Writing - why bother?

I often wonder if people realised just how tough it was to become an author whether they would ever bother to even try and write a book. There are just so many impediments – and it seems to get worse, rather than better.

For one thing, while I know it is said that everyone has a book in them, the simply reality is not everyone can write. There are plenty who think they can write, but thinking you can write and being an outstanding writer are two vastly different things. A friend was muttering to me the other day about a colleague who was convinced she could write stunningly well. “I just shake my head,” said my friend. “Her writing is so bad I can’t even edit it, I have no idea where to even begin trying.” And never mind just the ability (or lack thereof) to be able to string coherant and resonant sentences together, but you also have to think about plot, characterisation, structure and pace.

Even for those who do write well the road to authordom is not guaranteed, you also need to have the right idea at the right time and it needs to hit the right editor’s desk on the right day. See, there are about four variables in that alone.

The simple reality is that publishers are looking for novels that will sell - and sell early, quickly and prolifically. Publication is less about the pursuit of great literature and far more about the bottom line. Face it, no profit, no chance of staying in business. No need for manuscripts. And the current economic climate is only going to make publishers even more cautious than before. It ain’t getting any easier…

The other sad point is that most writers don’t make enough to live on. Most have a day job. Most may write for ten years before they get a sniff at publication – if they’re lucky. John Creasey, the British mystery author, purportedly received 743 rejection slips before he finally made it to publication. Even J K Rowling garnered her fair share of rejection slips before Barry Cunningham spotted her.

And here’s the other thing; even if you write well and have you have great idea, if your timing is wrong, you’re stuffed. Trends, like tides, dominate publishing. At one moment it’s Harry Potter type books that are big, the next it’s paranormal. As with surfing, you have to catch the wave at exactly the right time, or you’ll miss the ride.

The current paranormal trend is about, I suspect, to peter out. A bit sad for me who’s still trying to get to an absolutely bloody final edit with my YA paranormal… Meanwhile, it appears a new wave is already building – one related to the Mayan calendar. If you haven’t written your Mayan calendar story yet and got it submitted, forget it, by the time you’ve written it and edited it the requisite 65 (or more) times, you can pretty much be sure the wave will have hit the shore, run up the beach, knocked down your sandcastle and ebbed away - and it will be time for something new.

One might wonder why anyone ever bothers – and persists in bothering. I suppose it’s simply this: writers write because they must, because it’s life and blood to them. You persist because when you’ve gone so far you may as well keep going, because you believe in your story and your words. And because the thought of not doing what you’re passionate about is like being asked to stop breathing. Ultimately it’s less about being published and more about just needing to write. I wrote my first play when I was nine – set on rollerskates it predated Starlight Express by a good few years – and I charged the neighbourhood kids 5 cents to watch it. Now, if I’ve been writing for so long can I reasonably be expected to stop now? Of course, there is always the chance that I am incurably insane – but I suspect that may be a prerequisite for the job – that, and having a hide like an elephant.