Today’s guest post is by David Haynes, recognized by Granta magazine
as one of America’s best young novelists. The author of six critically acclaimed novels and five children’s books, he is director of creative writing at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. The former sixth grade teacher’s short stories have been heard on “Selected Shorts” on NPR, and his novels have been recognized by the American Library Association.
His latest book, A Star in the Face of the Sky, will be released November 12, 2013.
What He Meant To Say Was…
I hate the business side of being a writer. Which is not the same things as: I hate the publishing business. (Which is what I said somewhere else.) A necessary correction, for a person who wants to stay on the good side of his current as well as future potential publishers.
“Networking,” performing in front of an audience, cold-calling, asking for favors, etc.: all things—and more—that I don’t remember signing up for when I took my first creative writing class. All things, also, that are simply a standard part of publishing a book in the 21st Century. I have friends maintaining a range of fantasies based on their beliefs that writers never used to have to do all this work. What’s true is that back in the day publishers had considerably more resources to devote to the business of selling books, but that didn’t mean that they shared those resources equally among all the books in their catalogs. Most writers have always had to slog their way through finding an audience for their work.
What’s also true is that the media industries have changed and no one yet knows what the implications will be for the book business. The big publishers still know how to do what they’ve always known how to do: select a few titles each season that they deem worthy of attention, lavish them with big promotional budgets (full-page ads on the remaining book pages and in the trade publications), and assign a team of publicists full-time to getting those authors noticed by the big broadcasters. Buzz goes a long way to moving units, as they say in the executive suites. A couple dozen books per big publisher get this kind of love (few of them fiction, even fewer “literary” fiction, and perhaps one per year per publisher a literary novel by a writer of color).
The rest of us: we’re on own. We build our rickety little platforms out of whatever resources we have. We learn to be realistic—to recognize that we’re playing the same game at the same table with the power players and that we’re the ones with the short stack of chips and nothing in the bank.
A useful metaphor for our entire economic system, come to think of it.
Here’s an adaptation of something one of my mentors, Carol Bly, used to say (when railing against corporate farming): Writing isn’t a business; business is a business. I feel about the writing business the same way I feel about going to the dentist to get my teeth scraped: I hate it—A LOT—but it’s a necessary evil. In less than a month, I’m all in—to further torture my metaphor—and it will be all (or mostly) smiles as I make the best plays I can with the cards I’ve been dealt.
You can find David’s books on Amazon by clicking http://amzn.to/HKj9R7
Great insights, David. Thanks for bringing this to us, Jim. At least we’re all in the same boat (well, not Stephen King’s boat maybe). I say if writers quit hating, resisting, and delaying the marketing part and find the fun in it, efforts will be much more successful. Look at it as a long-term process and you won’t be disappointed in non-instantaneous results.
Thanks, Kimberly, for the nice comment. ( Probably better to be in Duke’s boat than Stephen’s.) You’re probably right. Just embrace the marketing and find a way to enjoy it. I’ll work on that.
Thanks for the post, Jim. David, I can’t say you were encouraging, but you told it like it is. I find comfort in knowing I’m not alone. I do love the writing part though. Perhaps, I should just write stories that I read to myself. No, what fun is there in that? Guess, I’ll keep plugging along with my business.
I guess we have to take the good with the — not so good. Thanks for the comment, Janet
Wise words from a young novelist. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts. I, too, have trouble with marketing and promotiong, but it is a necessary evil. Maybe one of these days we’ll all figure it out.
And when you do figure it out, Marja, please sent me an e-mail. Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment.
David, I quite agree. The business part is not fun for me, but without it nobody will read what I did have fun writing. Part of the problem is that I was raised to be modest and not to brag about myself. It’s hard to overcome the manners that were ingrained in me so early.
I know what you mean, John. It’s hard to say, “Hey, I’m a great writer and my book is the best you will find.” I guess that’s why we need a PR person so they can write that and we can just smile.
Good article, and I agree completely. If we don’t work at selling ourselves and our books, no one’s every going to know what they’ve missed.
You’re right – they won’t know what they are missing. Poor souls. Thanks for the comment, Susan
David,
You hit the nail on the head! So much of our writing time is spent marketing and promoting and I hate it…but it must be done if we are to reach any measure of success.
Jim,
Thanks for featuring David. He’s a wonderful writer and a fantastic speaker!
Pattie Ball writing as Ann Everett
You’re right, Ann – David’s an excellent writer and great speaker. And an easy and enjoyable person to visit with. Unfortunately, his take on the “business” is spot on. Thanks, Ann, for the comment.
Agreed – the business part of writing is a necessary hurdle these days. I resent it but slog onward.
And slog on we all must do. Thanks for the comment, Nancy.
I agree with David. Writers don’t see the business end of the deal coming until they find themselves smack dab of the middle of it. They tend to believe that if they just write a good book it will sell itself. I suppose there are rare examples where that has happened, but the truth of the matter is that without promotion and marketing a book will languish in obscurity. And the promotional and marketing onus falls squarely on the author, who must leave no stone unturned in order to see any sales,
Is that like, build a better mousetrap and the world will rush to your doorstep? Only, it doesn’t work for novels. (Probably didn’t work on mouse traps either.) So, either we write just for ourselves, and maybe our close family, or we market. Thanks for the thoughtful comment.