Every creative decision is a business decision

WRITERS NEED TO KNOW THIS

I can’t remember who I heard say this, but it was some Hollywood executive during an interview with (I believe) Hollywood Reporter. During the discussion, the exec said that every creative decision is a business decision. I’ve always remembered that.

As writers, our default is to compartmentalize these two actions into phases. We write what’s in our heart then find a way to bring attention to that writing. I don’t think we understand how even in the creation of our novels or memoirs that every word we type, every interaction we engage our characters in, we’re not just making heart decisions, we’re also making business decisions. And if this is true, then the more we know about the industry, the more intentional our writing can be.

Let me explain from my own experiences.

When I was writing my current novel And Then There Was Us, it was near the beginning of the Romance renaissance. Collen Hover was just starting to take over, but we weren’t quite in Romantasy mode yet, which is a sub genre in full bloom right now. Gen Z was busy making romance authors stars via TikTok, which made sense because about half of romance readers at the time (and now) are under 34 years of age.

I knew all of this. And there is a teenage character in my novel who has a boyfriend. As I was editing drafts, I thought about giving their relationship more time on the page. My novel isn’t romance but I knew if I played up that relationship, I could’ve marketed my novel to appeal to that subsection of readers who were part of the growing romance trend.

In the end, I made a different choice. I chose not to make their relationship a significant part of the story. The boyfriend’s character plays a more functional role and I kept it minimal because to change that would change the focus of my novel. I didn’t think it was worth it.

That’s one example of how a creative decision in the moment influenced a business decision once my novel was published. Here’s another recent example from my scriptwriting.

My creative partner and I had the opportunity to pitch to a popular TV network. We pitched them three series from our slate and crossed our fingers. When they got back to us, they said they really liked one of them, but their concern was that because our main characters were young (teenagers), they’re hesitant to give us a deal because series with young characters don’t drive subscriptions. Their hope was maybe the characters can “show older” so it draws more viewers.

The decision my creative partner and I have to make now is whether we write our characters older or if their ages are too central to the plot of the story to change.

These are just two examples. I can list several more and that’s just from my writing career. What I want to impress on you is that even when you’re creating in your own bubble and writing the precise story that’s in your heart, you are making a business decision. The age of your characters, the plot you choose, how much tension you add, the setting of your story, all of these seemingly creative decisions are, in fact, also business decisions. The two are far more aligned than we want to admit or that we’re even aware of.

And if we accept that premise to be true, it means you should be studying the industry. Because the more you know about the industry, the more informed decisions you can make in your writing. You can always choose to ignore whatever industry trends are buzzing, but by understanding the industry, at least you’re making the choice.