A nurse/writer "friend" on Facebook joked that she wondered how much crime scene cleaners made. Which reminded me of the movie Sunshine Cleaning because that's what Amy Adams and Emily Blunt do in the movie: start a crime scene cleaning business. They figure it'll be pretty easy money. I mean, all you have to do is go and clean up blood and brains and stuff, right?
Well, during their first attempt of a job they find out it's a lot more complicated than that. You have to have licenses for handling chemicals and you can't just throw dirty stuff in the nearest dumpster or anything. And a lot of experienced pros get pissed off that these know-nothing amateurs are horning in on their business.
It reminded me of writing. There are plenty of people now who get into writing and self-publishing books thinking it will be easy and lucrative. With tools like KDP, Draft2Digital, or Smashwords it is pretty easy to throw a book together but it usually isn't all that lucrative. To actually make a good book, though, takes some work and know-how.
And it's true that more experienced authors, especially those who are traditionally published but not big names, don't take kindly to these amateurs horning in on their turf. Even those of us who have been around longer can get pissed off about it.
Of course all of us were rookies at one time or another. That's something important to remember. We should be patient and try to guide the newbies instead of regarding them with scorn because they're the competition. There are enough readers for all of us, right? Right? I don't know.
2 comments:
I agree, but just like anyone starting a new business, they should learn everything they can first. Not everyone does. They just jump in because you don't have to put much money into it.
I would think there’s room enough for everyone but I understand it’s a cutthroat business
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