Then You’re An Essayist
Short post today because I’ve been working on some other stuff.
None of us are alone in writing far too many words on the internet. What’s the difference between a social media writer and a journalist? Probably not a lot.
So it’s the same for a blogger and an essayist.
It’s simply the medium that’s different, and yet one conveys an entirely different set of social status and economic implications.
As of today, there are about 1,200 articles on this site. Because I had to roll back the site, I lost about 300 articles at least. I think it’s more. A lot of them – like this post – are pretty much vapour and don’t really add to the discussion whatsoever. However, even if that accounts for 50% of the total of this site, (it doesn’t) I’m left with 600 articles that are 1000+ words long, mostly contained within a particular set of topics, and can be put into paperback and digital form with slightly more than minimum effort.
That’s 600,000 words. Ten books. Probably more.
In IP terms, it’s an interesting case study; at the moment, I could maybe argue that each blog post I write has generated $x in income based on the old affiliate marketing and SEO network effect figures, but realistically, I write this for free.
Stick it in a book, and even if the book sells ten copies during its lifetime, then suddenly each article in the book, for legal asset accounting requirements, has a worth of (books sold/number of essays in the book.) So with ten copies sold, assuming a retail value of $9.99 per digital copy, (let’s keep this easy,) and 70% profit, $70 over 60 means I’m $1 richer every time I post.
Obviously, a stupid example, but possibly a quick thought experiment for you guys and a hint of what’s to come.