By Linda Lovely
Do you get upset
when you discover that a book you think less enthralling than the Sears catalog
achieves outrageous sales success while sales for your own (excellent!) book
languish and your author ranking has enough zeroes to be confused with mileage
to the moon?
If you compare
yourself to other authors and get upset when they achieve greater
sales/accolades, you probably need to find another profession—or get a
prescription for Prozac.
Would you keep writing
fiction if you never made enough money to—
…quit your full
time job
…pay off your
mortgage
…put your kids
through college
…or maybe just make
a profit?
If you’re
writing fiction solely for financial gain, you will likely be disappointed.
It’s fine to
have goals (somewhat realistic) and dreams (they can be unrealistic). Hey, I’d
like to hit it big enough to have my own “team” that takes care of minutiae so I
can spend all my time writing. Yet even if my dreams remain just that I’ll
never quit writing.
So what’s my
advice to my fellow writers who are just beginning—or frustrated? Ask yourself
why you write. Then remind yourself of those reasons each and every day.
I write because
I love making up stuff, creating characters, and yes, killing off (on paper) folks
who annoy me. Those reasons are good enough to keep me writing even if the only
people who read my books were family members or prison recipients of donated paperbacks.
There are
realities every author should remember to keep his/her sanity—
·
Publishing
is a business. Publishers select (and reject) books for many reasons that have
absolutely nothing to do with quality. You can’t take rejections personally.
And, if your book is chosen, you shouldn’t assume your writing is superior to unpublished
authors having a hard time finding a publisher. Yes, quality matters, but
there’s a lot of luck involved, and timing is important. Genres wax and wane.
Your submission may arrive just after a publisher’s filled the last slot in a
given niche. And the list goes on. If you keep writing, your odds keep
improving!
·
Be
generous. Help other writers whenever you can. Promote their books. Critique
their manuscripts. Volunteer to help with conferences and to support
organizations like Sisters in Crime and Romance Writers of America. Your
rewards will far outweigh your contributions, and you’ll become a better
writer.
·
Write
what you love. Is it an unpopular time period? Don’t worry about it. By the
time you finish, it may be the rage. Don’t try to anticipate trends. They’re
unpredictable.
·
READ.
READ. READ. Read within your genre, but
read outside of it, too. Your craft will improve.
Do you agree
with my advice? Let’s hear what motivates you and/or bums you out.
Why do you keep
writing when it feels like you’re spinning your wheels?
