tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2791727629034519613.post1227243112846938620..comments2018-01-04T06:13:14.775-08:00Comments on Small Press Dances with Elephants: Another small restaurant opened—another one closedStanislav Kasl Fritzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16260321391511260419noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2791727629034519613.post-20101025570799790342012-11-02T12:21:28.467-07:002012-11-02T12:21:28.467-07:00Hey Jeb!
I think you nailed it on the head. Bril...Hey Jeb! <br /><br />I think you nailed it on the head. Brilliant writers are rarely, brilliant business people. It is what is required in today's economy if you want to control it yourself. One of the thoughts I was trying to project was that many of us (as writers) succumb to the temptation of the low barrier to entry (restaurant or publishing) and then realize that it is a business (thus they close down). <br /><br />I listened to a public radio interview with a restauranteur (Tom Douglas) who runs 10-11 restaurants and catering businesses. He uses only from scratch ingredients, he pays for health care (not sure if it is all his employees) and similar. He says up front that he loves it when he finds a better chef than he is. He is a business man, but his business is really good food, from scratch, and treating the employees right. Still, a business. He hardly does all the cooking, or even menu creation.<br /><br />I don't know if one can say the quality of the offering is suffering. The AVERAGE quality of the offering might be. There is more being offered and in a down economy with the current low barriers to entry (just as in the restaurant business) you will see even more being offered and a lot more failures. Many of those failures will be good quality, but not the right thing in the right place, or not finding the right audience.<br /><br />So, there is a bit of the "find your audience" (or customer).<br /><br />You will have to dig deep.<br /><br />Most writers do want to be heard. Some are willing to be heard by a smaller audience. Here is the key. If you are going to be successful and high quality (just like a restaurant) you need to accept that volume is probably out of the question. Not impossible, but don't assume the mortgage on it. Then, just like a good restauranteur, you need to find the audience. (Location, location, location). Then, stick with it.<br /><br />Moving from the home chef, to the quality smaller restaurant is BOTH business and CRAFT. The craft is consistency and moderate volume. If you want to create one random awesome meal, it may or may not get noticed (To Kill a Mockingbird was awesome, but she never wrote again). <br /><br />MFA's help a bit with the craft and show you what some really good chefs can do. You still need to decide if you are going to open the restaurant, or be the great chef in someone else's restaurant (big or small). Left or right brain, if you think of writing as a career, you need to decide which path you are willing to take.<br /><br />Shades of Grey is the new fast food. Like many fast food chains, it will explode, potentially do well for awhile, spawn immitators, and potentially disappear. Remember Boston Market (the restaurant chain)? <br /><br />Just being a great chef at home, the odds are lottery odds that someone discovers you on your own. So, yes, you have to get out there and either work for "fast food" place, open your own, work for a quality small place, work your way up to the big quality place, or get lucky.<br /><br />Man, I rambled a bit there!Stanislav Kasl Fritzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16260321391511260419noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2791727629034519613.post-60743911308568509522012-11-02T11:26:33.846-07:002012-11-02T11:26:33.846-07:00Authors. Restauranteurs.
Voice. Taste.
Supply....Authors. Restauranteurs. <br /><br />Voice. Taste. <br /><br />Supply. Demand.<br /><br />Audience. Niche. <br /><br />Genre. Specialty. <br /><br />Attracting new customers. Managing expectations of loyal customers. <br /><br />While the parallels are many, they're all basic ingredients for any business. The question yet to be answered for me is right brain vs. left brain. Can the brilliant writer or brilliant chef be expected to be a good businessman? Is that really what is required in today's economy? Is quality of the "offering" suffering as a result? <br /><br />"Shades of Grey" = "Outback Steakhouse"?<br /><br />How deep will we have to dig for the good stuff? Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18163161161628701784noreply@blogger.com