Extracurricular Activity
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WRITING:
I subscribe to a fair number of newsletters, mailing lists etc and one of the things this has revealed, alongside various courses/events I’ve been to, is that a common way for authors to supplement the income from their books1 is to run writing workshops for other authors and would-be authors.
There are, at any given time, any number of courses you can subscribe to. Courses on fiction, non-fiction, screen-writing, poetry… Courses on starting your novel; courses on finishing your novel; courses on world-building; courses on characterisation; courses on improving your revenue streams2; courses on advertising, courses on marketing; courses on running courses. Basically, if you can identify an aspect of writing or the business surrounding writing, you can both take a course on it and run a course on it.
I don’t knock it. I’ve been on courses. I’ve been on useful courses that have given me really good tips and pointers. I have even taken a course on running my own writing workshop, having done another course that recommended this as a way of diversifying my income from writing3. But, if I’m honest, the whole process still mystifies me.
For starters, there’s the whole circular, self-feeding nature of this. The writing community has a lot of this. Don’t get me wrong, I love it when a fellow writer follows me on Threads or whatever, but to be honest, I’d be happier if my socials were reaching readers rather than writers4. Back when I was active on Twitter, I built up quite a large (for me) following of authors, and followed them back, but I came to realise that most of the time when I was tweeting about my books, I was tweeting about them to an audience largely consisting of people too busy tweeting about their own books to look into mine. And vice versa, I’d be the first to admit. It felt super-supportive to see people in the same boat, going through the same things, but it didn’t actually help in any practical sense.
And taking courses to learn how to run courses to give to other writers who ultimately end up running their own courses, while simultaneously still taking courses, using the money we made from running a course to do those courses? I wonder sometimes if there’s in fact this relatively small sum of money that the writing community spends all its time and energy passing around to each other. We’re not so much making money as all having a go with it.5
The bigger mystery, though, is how anyone has the chutzpah to think about running a course in the first place. I’ve written a couple of decent books - I know this because my publishers are wise people with good taste, and they have published them. However, the idea that this makes me in any way qualified to stand up in a room full of people and tell them, not only how I did it, but how they could do it too? It’s too ridiculous for words.
“Well, I, um, just sat down at a keyboard and started banging away at ideas and then one day, one of them wasn’t terrible, so I finished it, gave it to someone and they helped me make it better until it was good enough to sell. That’ll be eighty pounds, please.”
The bottom line is, you’re not going to see me offering two hours of my wisdom for £45 a head anytime soon. Which leaves me with book sales being my non-diversified solitary revenue stream. Wanna buy a book, mister?
I have enjoyed:
Anne Desmet - Tucked away, slightly off the beaten track not all that far from Liverpool Street, lies the Guildhall, the home of the City of London Corporation and one of my favourite art galleries in London. It’s a relatively small gallery compared to the big hitters, but it has an exquisite collection laid out in a stunning space, and has the advantage of not being remotely crowded. As well as their fine permanent collection, they currently have an exhibition of Anne Desmet works. Desmet is only the third wood-engraver to ever be elected to the Royal Academy, and is also an exceptional printmaker. Kaleidoscope is running until 12 January 2025 and I can’t recommend it highly enough.
I would kill to have one of these as a cover to one of my books one day. Fresh Meat - We’ve been rewatching this of late and have just started season four. I’ve been blown away by how, seemingly effortlessly, good it is. Six magnificent leads at the top of their game, a veritable who’s who of cameo appearances - from Nick Mohammed to Susan Calman - and scripts that never dip in quality, capturing the excruciating nuances of that first flush of post-adolescent independence that University offers. Characters that are a perfect blend of vulnerable, likable and yet truly awful, with no sense of self-awareness. It’s just beautifully made.
How Kimberley Nixon isn’t a household name after this, I don’t know. Final Cut - There are those purists who will tell you that this French remake of the 2017 Japanese movie One Cut of the Dead is an irrelevance, and adds nothing to the original. While it is true that it sticks very, almost reverentially, close to its source material, I remain a big fan of both films. Not least of all because the French remake does acknowledge its source material in an intelligent, funny way. Essentially a low-budget zombie movie about a film crew making a low-budget zombie movie experiencing a real zombie outbreak. I’m telling you nothing more, but they are both glorious experiences.
I know rugby can be violent, but this lineout is insane… Dark Chocolate Guylian - I’m not a huge fan of the inexplicably seashell-themed chocolates, but the dark chocolate version gets two thumbs up here. If they’re looking for a spokesperson…
Because I’m worth it…
Greyskin (Deixis Press) and Playtime’s Over (Propolis) are both available direct from their respective publishers, as well as from all the usual places, online and off. You can also support my work by buying Ray Adams’ self-published books, or by simply buying me a coffee.
You can also pay for this free newsletter, if paying for free stuff is your jam.
Finally, I review books on my website, most of which are available through my affiliate book shop on uk.bookshop.org - it’s a great alternative to certain online monopolies, and supports independent bookshops. Affiliates also get a % of books sold through them, so go have a look.
“Income from their books” - lolz.
I know this one - it’s “run your own courses”.
Told you.
Yes, most writers are both, but you know what I mean.
All the while skimming a small percentage off the top to go to the people who ultimately end up being the only ones actually profiting from any of this. Grr, capitalism.
I know what you mean. We ran a writing group and actually thought it was a bit rich really even charging for it. Made some good friends though…!!!