Mood: Pensive and bemused
Working on: A bit of everything
Well, my life has certainly changed over the years since I began writing. I'm on an agent hunt now, trying to put together a historical western proposal and putting out feelers for a critique partner.
The life that used to be pretty much solely dedicated to writing and its attendant business has become fragmented with family obligations (after all, I'm an only child of a capable but elderly mom). I try to keep her separate from my business but sometimes the two overlap. For instance on 10/13, I went to her house to help her prepare her 11th hour federal income tax, which is way more complicated than mine ever has been. Mostly I punched the buttons on the calculator and filled out forms because my handwriting is steadier.
While I'm running errands in the car, I listen carefully to all the song lyrics that pour out of my iPod, hoping for inspiration, for a story idea, for something that will sell in what has become a pretty narrow market.
["Y'got scorching sex, kid? No? How 'bout vampires, y'got them?"
"No," I say. "I've got a man who lost his memory during World War I and comes home to a wife who is a total stranger to him. And, oh, she's married to someone else because he'd been declared legally dead by the Dept. of the Army. So now she has to choose which man she'll be married to."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. How about scorching, sexy vampires? Got them? No? Hey, how about two women together? That's hot stuff right now, makes the eyebrows burn right off the reader. Not that either, eh? Sorry kid, can't help yuz."]
So when my days aren't taken up with errands and Mom, I try to figure out just where I currently fit in this market. And I'm often left wondering . . .
3 comments:
But... but it's supposed to get EASIER after you sell :( You'll find your niche as the market shifts again. And again. Unless your hero can come back to a wife who has become a vampire...
...and if she's a vampire, she could outlive any number of husbands and wouldn't have to choose--kidding!
Seriously, Lexie, I really like the premise of your story, and I've really enjoyed all your previously published books.
In a perfect world, all writers could find a market for the books of their hearts and all readers would have choices and choices and choices of well-written books of every style and subject matter.
I hope your search leads to your perfect "fit" in the writing market.
Wild times aren't they? I guess we are being called upon to expand, reinvent, re-evaluate, and strive for what truly resonates within us. This was a great post Alexis. Just this week I surrendered to not trying to fit the market and writing what i was most drawn to instead.
We'll see how that goes! Suz
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