by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
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I had an interesting email exchange with another writer after Friday’s post ran. She mentioned that she had been at an event recently to talk with new writers and had been surprised by the folks who said they wanted to write but didn’t know what to write about.
I emailed back that I had also been very surprised by hearing this from other new writers. For many writers, the problem is having too many ideas and not being sure which to work on.
But I’ve run into more and more writers who aren’t sure what direction to go in with their writing. They seem almost overwhelmed with the possibilities.
When I’ve run into writers like that, I’ve always tried to figure out what it is that they want. Sometimes they haven’t thought about what they actually want—and they start to.
Some writers will want to write completely for themselves and don’t want to share their work with others. Some will want to write a book that they pour their heart into and hope that it will find readers who love it as much as they do. Some will want to write blockbusters or books with high commercial appeal.
Knowing what you want helps define your direction in this business.
Deciding your publishing direction also ties in with a post from Porter Anderson in an extra edition of his popular Writing on the Ether column for Jane Friedman. The entire column makes for good reading, but the section, in particular, that I found interesting was “Jacob Silverman to Will Self” toward the end of the post.
Here’s a quotation from Porter Anderson’s column, quoting journalist Elizabeth Day’s Guardian article quoting author Will Self (did you follow all that quoting? :) )
“I don’t really write for readers,” Self says …”I think that’s the defining characteristic of being serious as a writer. I mean, I’ve said in the past I write for myself. That’s probably some kind of insane egotism but I actually think that’s the only way to proceed – to write what you think you have to write. I write desperately trying to keep myself amused or engaged in what I’m doing and in the world. And if people like it, great, and if they don’t like it, well, that’s that – what can you do? You can’t go round and hold a gun to their head.”
I think there is a lot of merit in that viewpoint. I wrote for myself for years and found a lot of satisfaction in it. And you’re a writer, even if you never publish a book. I recently read a thought-provoking post by writer Mark Charan Newton for Tor Books on “The Joys of Private Writing.”
But I also think that writing for readers is not only possibly more satisfying than writing for oneself (at least, I’ve found it more so), it can also be a way to develop skills and a readership while you’re waiting to release the book you’ve written for your own benefit (or for art’s sake.) Admittedly– I’m sometimes pragmatic to a fault…and prone also to look at the dollars and cents side to projects.
I’ve found some reward, in other words, in being paid for writing.
So, from that viewpoint, I’m going to suggest points to mull over as you’re exploring your direction and book ideas. These are, obviously, intended for writers who are interested in pursuing publishing—not those who’d like to write completely for themselves.
What if you know you have an interest in writing, but you’re not sure what to write? Here are some points it might be helpful to consider:
Your own interests, as a reader: What do you naturally lean toward when writing or reading? Which genre? What do you think you’d most enjoy writing? We have to spend a long time with a book—we need to enjoy the process and pour that love of writing into the book. Which story would you enjoy telling the most?
Analytics of the genre: In that genre, what are some of the factors that make it a good read? Humor, action, strong characters, magical powers, three murder victims, etc.? As a reader, what do you enjoy most about the genre?
Market saturation: Is there an area or subgenre that is currently saturated? Or does it seem like the readers are avidly buying the books as fast as they are written, even if it IS saturated? (Vampires and zombies come to mind.)
Book length: What is the length of most of these books? Have you got an idea that you can develop into that length? Is your idea too broad and can’t fit into one book? Book length, of course, is also going through a change with the digital trend—but you still want to shoot for the right ballpark. Editing a trilogy out of a single book can be a bear.
What are publishers of this genre looking for currently? If you’re going traditional, who represents and publishes this genre? Go online and see what kinds of things they might be asking for on their submissions page.
If you have many ideas, which should you work on?
Protagonist: Which protagonist can carry my story better? Which is better-developed? Does one have more opportunity for internal conflict? Does one have ample growth potential?
Characters: Which project has secondary characters that are more appealing? Which create depth for my protagonist by interacting with him/her? Which may be a villain that readers will love to hate?
Plot: Which storyline can I easily picture? Which one has more conflict and more depth?
Time: Is there a story that requires more research than another? How much time do I have for the project? How long would I, ideally, prefer to spend on a single project?
Market: Which story will appeal to a greater number of readers? Which has more of a hook to sell to a publisher? Or…which has the better hook for a direct-to-reader/self pubbed book?
