Hi all, as. some of you will know, over the past couple of years I’ve had much enjoyment in two hobbyist fields:
1) Writing songs and putting them on SC and on here.
2) Writing my second novel, ‘Gavin & The Bodysnatchers’ self published on Amazon and Kindle.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gavin-Bodysnatchers-Comedy-Michael-Duffy-ebook/dp/B09GYG926D If you are interested, here are the pros and cons of each:
Neither activity is done for commercial gain, but it’s nice to receive some positive feedback all the same.
Writing songs and putting them on here, or elsewhere, gives you far more instant feedback. It encourages you, very much so, so helps you to continue trying to continue on the improvement path.
Writing a novel takes months or years, depending on your availability for getting your head down. My latest one, ‘Gavin & The Bodysnatchers’ took six months, but my personal circumstances meant I was able to focus on this before most other things.
When I write a song, it is normally done having a dabble every now and then over the course of a week, but no more than two.
I’ve actually made a small profit on my novel. But that could be spent on a nice meal out with the wife.
I’ve never made a penny on any of my songs since I started putting them on forums, five years ago.
When someone writes an indifferent review of a song I have done, I’m not that fussed as I didn’t invest that much time in it.
When someone is indifferent about my book, I am mortally wounded 😀 as I spent so much time on it!
Reviews really make a difference to book sales. I don’t have that many on Goodreads or on Amazon, but as they increase, it seems to make a little difference to sales. More reviews for songs don’t, but still make me very happy, so thank you if you take the time.
I’ve concluded that neither activity is going to make me rich, but seeing as I am lucky enough to be able continue mucking about with both creative writing and songwriting, then I should do both. Each of these things make me personally happy, so what could be better than that?
All the best!
