Christmas reflections - What sort of writer do you want to be?
I’ve been a bit slack with my blog writing lately, being the silly season and all, but I’ve been woken (way too) early on Christmas Day by my youngest and now have some time to kill. So here goes.
Being Christmas, I’ve been buying lots of books for gifts. Along with Dr Seuss, I’ve bought Mawson by Peter Fitzsimons for my husband and Hiroshima Nagasaki by Paul Ham for my brother. My ‘baby’ brother is the serious type and doesn’t usually read fiction, so I guess I should be flattered that he took time to read my novel! I also have a reluctant reader in my fifteen year old son, so Santa is bringing him Matthew Reilly’s latest, Scarecrow and the Army of Thieves. I think my son is now old enough for grown-up books, and although Reilly isn’t my cup of tea I’m hoping his fast-paced action novels will capture the imagination of a teenage boy.
It appears I’ve done my patriotic duty, supporting Aussie male writers. However, the latest offering from an Australian woman writer somehow slipped into my purchases, too. How did that happen, I wonder?
It’s The Secret Ingredient by Dianne Blacklock. Dianne is a successful contemporary women’s fiction writer and fellow mother of boys. You can follow her on Twitter. I’ve just started We Need to Talk about Kevin by Lionel Shriver (coming late to the party on what is apparently a brilliant but disturbing novel) and feel I will be in need of a dose of Dianne by the time I finish it. Can’t wait.
Now Dianne has published, if I’m correct, eight novels. That’s a hugely impressive track record in anyone’s eyes. I suspect, however, she’s not sipping cocktails on her luxury yacht in the Caribbean right now. Not many Australian novelists get rich from their efforts (Reilly being an exception). I haven’t asked Dianne, but expect she writes because she loves it, and the royalties she receives, whilst welcome, are the icing on the cake.
I wonder what type of writer you aspire to be? Are you in it to make your fortune? Or do you simply enjoy the craft of writing?
What made me think about this was a recent piece in The Independent about self-published Kindle millionaire, Amanda Hocking. You can read it here. Thanks to Joanna Penn from the brilliant The Creative Penn for pointing it out. In particular, this sentence struck me:
Each book [by Hocking] takes between two and four weeks to write, and she sells them for between 99 cents and $2.99. In the past 18 months, she has grossed approximately $2 million.
Two to four weeks! That’s not a novel; that’s a university assignment. Call me old-fashioned, but is that what novel writing is really about? Isn’t it devaluing the craft somewhat? Personally I’d rather wait ten years for a book the calibre of Jonathan Franzen’s Freedom (the best book I read in 2011). And while we’re talking about devaluing the craft, let’s not get started on the effect of selling novels for 99c.
Then again Hocking writes novels about trolls for the young adult market so I suppose her readers aren’t so discerning. I shudder to think what I used to read as a teenager— Judith Krantz’s Princess Daisy, anyone?
Also Joanna Penn, whom I respect greatly, doesn’t feel the way I do. For her, pricing her ebook novels at 99c is just a business strategy. It gains her entry into a crowded marketplace—a means to an end. Joanna’s ambition is to make a career out of writing thriller novels, and having witnessed her dynamism first-hand I have no doubt she’ll make it. Maybe I really am just old fashioned.
However, for every Amanda Hocking there are going to be thousands of self-published and traditionally published authors who don’t make it big and for them I’m going to offer these words of wisdom from the second book I bought myself this Christmas: the bible of writing guides, Bird by Bird, by Anne Lamott.
...I still encourage anyone who feels at all compelled to write to do so, I just try to warn people who hope to get published that publication is not all that it is cracked up to be. But writing is. Writing has so much to give, so much to teach, so many surprises. The thing you had to force yourself to do—the actual act of writing—turns out to be the best part. It’s like discovering that while you thought you needed the tea ceremony for the caffeine, what you really needed was the tea ceremony. The act of writing turns out to be its own reward.
Bravo Annie and happy holidays everyone.
- Tags: Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird, Dianne Blacklock, ebooks, fiction, Jonathan Franzen, Kindle, writing
Comments (14)
Such a wonderful quote to end on. I'm glad you got started early this morning. After a week of travel and not writing I am getting very itchy again.
