What leads us to write what we write? And in an ever-shrinking market, what should lead us to write what we write?
These are a couple of a handful of questions I've pondered for a while.
I wrote five books set on the PGA Tour. They were published by a university press, and the sales figures indicated as much. Then I wrote three books featuring a female U.S. Border Patrol agent. The Peyton Cote series was published by a small mystery house that went out of business shortly thereafter (not entirely due, I hope, to me). I’ve had a starred review in PW, but my sales numbers will tell you “high concept” is not my bread and butter. Character- and setting-driven novels are what I write. And it’s getting harder and harder to publish them, which leads me back to my questions.
What drives us to write what we write?
And what should drive us?
My wife, a human resources specialist who sometimes sees the world very differently than I do, said to me the other day, “Figure out what sells.”
“Um,” I said, “it doesn’t work that way.”
Right?
It was a short conversation. I couldn’t explain it to her.
Am I right?
“Writing doesn’t work that way” sounds like pretentious artist-speak. I live outside Detroit. This city has gotten very wealthy by figuring out what people want and giving it to them. I once did a book signing next to a NYT best-seller and heard them ask a reader what they wanted to see happen in the series. Maybe the writer was being conversational; maybe they were planning to incorporate the reader’s ideas. I never followed up to ask.
But, as the market shrinks and fewer people are reading, the questions linger for me: What drives us to write what we write? And how do we make that determination?
These are a couple of a handful of questions I've pondered for a while.
I wrote five books set on the PGA Tour. They were published by a university press, and the sales figures indicated as much. Then I wrote three books featuring a female U.S. Border Patrol agent. The Peyton Cote series was published by a small mystery house that went out of business shortly thereafter (not entirely due, I hope, to me). I’ve had a starred review in PW, but my sales numbers will tell you “high concept” is not my bread and butter. Character- and setting-driven novels are what I write. And it’s getting harder and harder to publish them, which leads me back to my questions.
What drives us to write what we write?
And what should drive us?
My wife, a human resources specialist who sometimes sees the world very differently than I do, said to me the other day, “Figure out what sells.”
“Um,” I said, “it doesn’t work that way.”
Right?
It was a short conversation. I couldn’t explain it to her.
Am I right?
“Writing doesn’t work that way” sounds like pretentious artist-speak. I live outside Detroit. This city has gotten very wealthy by figuring out what people want and giving it to them. I once did a book signing next to a NYT best-seller and heard them ask a reader what they wanted to see happen in the series. Maybe the writer was being conversational; maybe they were planning to incorporate the reader’s ideas. I never followed up to ask.
But, as the market shrinks and fewer people are reading, the questions linger for me: What drives us to write what we write? And how do we make that determination?
1 comment:
No matter what you write, the competition out there is FIERCE. So many more people are writing and publishing. The market is glutted. It's none--and ALL-- of our faults (if you see what I mean) You might as well write what enthralls you.
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