Learning to Pivot

Don't Put Your Eggs in One Basket

For years, I’ve advised writers to seek out various ways to get published and earn an income. Often not one and the same.

I’ve advised publishing with several companies if at all possible because you Just Never Know what might happen.

Back a decade or two ago, there were many big publishing houses. Writers could actually get good advances even before writing an entire book, and many writers enjoyed long careers with money coming in the door publishing with the same company for many books. The midlist writer actually had an income and could even live a life of just writing, depending on their lifestyle.

However, the big publishers began to collapse or absorb each other, and life for full-time writers has never been the same, except for the big names, of course.

In my own world, I wrote for Leisure Books, which collapsed after my fourth book. I went to Samhain Horror and published three books and then that house collapsed. And after those experiences, I’ve sort of not really known where to turn after that since it seems like so many publishers come and go these days. I’ve had some work with Great Lakes Horror Company and also tinker with a bit of self-publishing. I’ve had books published with other houses, and most importantly, I had other ways to earn an income.

Most fiction writers have to earn an income outside of writing, especially these days. Sure, some self-published authors make more money than a lot of traditionally published authors ever did, but being self-published requires skills and strategies that most writers don’t possess. I imagine most writers just want to write and don’t want to edit, design, market, and so on on top of writing. And self-publishing the correct way requires a lot of money to pay editors, cover artists, ads, bookstore placements, and so on.

So again, you need money to make money, just like in any entrepreneurial adventure.

In my own instance, I’m always doing other jobs and have a huge long list of jobs I’ve had over the decades. Waitressing was a main staple for about twenty years, but now I have a tremor in my hand and can’t waitress anymore. I was a freelance editor for around twenty years, but I don’t do it anymore as I charge real rates, which other editors undercut, and it interferes with my own writing, plus I’m not getting any younger to write novels.

In recent years, I have been teaching part-time at a college for a couple of years but haven’t taught the past couple of terms, and I believe it’s because of cutbacks. I did dog walking, but the pandemic destroyed that business, and I didn’t go back to it after the lockdowns. I read tarot cards at parties, but those gigs are super rare the past five years or so as, just as with many other once-skilled professions, everyone does it now, so it’s not special anymore. And people read tarot for free on all the social platforms although many have figured out how to make big bucks on some of the platforms, something I’ve never figured out. I’ve done background acting on and off for twenty years but never enough to make it into the union, so I get paid minimum wage, which isn’t much after agents’ fees and taxes. It’s long, long, exhausting hours and impedes my writing and other areas of my life, so I don’t do it very often.

Another income stream I landed on about a year and a half ago was selling my old clothes, books, toys, games, and knickknacks on Poshmark Canada. I’ve given thousands of books and clothes to charities over the years, but as times change, I decided to try my hand at online selling as it’s become easier over the years.

Poshmark seemed simple, more simple than eBay and some other platforms: take some pictures, put up a price, someone buys it, Poshmark sends you a shipping label and you take it to the post office. Simple. No measuring and weighing. No auctions. You can ship up to ten pounds all across Canada. The only drawback with Poshmark Canada is that its customer base is only in Canada.

I was getting the hang of it, getting a bit of traction, and even getting some bills paid. I watched tons of YouTube videos on tips and tricks for Poshmark, eBay, and Etsy; I haunt Reddit and other platforms and have learned a lot about pricing, selling strategies, and more.

And then the postal strike came.

We are now about a month into the postal strike.

I’ve pivoted again with doing a little bit of online work that I found, that doesn’t pay much, but it’s something to help the income flow during the strike. With that work, like many other little online gigs on those gig platforms, it can end at any time, and you may or may not get paid for work you’ve already done.

In reading Reddit posts about Poshmark Canada and the strike, I think a lot of resellers never really thought outside the box, what would they do if there was a postal strike or if Poshmark Canada ever went away. They are furious at lost income and blame Poshmark for not finding other means of sending the goods to customers.

I suspect a lot of these posters are young or don’t understand business.

Also, the world doesn’t owe you a living, honey. Even if you were making thousands a month (I sure wasn’t!), it’s the same deal for all of us.

I see posts where people are threatening to leave Poshmark Canada in droves because of the postal strike as if Poshmark Canada has any control over it at all.

One reason that you could ship with no fuss or muss on Poshmark Canada was that they have an exclusive contract with Canada Post for flat-rate shipping. Sellers on Poshmark Canada can only sell through Poshmark Canada and use the Canada Post exclusive shipping. You are not allowed to go off the platform or use any other shipping service, it violates Terms of Service.

I’m sure if Poshmark Canada tried to go to FedEx or somewhere else during the strike, that would screw up the contract. But the angry sellers on Reddit keep stamping their feet that Poshmark Canada has to DO something about getting goods to customers. Uh, no they don’t…

And now, because the strike has gone on so long, even the couriers are flooded and can’t take any more and are charging huge fees for shipping. Sellers on eBay and Etsy are upset about that new wrinkle.

The other day, it was on the news that countries such as the United States are pausing shipments to Canada for a while because mail and packages are piling up in warehouses with nowhere to go.

Sure you can cry about how your business is destroyed now, that the kids won’t get that special toy for Christmas, or you can try to pivot and do the best you can somehow, somewhere.

It’s a temporary situation.

It seems like often that the modern generations can’t cope with temporary setbacks. I saw it during lockdowns, and now I see it again.

We are all struggling, we all are freaking out about paying our rent, whether we lost our jobs during the pandemic years (I lost three of my little ongoing pay-the-rent gigs, including a steady ten-year gig doing part-time work at a college) or we’re hemorrhaging money during the postal strike.

Earning a living has always been a scary roller coaster. Even those with high-paying corporate jobs can get fired at the drop of a hat.

So you need to learn a lot of different skills to be versatile, but you don’t always have to go back to school.

Most writers and artists are aware of this and have always lived like this; the freelance, entrepreneurial life. But it’s shocking to those who managed to survive on one income stream, and a very good one at that, and then have it ripped away.

The Poshmark Canada sellers are freaking out, threatening to shut down their accounts; they demand Poshmark do something.

What is it they are supposed to do?

There is a strike that isn’t a Poshmark Canada strike.

The postal strike affects the entire country and now other countries, too, not just your little Poshmark store.

I fully support the right to strike; that’s what unions are for.

I’m super upset, too, that my income stream is gone, for now, and I have to pivot. I too have important documents trapped in the mail over the past month, including my new health card, so I better not get sick anytime soon.

But the one thing we can count on in life is change.

Things will change.

The strike will be over one day, just like it has before. This is not the first postal strike, and it won’t be the last. It will end one day.

In the meantime, sort out your skills, maybe take some courses to get new ones, and learn how to pivot when the unexpected happens.

Self-employed people, entrepreneurs, writers, artists, everyone has to always be ready for the unexpected.

Don’t put all your income eggs in one basket. Don’t rely on one publisher, or one company, or one online platform for all of your income.

Get good at diversifying your income streams.

Try not to take change personally.

Know that there are thousands drowning just like you. We have to keep treading water until something better comes along, and it will. It always does.

Keep on keeping on, and don’t give up. Breathe. Go for a walk. Exercise. Dance. Talk to your friends. Talk to your counselors. Don’t be afraid to ask for help, whether mental or financial. It’s a leaky boat, but you’re not alone.

That’s the best unasked-for advice that this Gothmother can give you.