Love it, as always. I have made peace with the fact I am very unlikely ever to make a fortune as a novelist- but now I just want to make a life as a novelist. Specifically novels. I have done lots of other sort of writing in my past (articles, memoir, non-fic, short stories) but to me, the novel is the most glorious, challenging, confronting, exciting form I have ever come across. That's for me, as I said, that's not denigrating those other types- it's just that every time I start a novel (and I recently started my 6th, though only 2 so far are published and 2 more hopefully will be. Eventually.) I feel daunted and excited and very much like I am falling in love. Writing (decent) novels is the hardest thing I think I have ever attempted, but that also makes it the most rewarding. I pray and hope I get to do it again and again in my life.
What sort of writer do I want to be? A very, very old one.
Great post. 2-4 weeks to write a novel? That's pure insanity. If I wrote like that I honestly don't believe the final product would be something I was proud of in such short time frame. Anyone can write a novel, but I'm just discovering how painful it is to bring said novel up to a publishable standard (in my eyes, anyway!).
As for what sort of writer I want to be, I want to be able to make a living out of writing. In reality, if my work can eventually equate to what I would earn doing one day's relief teaching a week, then I'll be a happy camper. I know it will take many more hours to earn equivalent dollars, but it's not about the dollars; it's about the words. And although I am quite literally terrified every single time I rock up to my computer with the intention to write, there is nothing that thrills me as greatly as knowing I have told a darn good story.
My first love will probably always be picture books, but I love what I learn whenever I write a novel. So far I've got three complete manuscripts: one of which will probably never see the light of day, one that has potential but needs so much work it terrifies me, and one that I'm about to start editing. And I totally agree with Kylie. I want to be a very, very old writer one day too. It's the best job in the world (even with the scary bits).
I hope to live long enough to read the offerings of the very old Kylie Ladd and Karen Collum. PD James is still writing bestsellers in her 90s, so the precedent is there!
Excellent question Benison. I'd like to say that I just want to write for myself but it isn't really true. I want to be read. Actually that isn't the whole of it either. After much pondering I have concluded that I want to be the sort of writer that is read to the last blank pages. You know the kind of novels I mean, the ones that we finish then turn hopefully to the empty pages beyond, seeking just a few more lines despite the obvious conclusion we just read and the fact that there are only a few measly pieces of paper left.
How I aspire to write stories truly loved like that! I want to make the reader laugh out loud on the train, to move them and bring them to tears and I want them to fall in love with my characters, my imaginary lives, my other worlds. I'm not saying I neccessarily have the talent, the perseverence or the craftsmanship to achieve this, but I do have the dream, and as I gaze at my much loved tomes on my bookshelf I am comforted by the idea that the authors who wrote them had that much in common with me.
So here's to writing stories that are read right to the last page and perhaps, every now and then, to the blank sheets beyond.
Sorry it has taken a while to comment - partly due to xmas, partly due to internet glitches! Thanks for the mention - I hope you enjoy The Secret Ingredient, I can at least guarantee that it will provide an antidote to We Need to Talk about Kevin!
Great post, Benison. And you're absolutely right - I have not been sipping cocktails on my yacht in the Caribbean. I am lucky enough to make a living from my books, but it's a very modest living, certainly nowhere in the realm of Matthew Reilly or one of the half a dozen top-hitters in Australia. But I feel incredibly privileged to make a living at all, though it is a year by year proposition, and may not be sustainable long term, given the major upheavals in the publishing industry. (Don't get ME started on the 99c titles!) I get quite a lot of mail from aspiring writers, and I'm always concerned about the ones who are more interested in financial details. I tell them if their priority is to make money, look elsewhere, anywhere. I came across a brilliant quote lately from an agent that suggests there is only one good reason to keep writing: '... if you’re writing because you have not been able to talk yourself out of it, then keep at it.'
I can only make a living while I manage to produce a book a year, which isn't always possible, because it is an unpredictable, creative process and I am not a machine. This coming year, for example, I'm packing up the family home of 20+ years and moving, and I finally decided - in consultation with my publisher - to push back publication of my next novel into early 2013. I had written the first few chapters, established the main characters and their back stories, but in order to proceed I really needed to do some research. However, I constantly had one eye on the word count, obsessed with maintaining a quota of words on the page and reluctant to sacrifice the time it would take to research. I was torn and anxious and wasn't enjoying the process at all. I finally realised it would never become the novel I had in my heart and mind if I didn't give it the time and attention the story and characters deserved. I didn't want to churn it out, I wanted to immerse myself in the process and allow it to ripen in its own time. To answer your question, I guess that's the sort of writer I am!
