I'm a great believer in passion. I want to be passionate about what I write. And so far I have been. I can almost reach delusional about my characters, they become so real to me.
But what about marketability? Isn't that important, too? I'm not suggesting abandoning the passion and writing to trends, but a market tweak here and a trendy tweak there, might be the difference between publishing success and publishing silence.
I recently finished Nova Ren Suma's beautifully written Imaginary Girls. The family-based themes of parental distance and abandonment and sibling reverence and rivalry ring loud, clear and true. But the undercurrent of mystery and magical realism give this book a real twist. I'm certain the author was passionate about her characters, but by placing those characters in her magical world, she's done something really different. Something trendy? Maybe. But when wonderful characters, plus great writing, plus plot with a touch of trend, equals success, who can argue?
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Searching for Success
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Success by design, or success by luck? I have to be passionate about my writing or I wouldn't keep it up, but hopefully I can meld marketability into my inspiration, and stay passionate too. I always start with my passion, but sometimes I wonder if I should start earlier with a marketable idea? Then I go back to passion, because marketability is pretty fickle.
ReplyDeleteI find that the typical hooky things don't hook me. It's always the characters that I fall in love with and want to follow around (as in Suma's IG). Is the paranormal aspect that makes a commercially viable book? Don't know. I think it's the juxtapostion of two things you wouldn't put together that intrigues me.
ReplyDeleteI have to add that a lot of my NF WFH books are market driven. There is a need for these books and I fill them. I love working on them because of my background as a scientist and bringing this to kids, but yes, the passion has to be there first.
ReplyDeleteA lot of the time what the market wants is not what I want to write, so I guess you could say I stick to writing what emotionally appeals to me. If it's marketable, so be it.
ReplyDeleteGuess it's lucky I don't have to support myself with my writing!
Julie, Vijaya and Gale -- i think we all agree. Passion is what makes us write. You need to feel passionately about your characters and what happens to them in order to spend all those hours writing and revising their stories.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everyone that passion is the most important ingredient, but it doesn't hurt to keep marketability in mind, does it? Wonderful characters, great writing, plot with at least a nod to trend... Why not?
ReplyDeleteYes, Cynthia -- increase your odds, why not?
ReplyDeleteAgreed -- passion has to be there. But I want to publish and to connect with readers. I'll look for ways to broaden the appeal of something I have passion for, and if I can choose between two ideas I love, one of which is more marketable -- well, it's a no-brainer which one I'll tackle first.
ReplyDeleteWell put, Marcia. I'm all for no-brainers!
ReplyDeleteI think focusing too much on marketability can definitely cloud one's vision when they are working on a story. The passion needs to come first, and hopefully it is strong enough to get you through all the editing and market research!
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