Sucks being a starving poet
By Lena Kovadlo
@lovebuglena (52174)
Staten Island, New York
July 1, 2019 1:47pm CST
I have published 11 books to-date. I have one novel and one poetic tale but the rest are either poetry or lyric ones. Some have some prose mixed in.
Often, I log into Lulu, where I publish all my books, to see if there are any new sales. Sometimes, I may log in every day. I don't know why I subject myself to this because when I see no new sales it bums me out.
I logged in today expecting no new sales and I ended up seeing one. That kinda made my day. But I think the sale happened because I discounted my books by 50%.
It sucks being a poet author though because people don't really buy poetry books. They'd rather spend that money on other things. This makes me a starving poet. So, I can't rely on poetry sales to support myself. And that's a bummer...
4 people like this
4 responses
@jnrdutton (3452)
• United States
2 Jul 19
I can totally relate, writing in general (as well as my art) has never earned me a living.
It would be fantastic if passion paid the bills.
@lovebuglena (52174)
• Staten Island, New York
2 Jul 19
Yes, it would. Sucks that it can't. Well, there are those that make good money by writing and publishing books but the number of those is probably small.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (52174)
• Staten Island, New York
2 Jul 19
@jnrdutton There is this teenager Caroline Kaufman who is known as the Instagram poet sensation or something like that. Her poetry book was published by Harper Collins, which is a traditional publisher. And her book was even translated into Italian.
1 person likes this
@jnrdutton (3452)
• United States
2 Jul 19
@lovebuglena The uber-famous writers like Stephen King do, but you're right about the number of those types of writers being small. It's like an exclusive club, and getting in is a herculean feat.
@LindaOHio (222534)
• United States
1 Jul 19
Yes, it is a bummer. And it's almost impossible to get books published through the normal routes.
@lovebuglena (52174)
• Staten Island, New York
2 Jul 19
It is very hard. That is why I don't even bother trying to do that. I prefer to publish myself.
1 person likes this