Thank you taking the time to write such a thoughtful and interesting reply, Dianne. So encouraging to hear you are making a living from your writing, moving hiccups in 2012 not withstanding! And yes, when writing becomes a churn 'em out business quality can only suffer. Whatever you do in life I think you have to do it to the best of your ability, otherwise you are devaluing your skills and, ultimately, yourself.
Thanks for the shout out Benison, and we do all have to decide what kind of writers we want to be. I personally want to blend a whole load of different creative projects - writing fast paced thrillers is just one of the threads. However, they are taking me 6-9 months to write at the moment, so I have a way to catch up to the speed of Amanda Hocking :) But like you, I don't want to get that fast. It doesn't get deep enough for me, but plenty of readers like her. Another example is Nora Roberts who writes a book every 45 days - and she's one of the highest paid writers in the world, presumably bringing happiness to many people.
There is great fulfilment in the writing process, but there is also great fulfilment in making others happy. Nora & Amanda provide entertainment to many and that must give them satisfaction (as well as income!) I definitely want that to be part of my own repertoire, so I will keep Pentecost at 99c - although Prophecy will be $2.99 and so on.... but I will also keep working on my other writing which may well be published under another name.
It's an exciting time for authors regardless of what your aim is - happy 2012!
Thanks so much Joanna for offering a different perspective. I feel honoured that you stopped by! That's really interesting about Norah Roberts. How does she ever do it? Maybe I'm just out of touch with the mainstream, as I am with movies and TV shows too.
I guess we should be celebrating people reading books, no matter what kind. Hope 'Prophecy' does brilliantly!
We all definitely need to think about what kind of writers we want to be, but I have to agree with Joanna on this one. Pricing a novel at 99c is a business decision. Publishing market is difficult to break into. At the same time you have to think about your target audience. I highly doubt that teenagers would be willing to pay (what they consider to be) big money for a Kindle book when most of them probably know how and where to find .pdf versions of those books for free.
At the same time, I'm in awe at how quickly Amanda and Nora can write. I envy one of my friends who can whip up a novella in two days (I'm not counting edits and such. just the time it takes her to create something); while I slave over my novels for months. Writing fast doesn't necessary mean poor quality.
That's an interesting perspective, Jane. I didn't think about the teen market being price conscious but it makes sense. My teenage boys are complete spendthrifts, but then that's usually with their parent's money rather than my own! Maybe it's my own bias, as I really only enjoy reading books with big themes, challenging ideas and characters that linger with you. Walter Berglund from 'Freedom' is still living with me months after finishing the book. I am happy to read the occasional page turner but it's usually forgotten the next day. I do think the sort of writing I love takes more time, I guess because it's more literary. Good luck with your own career!
Thanks for the great article (I found it from Joanna's tweet!). I agree with you whole-heartedly, 2-4 weeks seems a ridiculously short time to craft a novel, it takes me longer than that to write a short story. But that said, before dismissing Amanda Hocking's books as tat, I thought I'd give one a try. And I was rather disappointed when I realised I rather enjoyed it. Yep, they won't win literary awards or change the world, but they are page-turning action books, exactly what the intended audience are looking for. I think it's a credit to Amanda that she can knock out these books at such pace and still be a hit in her genre.
And by the way, I loved that final quote. It does sum it all up very nicely :)
Thanks so much for that Colin. Maybe Amanda is a genuine talent. I wish I could write faster but I can't, although I did knock off some good chapters in a long weekend once! My life is not very hospitable to novel writing:three kids, including one with special needs, paid work and medical writing on the side, not to mention a husband and house to run. I guess I will have to content myself with being a tortoise!
Ha, that sounds similar to me, just without the husband to run ;) I think that's the challenge, to be able to partition the hours in a day so that there's just enough space to knock out a chapter along the way. But you're right, it's not ideal, and I do find it hard to get into the flow when only writing in disjointed minutes, or when the brain is already closing down at the end of the day. Good luck with it though, I hope your tortoise wins the race! :)