What advantage do I, as an unpublished writer, have over a published author? That might seem like a ludicrous question. Being published is my dream. It is something I devote at least several hours a day to achieving in the not-necessarily-near future. Getting published for the first time is my break onto the scene, my chance to set my twinkling star in the sky and hope it doesn’t burn up in the atmosphere.
All right. Enough. Answer your first question before we browse onward. Why would you, Josh, think that being here in the limbo zone of unpublishedhood gives you an advantage over those who have been ushered into the paradise of publication?
Thanks. Glad you asked. Unpublished authors, such as myself, and a few of you reading this, no doubt, still have the opportunity to refine our skills and create that genre-breaking story that can ignite a strong career. We don’t have to care about critics trashing our follow-ups, or bad reviews to depress us and shatter our confidence, or sales tracks that bob and weave more than a hummingbird on heroin. All those things that might hamper future book deals. Why? Because we’re still trying to hammer out that first one.
What changes when that first deal is made? Or even after that second or third book has gone through and the numbers are steady and strong? Is there anything wrong with having a solid, average sales list?
That link leads to a good posting about how more established authors sometimes have a harder time breaking out of the crowd. Their writing can be strong and full of creative talent…but each story they write seems familiar after a while because they’re the type of stories that have sold well for them in the past…so why not keep selling the same kind of stories? Why take a risk of losing that audience you have worked so hard to build?
Because if all you ever do is stick to the familiar, you will never find the opportunity to expand your writing even more, and uncover an even larger audience than you thought possible from before. Sometimes to reach what is better, stronger, and more alive, one must let go of what is comfortable, steady, and assured.
So, those of us who remain in the nether regions, drawing our orbits in tighter until we are visible from the surface of the publishing world, let us take heed of this threat of averageness. Let us realize that it is a problem that could afflict any one of us. But now that we know it exists, we can prepare for it. We can vow, and do our best to uphold said vow, to never let ourselves get stuck in a writing rut. To approach each book with a fresh perspective, as if it were the first book you ever wrote. Make a commitment to remember that you aren’t doing this for some steady paycheck. You are doing this to open up new worlds to yourself and the readers. But if each book and the ones after them are just rehashes of the same world or plot…then the colors start to go gray, and the air gets dusty. Don’t let your work ethic drag just because you’ve broken into the leagues of the now-published. Work even harder to ensure that you don’t get stuck on that midlist. Don’t accept mediocracy. This is the best time for those of us who have yet to cross that threshold. We’re able to still experiment and play around with bubbling cauldrons of pages and ink to see what explodes in our face and what just boils over.
Here is a closing quote from the post:
“I’d like to propose that this is what the top bestsellers…do all the time. They throw out all their previous notions of what works. What was their former success and they pretend like it’s brand new and for the very first time. They mimic the world and creative space of an unpublished, debut writer and the results can be stunning. They reinvent themselves by avoiding the tried and true and taking risks. Time and time again.”
I see that smile.