On Writing

 I've been in the writing ring for a while now and have met with some success, with a novel coming out, and numerous short stories and articles to my credit.  However, I am constantly in awe of how much marketing work goes into this whole process.   I imagine to some degree this has always been true.  For instance, I'm sure Shakespeare had to push to sell his plays to reluctant recipients, find patrons for his sonnets, etc., but today, it has gone way beyond that.  We deal with a society that now has narrowed its tastes considerably, and so publishers have followed suit.  Big names are what they want, what they are after, and God help the writer who isn't among them.  Time are tough for authors, or so they say!

Writing And Marketing

However, hasn't it always been that way?  How many writers in the past did London's theatres support?  How many authors were published in Colonial America?  There were definite limits, and the publishers in those days had to publish what the readers wanted.  Some things never change it seems.  And, authors are bewailing the fact that many people today do not read at all.  Well, how many were literate in the 17th Century, the 18th, 19th Century, or even the 20th Century?  Even in our own country, there have always been a lot of the illiterate, or those who just didn't, couldn't, or wouldn't read, so let's not go overboard about that aspect of things.  The illiterati have always been with us. 

The fact is, there has always been a problem for writers about who will buy their work, the quality of it, and the available market for it.  Writing then, has always been the stuff of economics, and what the market of the day demanded, and could bear.  Competition?  It's always been there.  It's a basic maxim of real estate agents, for example, that if a business opens up in an area and makes a great profit, within months to just a few years, many other would-be entrepeneurs will follow suit.  This carves up the once lucrative market, creates much more competition, lowers the price on the goods provided, and lowers profits accordingly.  It's called capitalism, and it works best for the consumer in many respects.  In other words, if WalMart is great, it won't be long before other companies see this and duplicate the successful model. 

The same holds true for writers.  J.K. Rowling is good?  Well, move aside, because a flood of wanabes will follow.  What holds them back?  Just her current powerful position.  But, as they say, every dog must have its day, and all writers, sooner or later, fall from favor.  Check out the top echelon of authors from the 1940's versus the 60's, and then the 80's, and today.  The names change, but the dance goes on, always with new faces.  Is there only room for a few at the top?  Yep!  But then, that's the way it's always been in this world.  A country can have only one king, or one gets civil war.  Whether in Hollywood, politics, or guilds, there is only room for so many in a market.  How does one get around this?  By struggling to gain access of course, but also by, perhaps, creating new niches in an existing market, or creating a demand for something new.  Capitalists do it all the time.  Everyone drinks bottled water now, for example, despite the fact that tap water is generally just as good or even better.  And, we do it at a buck a pop or more!  Twenty years ago, people would have said you were crazy if you paid anything for water!   A market that virtually didn't exist two decades ago (except for mineral water) is now a multibillion dollar industry!  So it can be done.

Why is this?  Well, with books, and over time, fashions and styles change as to what people want to read, or learn about.  In the eighties and early nineties it was the introspective, self-help books.  This soon edged toward the "me generation" and "greed is good."  When the markets crashed, it became all about the philosophy of finding happiness in the little things (like poverty, I suppose), and taking life one day at a time.  New Age, already popular, became much more so, especially with women.  As more of them moved into the work force and the daily drudge of making a living, more wanted to know "what's it all about and for," and how to cope with it.  And so the dance goes and continues to go. 

What Makes A Writer Popular And A Success?

Now there is a question that if I had the complete answer to, I wouldn't be writing this column.  But, I do observe well and draw conclusions.  There was one professor, who'd never written a novel.  He bought a number of bestsellers, read them all, re-read them, and then dissected and analzyed them.  He then wrote his first novel, which turned out to be a New York Times Bestseller.  True story.  So, are bestsellers formula?  To a very real degree, YES!  Robert Heinlein pointed out there are only several basic story types that are embellished and retold with different settings, characters, and time periods, but they are always pretty much the same.  Other authors have narrowed this concept down to just one basic premise.  Here it is:

A hero faces incredible odds, and through trials and tribulations (nearly failing at one point against almost seemingly impossible odds), somehow manages to win through and save the day, or fails in such a way as to help others, or make a very important point.  A noble failure, as it were.  It's okay if they die, apparently, but only after acheiving something very worthwhile.  Oh, well!

