Earning money as a writer: selling of a characater

Some of the better known Star Trek tie-in novel authors have done this, auctioning off a bit role in their next book. Of course, the money they earned for it went to SFWA.

One of my co-writers and I did that.

We auctioned the chance to have characters in our next book to be named after the high bidders.

Five people won and we raised a nice chunk of change for a major charity, not our own poor selves.

Earning enough money to live on while writing is why one keeps that pesky day job.

Believe me, I thought of doing such an auction to get some much needed gelt, but it left a bad taste in my mind.

By the time I'd finished the webpage it was to go on I imagined how my friends might react, factoring in just how little traffic actually comes to my website in a month. If you're a best selling writer you probably don't need the money, and if you're not, then you won't raise enough money to cover expenses.

The whole scheme would have been a terrible embarrassment. It's wonderful that readers shell out their hard earned money to just buy my books. I'm grateful. How could I ask them to send me more of their own hard-earned cash just because I use my WIP as an excuse not to get a job?

Once I deleted the page I felt better and the gods eventually favored me with a day job that I actually like.

I still auction stuff, but it ALWAYS goes to a charity.

Sophie Kinsella did something like this on her website--it was just a raffle, no money involved, and the winner gets a boutique named after them in the next Shopaholic book.

Ugh. After reading that I'd NEVER want to be in any book he wrote. He seems to have a fine contempt for his readers, but I'll give the benefit of a doubt that the reporter might have slanted things in that direction.

On the other hand, maybe he IS a lazy git.

"Financial security???" What a bloody larf!

Didn't King do this in his book "The Cell?" He also said that if you are or wanted a female character then she would die.

I'd make a pretty bloody boring character. I think I'll just hang onto my money for now.

I do think it would be interesting to construct a novel based solely around volunteers who sit down and talk with you and tell you about their lives.

Then, you as a writer can weave them into some kind of thriller...

Of course, that's also called "having friends and family", and we usually change names to keep our friends and family.

Didn't King do this in his book "The Cell?" He also said that if you are or wanted a female character then she would die.

Click to expand...

Yes. He and a bunch of other well-known writers did this for charity. I think it's the First Amendment Project (or something similarly named) and they are doing it again with a number of authors...

And because it's for an astonishingly good cause, you should go do it.

I wanted to; you could be character in Cell, or a cruise ship in Neil Gaiman's Anansi Boys (the Squeak Attack) or something in a Lemony Snicket book.

Did I mention it's for a good cause? The best cause, right up there with the CBLDF? G'wan. Do it.