Series potential: This may be genre-book specific—but is there a story that lends itself to more than one novel?
There’s a really fine balance here between being calculating and embracing an idea because we love it and because we want to write it to personally satisfy our own creative need. We can always choose to write the “book of our heart” as I’ve heard it called and have faith that others will love it as much as we do.
The business-oriented side of me thinks that it might be helpful to write something that we think has commercial appeal and that we’re excited about writing (don’t write something in a genre you don’t enjoy, just because you think it will sell—if you hate the book, or hate the genre, that disdain is going to show) and then release the book of our heart later, after we’ve developed readership. In traditional publishing, if the book of your heart tanks, it sure is hard to find another gig. Although having a traditionally published book tank might offer the perfect opportunity to move our next book into the self-pub realm.
Again, y’all, this is all in the for-what-it’s-worth category. And…another important thing to remember is that we shouldn’t have our whole writing career riding on one book. The fear of failure has got to be a huge factor in this writer hesitation when choosing an idea. The important thing about failure is dusting ourselves off, learning what it was that we did poorly, and writing another—better—book. Better because we failed or didn’t meet our own expectations. It’s killed me when a couple of great writers that I know have completely given up writing when their books didn’t do as well as they hoped. We’ve got to keep on going.
Now I’m interested in hearing your ideas. If you publish your work, how do you balance art and commercialism? How much do you focus on audience when you write? How do you decide what to write?
Elizabeth – These are such good things to think about. I think that to at least some extent everything we write has to be something we enjoy. The writing process is so much easier when we like the genre we choose and the story we’re telling. I don’t think writing what we think audiences want to read has to preclude that. And you’re absolutely right that it’s important to at least start by figuring out the role writing is going to take in one’s life. I think it’s good to check in with oneself periodically too and see how one’s views as a writer are evolving.
You always see to the heart of the matters – love that!
When I teach writing (fiction & nonfiction styles) in my classroom, I always remind kids that purpose + audience = form. For me the audience is always a part of the equation, even if that audience is me :)
Thank you for this – it can be easy sometimes, listening to people who are successful, to think there’s something wrong with wanting to make money from your writing. Well, it worked for Shakespeare!
I can never think of what to write, which is why I often lean towards historicals, as all the characters and the plot are started already. I stick to the area I already know to cut down on research. Mythical stories are good as well, and don’t even need to be so accurate.
I have a friend who is 10 times more talented than me, but it is happy to write just for herself and enjoy it. It makes me want to bash my head against the wall sometimes, but she’s very happy and our needs are different.
I really, really want to be published with Harlequin Mills & Boon, so it’s hard not to think about the audience at least a little bit when you write for a publisher that has such a specific niche. I know some people find that confining, but I like the focus it brings to my ideas.
Honestly, no matter what I would write, I probably couldn’t help but think about my audience b/c I’m a bit of a ham for attention. I think writing is my way to get that attention while remaining an introvert ;-)
I also remember as a new writer not having a ton of ideas. I think the more years you put in, the more your brain is trained to develop ideas off of images we see, or snippets of conversations, or movies…etc. I think the best place is to start with something you love to read.
Excellent points to consider. I always tell writers they need to have the end in mind when they write – what do they hope to accomplish? If they want a successful book, they need to write what they enjoy while keeping the market in mind.
Juliette–Thanks! I appreciate your saying so because I’m sometimes in the minority in this viewpoint. :) I’ve run into other writers who think my approach is a little crass, but hey–I don’t have it in me to be a starving mommy writer! If I’m going to put this much time into something…apart from my family…it needs to pay off in at least a small way. It’s not like we’re paid all that much anyway! If I really wanted to make bigger bucks with writing, I’d have gone into advertising. :)
I can understand why historicals would be appealing from that standpoint. Although I do automatically think “research!” when I think of that genre. I think that also may be the appeal of writing “mash-ups”–Jane Eyre and zombie stories, etc. The framework is there, we put our own twist on it.
Jill–I know what you mean. I had a critique group once, years ago, and I definitely didn’t have the talent of another member in the group. But she didn’t have the drive to share her work and was very happy. Since I *wasn’t* happy (I was itching to send off my queries and samples to publishers), I couldn’t understand her contentment–and maybe wished, on some level, that I shared it!