So how does one become a successful author?  Here are some points to remember:

1.  If the story is always pretty much the same, a successful author needs to figure out the mechanics of such a story.  He/She needs to adhere to them, know them, and practice the art of writing stories that fit all these criteria of the one "true" story that works throughout time.  Construct the story according to the time-tested framework, the one that's worked throughout the millenia.  Remember the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it,"  principle.  The basic idea of story telling works.  Don't mess with it, just use it.  Later, when you're a big success, you can try screwing around with things and being "artsy." Good luck with that one!

2.  Much of the so-called "talent" of the writer hinges in the basic mechanics of their writing skills and ability to tell a story.  Literally, they need to know how to write something clear, concise, and interesting, without loading it down with such things as too many adverbs, adjectives, and flowery statements.  Writing skills, then, include a good command of basic English, a decent knowledge of sentence construction, an avoidance of the flowery, or wording that confuses or degrades the material.  Keep it simple!  Keep it clear.  Let the reader use their imagination to some degree.

3.  Pacing and timing.  These are very important!  A writer must make the pace of his work move along.  Too many adverbs, too many side excursions into the philosophical or impractical (info dumps), and the pace of the story slows, the reader yawns, and sets the book aside, intending no doubt, to one day get back to it but never does.  Ho-Hum!   With regard to writing talent, I'm not talking about authors' abilities to create a special style so much as just to write a good, well-paced tale. 

4.  Identifying with a sympathetic main character.  That's all important.  You may have the mechanics of the story down, you may have the writing ability down, but if the reader can't identify with your main character, you've lost them!  That doesn't mean the character has to be a saint, but there has to be something that keeps the reader willing to care, willing to wonder what will become of them.  Nobody wants a total rat as the main character, unless somehow he/she undergoes a redeeming social change, a personal epiphany of some sort.  Write about a total loser all the way through and you will lose your audience if that loser doesn't change and change soon!  Like it or not!  We may be losers, but really don't want to read about them, unless, in the end, they somehow win through.  Otherwise, what's the point?

 5.  An ending that pleases.  This does not have to be a happy ending, but again, nobody likes a loser!  Somehow, the ending must be relevant to the circumstances.  Does a jerk get his comeuppance?  Does good triumph?  Is something important said that was worth the sacrifice?  Is a point made that people can identify with?  Remember, even in such movies as the Terminator and Alien etc., etc.,  the heroes, if they died, did so valiantly and for a good and greater cause.  Keep that in mind when writing your endings.

6.  Be willing to market yourself.  Get those resumes together, get a list of published items.  Do a bio.  Add to them, update them, and don't be afraid to promote yourself everyway from Sunday, on big and little things.  Editors and publishers don't mind "googling" nowadays, so make darn sure when someone types your name in, something comes up!  Is it crass, difficult, and annoying to have to do this?  Of course, but authors have always done something of the sort.  What do you think book signings and lecture circuits area all about?  Haven't authors appeared on talk shows for decades now, touting their new books?  Don't actors do the same thing?  So deal with it and just do it!  It gets easier with time, you know.  Well, not actually, but it is necessary!  Just think of it as a new take on the old "publish or perish" idea.  Now, it's market it or don't make it!  Trust me on this one.  You are a saleable commodity -- so sell yourself!

Conclusion

And there you have my take on Writing.  And yes, to reiterate, times are tough for authors, markets are crowded and shrinking, and publishers seem to only want what the public wants, and they limit their choices to those few authors who consistently deliver it successfully.  DUH!  As I've said, some things never change.  Get used to it.  Deal with it, and move on!  Bewailing your fate as an author, your limited choices as to what you are "allowed" to write, and the fact that the public has "crass" tastes is worse than pointless. 

Rant and rave on your own time about the inequities of life.  Nobody wants to listen to a whiner, okay, so do it in private.  Now, pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and learn the tools of your trade.  Then write!  And above all, and I can't stress this enough, be persistent.  Hammer at the door of the market.  Make yourself known.  If an editor consistently turns you down, get published through enough other editors to make him regret he/she ever denied you access, and then comes begging to your door for you work.  (Revenge is mine, sayeth the author.)  And when he/she (editor) does do that, don't turn them down!  Never burn your publishing bridges if you can help it.  Remember, times change, and so do fortunes.  Nowhere else is that any more true, than in the publishing business.  We, as authors, do depend on the kindness of editors.  Remember that!  They are the stuff of our lives, even if they aren't quite human...