12/05/2006
Progress Update: Art for Hire?
The query for my new book is in the mail. It will be my fourth book. I sent it yesterday and my postal representative said it would probably be three days until it reached the publisher’s office. I feel like a proverbial “fish out of water” in a new genre. But, that’s the point, I think.
Writers, on the other hand, require time, and there is so little of it today. You can’t just look at a book and truly like or dislike it, you have to read it. You can just show a publisher a picture of your book or pitch and idea, you have to print out three hundred pages and hope for the best. That’s some hard competition.
When you stay in your “genre of choice,” you get comfortable. You know you can do it and there probably won’t be a change in your writing style or skills.
Yes, I did change to see if the new field might be more lucrative, I won’t deny that as being one of the reasons. But, it’s also a challenge. I know what I can do in my field, horror, mystery, suspense, etc. But, what can I do in others? I have many non-fiction credits from writing what my heart wasn’t in it. Is there really so much of a difference between articles, essays, and book-length work? No, I can’t say there is.
Sometimes I think all the “facts” floating around in the writing communities are simply the venomous words of disgruntled authors and unpublished writers. Not that it isn’t easy to become that way. Writing is, perhaps, one of the most frustrating of all art forms. Artists, musicians, sculptors, photographers, all have the advantage of instant products, if you will. They are either appreciated or disliked instantly.
Writers, on the other hand, require time, and there is so little of it today. You can’t just look at a book and truly like or dislike it, you have to read it. You can just show a publisher a picture of your book or pitch and idea, you have to print out three hundred pages and hope for the best. That’s some hard competition.
If the aforementioned artists can tailor their work to be more trendy or profitable, they are applauded. People are amazed by their success. But, when authors do it, they seem to be reproached and scorned. I sense a massive double-standard. Perhaps that’s what’s wrong with publishing today? So many writers are caught up in creating art that they lose all sense of purpose.
I will report the book’s progress, as well as that of my third book. It was just accepted about four weeks ago and the details are still in negotiation. I am excited about that. My third book is titled, Virginia Creeper.
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