I’m often told that writing is a gift, but I’m not so sure
about that. You see, anyone can write if
they dedicate enough time to it, but not everyone receives positive feedback. For me, the gift comes from readers’
compliments. I find this far more
rewarding than any financial gain.
I consider myself fortunate to write as a sideline. While I take my writing very seriously, I
don’t concern myself with making a living at it. I write novels for enjoyment, and compose
non-fiction articles when there is a need.
I applaud those who earn a living writing novels because the competition
is fierce. If I had to write for a
living, I would probably stick with magazine articles because they pay up
front. The problem is characters never
come to life in non-fiction.
Recently, I attended my twelfth Men of Mystery event in Irvine, California. It is always magical spending time with
mystery fans and meeting other mystery authors and it is truly a privilege to
be invited back. Many of the attendees
have become friends and have recommended my books to their friends. I am always flattered when I hear this, but the
real beauty in attending is hearing positive feedback directly from my fans.
This year one lady came up to me at my signing table and
said she bought Danger Within for her
son. She started reading it to make sure
it was suitable for him and said she couldn’t put it down. Her son didn’t get it until she had read it
all the way through. Another lady spent
several minutes talking about how she loved the characters in Writer’s Block. She was happy to hear its sequel would be out
next year. I have never received a bad
review or bad feedback, and I take pride in that. For me, positive compliments are the icing on
the cake.
When authors write for the joy of it, they are more inclined
to produce good work than those that face publisher deadlines. Not to say both aren’t possible, but
deadlines can certainly take the joy out of writing. It is evident when a story begins strong and
then wraps up in a flash because the author had run out of time. Whenever you write, never forget why you
became an author, and never forget the gift that comes from your readers. Without them, our words are lost.
3 comments:
I agree with part of this, Mark, but I don't know that I agree that those who write only for the love of it are necessarily better than those who make their livings at it. I've read some awfully good books by people writing to deadlines.
I agree, Beth. But my point was we should all write for the joy of writing and not the expectation of profit. Deadlines can sometimes negatively affect quality. I've read plenty of books that started off great and then wrapped up as if they ran out of time.
I agree with you both. Some bestselling authors seem to have run out of ideas and steam with later books, and little known authors have produced some fine novels. Those of us who write for sheer pleasure and don't depend on royalties to survive are the lucky ones, who are able to share our gift with others.
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