Last month I talked about needing to find the "New." New voices. New storytelling.
https://romancingthegenres.blogspot.com/2018/09/the-old-and-new.html
This month, I'm back on the same topic, but different.
I think that I nearly lost something in the art of writing. There's a mindset among so many indie writers at the moment that you must produce to thrive (to even survive). You must climb on the gerbil wheel of telling story and run for all you're worth, hoping you never tire so badly that you fall off the wheel.
"Burn out!"
"Writer's block!"
"Crashed career!"
For crying out loud, I've given conference lectures on this point. They go something like this:
"I call it the Readers' Clock. Amazon is all about big data. And their big data has made them create an algorithm that rewards authors with a higher ranking if they release something every 30 days. Written Word Media (Bargain Booksy & Freebooksy owner) did a survey in which readers said they wanted to hear from an author via newsletter at least once a month. So we've got to hit that clock."
And sure enough, if we do, we see sales take off. Sustainability problems kick in. (But those issues are discussed endlessly in other places, so I won't dwell on them here.)
I suspect that Readers' Clock is even more prevalent in the world of voracious romance readers than other genres, but I know it's in the others as well.
Like last month's post, the question I need to ask is how does this apply to me. I'm prolific. In among all of my novels, I've released a brand new short story every month for the last 5 years. I've certainly been ticking away at the Readers' Clock.
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| http://www.mlbuchman.com/the-ides-of-matt/ |
I also look at the cost to the story itself. Let me really sidetrack here for a moment. There are writers who make a very nice living by telling a common story. They write well, fast, and are entertaining. And there's a sameness to those stories, which many readers find to be a comfort.
This isn't me.
I write to understand the characters, storytelling, and myself in new and different ways that I never had achieved before. I fully believe in the effectiveness of the Readers' Clock. As a reader, I want more stories from my favorite author. And if I don't find it, I'll wander off and find another writer.
But as a reader of people pursuing the Readers' Clock's rhythm, I often see what I would call a Loss of the Art of Storytelling. There becomes such a need to "crank out" story that we forget to "tell," or perhaps even better, "pursue" story. I've had whole manuscripts rejected by my alpha reader for precisely that disease. I made that reader promise me: "If it isn't a step forward, at least in some way, from anything I've ever written--Reject it!" And they have.
It hurts like a punch to the heart. But after the pain, I pull back and I look at the story or the characters and I discover depth, richness, variety, technique, craft--elements I had left out due to thoughtlessness, lack of awareness, skill, whatever.
This whole post has just been me thinking aloud about my own career, so here's my next thought:
The craft, the art of storytelling is the ultimate Readers' Clock. My career is established. It's up and running, but neglect could kill it so easily. Is that neglect in missing some artificial release cycle? No, the true neglect would be losing the art of storytelling. Because good story is why we read.
Lately, I've been trying to think more about why I'm telling a story than how soon can I tell it. I want to discover how to speak to the reader so clearly that my alpha reader will never balk.
I love story. It's why I became a reader. Now, as a writer, I must be eternally vigilant to recall my passion for story ahead of my need to keep boosting sales.
Did I achieve this in my upcoming October 30th release? I like to think so. I explored character types I haven't written before. I added complexity of a villain who has an agenda of her own. And I worked to truly marry my love of romance and my joy of thrillers. Yes, I am pleased. Next, I'm... Well, I'll be pursuing my rediscovered love for the found art of story, I know that much.
Coming October 30th (e-, print, & audio)
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| www.mlbuchman.com/books/midnight-trust/ |
M.L.
"Matt" Buchman has over 50 novels, 70 short stories, and a
fast-growing pile of audiobooks out in the world. M.L. writes romance,
thrillers, and SF&F…so far. Three-times Booklist "Top-10 Romance Novel
of the Year." NPR and B&N "Best 5 Romance of the Year." RITA
finalist. As a 30-year project manager with a geophysics degree who has
bicycled solo around the world, he is awed by what's possible. More at: www.mlbuchman.com.
4 comments:
True words, Matt.
This past year I've reread most of my "keeper books" by favorite authors. I realized that one of the authors's characters were so similar that the only thing changed was hair and eye color, maybe hair style...this sameness was over the last three series she'd written. Earlier book characters were not as "similar" although elements were there. Needless to say I don't look forward to new releases and have stopped purchasing her books.
There is a difference in reading "stand alone" books versus "category romance." I expect a certain amount of "sameness" in a category romance. But in a "stand alone" or "main stream" novel? No.
I can appreciate that some readers are comforted knowing the heroine will always say and do certain things as will the hero. And, in this day and age there are enough books out there that those readers can easily find authors that fit that preference. As a reader and an author, I think I'm more in your camp (although not even close to prolific, etc.) about story telling.
I loved this statement: "I write to understand the characters, storytelling, and myself in new and different ways that I never had achieved before."
That is exactly why I continue to write and without it, I don't see the point. There are so many other amazing, exciting adventures I could be having instead.
Unfortunately, the whole "reader's clock" concept, IMO, has everything to do with Amazon--and them wanting for people to buy something every month--and nothing to do with the reality of readers. For me, I've made the decision that I don't care about Amazon rankings anymore. They are artificially inflated by so many things that don't apply to me: KU page reads, the "clock", Amazon's own imprints.
I still distribute to Amazon, but I'm also investing time and money into other platforms and growing them. You don't see the same craziness on Kobo, Apple, Google Play, Gardners, WH Smith, and other distribution sites around the world. And I'm concentrating on library distribution. During the past three months when Amazon was in a crazy-making revamping, retooling algorithm stage I was doubling my library sales.
Thanks for this post! It reminds me that we don't have to choose to be the cog in any one company's wheel. I'm independent so I don't have to be whatever one distributor wants from their authors. I can be me and find those distributors that reward that.
Very insightful post. I guess I write for the love of story. I'm certainly not trying to crank out the books. I'll continue as I have been, doing what I know I'm capable of doing. Telling a story. My characters are all very different. They tell their own stories. I can't write any other way.
Hi all, Sorry for the delay reply (traveling a bit this week, as you may know). :) I'm totally with you Maggie. I tick the reader clock with my short stories because I found that monthly predictability did pay off with the readers. I tried various release spans from 2 weeks to a few months and different days. Once I hit on the same date every month, sales took off.
HOWEVER, I decided that this year I'm focusing all future efforts on foreign sales and other markets. I presently sell 23% non-US. I want to punch that up to 50%. I'll apply for international Bookbubs, focus my marketing (such as it is) on Kobo, iBooks, etc.
And I'll keep a strong focus on story over production!
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