Harlequin has a *very* specific set of guidelines and I think that can force even *more* creativity because you’d be fitting a unique story into their set of rules.
I’m not one who’s an expert in the romance genre, but I do know there are currently some writers unhappy with their royalty and rights structure with them–maybe make sure you’re okay with that if you pursue Harlequin. I think it *can* be a good training ground for learning our craft, but a heads-up about their reimbursement side. Shoot me an email and I can send you a few links, if you can’t find the most recent posts about the issue.
It’s funny about the introvert getting attention thing, isn’t it? I absolutely *hate* being in the spotlight at any other time, but I don’t mind getting attention from readers at all! (Well…as long as it’s not in person. I still am uncomfortable then. :) )
Laura–That’s a good point. For me, small ideas (very small ideas) spin off into bigger ideas. Now I usually sit down and force ideas–they don’t just come to me like they used to. I decide to have an idea. :)
Diane–Knowing what writers want is so important. If they aren’t interested in publishing, then we don’t need to overwhelm them with industry info. I’ve been guilty of just assuming that *everyone* wants to publish.
Margot–Good point that a writer’s goals can *change*. I know that mine did.
I find it much more satisfying, entertaining, and challenging, to write for readers. if I write just for myself, I don’t really have anything to structure the story I’m trying to tell. I can give in to an urge to make my hero an infallible champion with no flaws, or have him solve his problems without proper conflict.
In the end, I just wouldn’t be happy with myself if I didn’t step up to the challenge of providing something that others could find entertaining.
I seem to have at least one idea in the wings beyond those I’m working on. I’m the writer that needs more time. The novels I write are the kind I like to read, and I do write to be read. That said, I write for myself to know the story. But I edit, edit, edit for readers so they can experience it fully. Or at least those are my intentions.
Such a good post! I sometimes procrastinate posting to my blog because I think, “Who wants to hear about what I’m thinking or pondered on today”? I have a little book that I keep in my purse and when I have a fantastic thought (lol) for a subject I write it down. Then I question whether they’re really worth writing about. Which means I waffle back and forth, “write for me or others”. Then, I’ve always heard, write what you know about. Thanks Elizabeth.
I never planned on more than one book, so this has been a stretch for me.
I’m writing what I enjoy but keeping my readers in mind. They are the ones I need to keep happy.
Paul–You’re right–it frequently makes for a better *story* when we think of our readers.
Jemi–Thanks!
Ha! I like the way you put that. And you’re right–even if we’re writing for ourselves, there’s still an audience there. We have to retain some control over our stories.
Alex–And you get the best of both worlds!
Carol–Editing for readers! I like that. :) Write for yourself, edit for readers…very cool.
Judy–Maybe you can do both–blog and journal for yourself and write books for an audience. Then use bits of your blog and your journal (feelings/thoughts/unique approaches) in your book.
I feel like we’re almost always writing for ourself, too, because bits of us go into every book (and lots of sweat!)
The audience will follow a great story- but it has to be great.
Re: the “book of your heart”
One of the truly outstanding qualities of blogging is how it’s given a voice to so very many people, a way to write without worrying about actually BEING A WRITER.
In other words, writing can be a fulfilling avocation as well as a vocation.
It’s something I think about a lot, even though my writing has been published, and is continuing to be published. I wonder about the joy of JUST WRITING. Unlike others, I started with the idea of being published.
Now, with blogs, we can “be published” anyway! If you’re “heart writing” is longer than suitable for a blog, you can easily self-publish. There’s so much more room now, for all of us. It’s quite wonderful.
Jody–And our blogging is just as permanent as books! Both scary and exciting. :)You’re right…it’s opened up a whole world of publishing to writers who might not have considered sharing any of their words before.
Eeleen–Great, for sure. Or maybe different, if it doesn’t manage to be great.
Hi Elizabeth – what a great post .. and one I’ll be back to re-read at some stage …
Love the Will Self quote – as that’s what I do .. “I write desperately trying to keep myself amused or engaged in what I’m doing and in the world. And if people like it, great, and if they don’t like it, well, that’s that – what can you do? You can’t go round and hold a gun to their head.”
Yes – I do think of my readers and their interests … but his thoughts definitely resonate as mine. If I wrote a book .. I guess I’d be along the same route somehow …
Cheers and blogging is as you say just as permanent as a book – as people keep telling me … which I really should do something about now … Hilary