That is technically correct -- the best kind of correct. Not the analogy I would've used (since you can definitely write with your clothes on), but an interesting point...? I don't know any porn stars who went on to becoming authors, but I've heard a few Hollywood celebrities who wrote books -- and I'm not sure there's a big difference. True. When I joined the current choir I'm at, I'd had several years' experience of performing in English and Latin ... but the first thing I was asked to perform was in German, which is utterly different (and more difficult). The year after? French (not so difficult) and Russian (much more so). But I worked hard at all these works and succeeded. It's just a matter of effort. As for myself, I've written eight (!) critiqued novels, and am currently writing my ninth. The more I look into publishing, though, the more discouraged I feel. Traditional publishing seems exactly the same as finding a job -- probably is, since it is a job -- but since I've spent the last 25-odd years trying to find employment (and finally succeeded in finding permanent full-time employment, yay!), I'm not sure I need a second job. Self-publishing, on the other hand, feels even more daunting. I've spent the last 30-odd years writing all kinds of stuff and "learning on the job", so I know how to write stories that work -- I hope! -- but self-publishing also requires marketing skills, which I know squat about. It also requires me to be on social media, create YouTube videos, etc. etc... so. The whole thing seems confusing and daunting, which I suppose is the point, as it keeps would-be authors (like me) out of the self-publishing arena, so people who are already self-published don't have to deal with the competition (which they have enough of already). Or maybe I'm getting paranoid. @ self At any rate, it's much easier to sit on my you-know-what and write the damn thing. At least no-one's competing with me on that front.
I know what you mean @Rath Darkblade. If someone took me to the beach, pointed at that thing that crawled out of the water and called it marketing, I'd probably believe them. I think there ought to be a "Marketing for author dummies" thread on this forum that can take luddites like us through the basics, like a tutorial. (until then I'm quietly reading through all of the threads in the marketing forum)
Publishing is a job, no matter how you do it. I opted to go with trade publishing (which, by the way, is no more traditional than self-publishing or vanity publishing; "traditional publishing" is an irritiating misnomer). Professional people deal with advertising, promotion, and accompanying arrangments while I turn up at events and keep up with a website and social media. I listen to writers' club members talk about their adventures in self-publishing and marvel at the learning curves they face and the never ending effort they put out for each book. Writing, finding a decent editor, rewriting, physically entering the manuscript into an appropriate printing program, finding cover art, arranging for print/ebook/audio, and all that before they even think about publicity.Talk about a job. Self-publishers never cease to amaze me. Sa-lute!
Short of getting a bachelor's degree in English or creative writing, which is completely unnecessary, your highest cost will be purchasing fiction books to read. I bet you'll be reading books regardless if your pursue writing or not, so that's a moot cost. If you're spending thousands of dollars per year improving you're writing, you're improving wrong. The financial costs of gaining literary skill are insignificant. The financial costs of self publishing, compared to every other demand in life, are also insignificant. As far as time is concerned, there isn't a career, hobby, relationship, or home improvement/maintenance project that precludes a lifetime of writing. Being a parent or having to care for an ailing loved one will certainly delay by a factor of years, but not kill any hobbies you pursue. I'll be generous and assume your life is already so optimized that your leisure time and remaining money is spent on those four productive categories and not smoking or drinking or $20 hamburgers. For most people that's not the case. Typically the leisure time of Netflix, video games, Youtube videos (they're about writing, though, so it's not a waste of time, right? Right?), Social media (like this), too many naps... etc. are all competing for their writing time, and winning. Overall, It's great that you are aware of opportunity cost, but writing's investment is so insubstantial it will only show up on your hobby graph. In that case, yeah maybe you would rather spend the time learning how to play guitar, or draw, or paint or whatever. The hint on what hobby you prefer is the one you find yourself putting hard hours into without necessarily getting much out of it. Some people prefer having no creative pastime, and what they ultimately do is evidence of that.
