture. Is everything clustered in one area? Is there a point on the triangle you’re avoiding or focusing on? Consider doing this for past work as well. Which position on the triangle has produced the work you most enjoy, respect, or are known for? Where do the asterisks fall, if any?

Explore further

• ​Make Art Make Money by Elizabeth Hyde Stevens
• ​How to Reform Capitalism by The School of Life
• Jessica Abel: The Autonomous Creative podcast (no longer active, but evergreen episodes)

​ The Business of Being a Writer, Second Edition (releasing April 18, 2025) ​Pre-order a signed copy from Joseph-Beth​ Pre-order at Bookshop​ Pre-order at Amazon​ Pre-order at Barnes & Noble​

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