Author Topic: Pithy take/advice I read that I think is spot on re author success  (Read 1633 times)

Luke Everhart

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I read a pithy take/advice elsewhere that I think is ✨gold🏅
*The key to success in writing is not to write the books that you'd love to write but to write the books that you'd love to read*

Yeah, it's basic and obvious. But it's also obvious that many aspiring, struggling writers do the former not the latter -- and that the latter is often at odds with the former. I imagine both approaches have worked; and, if fortunate, "love to write" and "love to read" are the same. But having spent the last couple years consuming author forums and interviews, there's a striking pattern between approaches and success.
Urban Fantasy Author
Magic & Mirth meets Action & Attitude
 
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Post-Crisis D

Re: Pithy take/advice I read that I think is spot on re author success
« Reply #1 on: January 18, 2021, 03:58:21 PM »
My problem is that apparently no one likes to read the stuff I like to read.  :shrug
Mulder: "If you're distracted by fear of those around you, it keeps you from seeing the actions of those above."
The X-Files: "Blood"
 

Simon Haynes

Re: Pithy take/advice I read that I think is spot on re author success
« Reply #2 on: January 18, 2021, 05:02:32 PM »
I have only ever written the sort of fiction I want to read more of.

If people had been writing the stuff I like 25+ years ago I'd never have written my first novel.  I was disappointed by the later Hitchhiker's Guide novels, couldn't get into the Dirk Gently books at all, and didn't enjoy the Discworld books.  If you're into humorous/satirical scifi and fantasy, that's a bit of a problem.  I tried every other author writing in the genre (Sheckley, Harry Harrison, Asprin, Hughart and everyone else I could find) and they weren't writing my thing either.

For me there's a huge dividing line between witty, clever, author-wink writing, and humour where you're observing someone doing their best and failing in bigger and ever-more-spectacular ways.  As soon as the author gets in the way, I'm out of there.

What I wanted was Minder in space. The gritty, british-style chancer with no hope and no prospects going up against just about everyone. A fight for survival, and a stubborn, deluded, self-sabotaging main character, but with laughs.
« Last Edit: January 18, 2021, 05:04:37 PM by Simon Haynes »
 
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PJ Post

Re: Pithy take/advice I read that I think is spot on re author success
« Reply #3 on: January 19, 2021, 01:37:25 AM »
As soon as the author gets in the way, I'm out of there.

This is pretty freakin' inciteful - totally agree.
 

elleoco

Re: Pithy take/advice I read that I think is spot on re author success
« Reply #4 on: January 19, 2021, 09:34:24 AM »
My problem is that apparently no one likes to read the stuff I like to read.  :shrug
I march to a different drummer too. New product in grocery store? Love it? It disappears from shelves in no time. Hate it? It becomes a staple. And so on.

So I write the book I want to read - first draft. Then I revise it into something that conforms to my genre better. I'm writing Western Romances but my first drafts are closer to Western Westerns than Romances. I steadily beef up the the romantic elements on each pass through. My books still get called "gritty" in reviews, but there is, thank goodness, an audience for more realistic romance, so I do okay.

This approach may not be available for all kinds of stories, but you might study on whether you can do something like that.