My name is Sharon and...
Saturday, November 8th, 2008 11:35 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rolanniI'm a professional writer.
That means that I Do It for Money.
It also means that when I have committed to write a story, I bring all of my current skill to the project.
Bringing my Complete Professional Toolbox to a project does not mean that I always write the same kind of story. It means that I have certain standards of storytelling that must be met in order for me to feel that I've given the work my best shot, as a pro. I bring the same care -- the same measuring-stick and the same artistic judgment -- to all of my projects.
Like all pros, if they wish to continue succeeding, writers practice their skills, and stretch them, often beyond their comfort zone. In stretching, writers may, unlike other professionals, also stretch beyond their readers' comfort zones. I know some professional writers who hold as an article of faith that it is their business to discomfort their readers. Speaking as a professional science fiction writer, I don't think there's anything wrong with comfort stories. I do think that it's my job to show readers that there are alternative ways of doing and thinking; and remind them that their everyday Usuals are not the Universal Rule.
Sometimes, in stretching, writers undertake what seem to be Strange Projects. I remember being ...accosted... at a convention several years ago by a reader who wanted to take me to task for Local Custom. *Cue radio play*
"It's only a Secret Baby Story!" they scolded.
I admitted that I Knew That.
"Secret Baby Stories are STUPID! Even the Romance Writers have stopped doing them!"
I admitted that I Knew That, too.
"If you knew All That, why did you write this STUPID story?"
"Well," I said, "When we first moved to Maine, I was desperate for something, anything, to read, and the local bookstore was kinda thin on Science Fiction, so I wandered into the large, well-stocked Romance section and chose five books at random. Every single one of them was a Secret Baby Story, and boy, were they dumb. So dumb that I got to thinking about their obvious appeal and if one could be written in a way that Actually Made Sense. After thinking about it, on and off, for a couple years, I decided that maybe there was a way. And so I wrote Local Custom*. And then I wrote Scout's Progress* -- another Romance -- and on the whole I'm pretty pleased with both of them."
"You mean," they said blankly, "that you meant to do it?"
"Yep."
I'm still not sure if they believed me, but I did mean to do it, and I think I learned a lot, professionally, in the writing of those two books. Win-win.
(Not only that, but those two books won Romance awards (the Prism, given by the Fantasy, Futuristic and Paranormal Chapter of the Romance Writers of America -- Scout took first place; Custom second. For the same year.) And! Scout was named Best Science Fiction Book of the Year by the editors of RomanticTimes Bookclub. Win-win-win.)
Among the other odd things that professional writers do is to sometimes write about topics, or present views, that they themselves don't agree with, and may even find reprehensible. This is another stretching exercise. A professional cannot shortchange the story. Even an "ugly" or "stupid" story deserves the best sentences, structure, characters, dialog, &c&c, that the Writer's Toolbox can produce.
This understanding served us well when John Ordover asked us to write Sword of Orion for the Phobos book line. We did not hold back because it was "only" a work-for-hire. We gave it our best professional shot, in accordance with the editor's vision. We did our best. That's what a professional does.
And now, since I'm a pro, and it's Saturday, I'm going back to the revisions for Fledgling.
----
*Each of the Lee-Miller projects has a Writer Who Started It and whose Fault the project is when the going gets rough. We each have input, though the amount varies considerably by project. Custom and Scout are Sharon's Fault.
That means that I Do It for Money.
It also means that when I have committed to write a story, I bring all of my current skill to the project.
Bringing my Complete Professional Toolbox to a project does not mean that I always write the same kind of story. It means that I have certain standards of storytelling that must be met in order for me to feel that I've given the work my best shot, as a pro. I bring the same care -- the same measuring-stick and the same artistic judgment -- to all of my projects.
Like all pros, if they wish to continue succeeding, writers practice their skills, and stretch them, often beyond their comfort zone. In stretching, writers may, unlike other professionals, also stretch beyond their readers' comfort zones. I know some professional writers who hold as an article of faith that it is their business to discomfort their readers. Speaking as a professional science fiction writer, I don't think there's anything wrong with comfort stories. I do think that it's my job to show readers that there are alternative ways of doing and thinking; and remind them that their everyday Usuals are not the Universal Rule.
Sometimes, in stretching, writers undertake what seem to be Strange Projects. I remember being ...accosted... at a convention several years ago by a reader who wanted to take me to task for Local Custom. *Cue radio play*
"It's only a Secret Baby Story!" they scolded.
I admitted that I Knew That.
"Secret Baby Stories are STUPID! Even the Romance Writers have stopped doing them!"
I admitted that I Knew That, too.
"If you knew All That, why did you write this STUPID story?"
"Well," I said, "When we first moved to Maine, I was desperate for something, anything, to read, and the local bookstore was kinda thin on Science Fiction, so I wandered into the large, well-stocked Romance section and chose five books at random. Every single one of them was a Secret Baby Story, and boy, were they dumb. So dumb that I got to thinking about their obvious appeal and if one could be written in a way that Actually Made Sense. After thinking about it, on and off, for a couple years, I decided that maybe there was a way. And so I wrote Local Custom*. And then I wrote Scout's Progress* -- another Romance -- and on the whole I'm pretty pleased with both of them."
"You mean," they said blankly, "that you meant to do it?"
"Yep."
I'm still not sure if they believed me, but I did mean to do it, and I think I learned a lot, professionally, in the writing of those two books. Win-win.
(Not only that, but those two books won Romance awards (the Prism, given by the Fantasy, Futuristic and Paranormal Chapter of the Romance Writers of America -- Scout took first place; Custom second. For the same year.) And! Scout was named Best Science Fiction Book of the Year by the editors of RomanticTimes Bookclub. Win-win-win.)
Among the other odd things that professional writers do is to sometimes write about topics, or present views, that they themselves don't agree with, and may even find reprehensible. This is another stretching exercise. A professional cannot shortchange the story. Even an "ugly" or "stupid" story deserves the best sentences, structure, characters, dialog, &c&c, that the Writer's Toolbox can produce.
This understanding served us well when John Ordover asked us to write Sword of Orion for the Phobos book line. We did not hold back because it was "only" a work-for-hire. We gave it our best professional shot, in accordance with the editor's vision. We did our best. That's what a professional does.
And now, since I'm a pro, and it's Saturday, I'm going back to the revisions for Fledgling.
----
*Each of the Lee-Miller projects has a Writer Who Started It and whose Fault the project is when the going gets rough. We each have input, though the amount varies considerably by project. Custom and Scout are Sharon's Fault.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2008-11-09 04:53 pm (UTC)There's definitely that phenomenon that romance editors glom onto the idea that something is hot and it seems to be all that gets published for a while (it's more for years rather than months, though).
Right now, the powers that be have decided that paranormal and UF are hot, so that is heavily promoted, but if you look around, a lot of readers are expressing fatigue about having to read yet another vampire/kick ass chick, etc. But naturally, the online segment is a rather small, vocal part of the whole readership.
I have never understood why the publishers don't serve all their readers, instead of oversating the market as they do with one subgenre and then move onto something else. It seems a short-sighted business model to me (it doesn't help my evaluation of that situation that I read neither paranormal nor UF and my pickings are rather slimmer than I like).
My theory on that is that most book publishers are now parts of big conglomerates which are helmed by people who aren't around long, so for them to get the max Golden Parachute, it makes sense to direct all branches in their conglomerate to maximize profit without any thought towards the company's long-term viability.
It always seems the question of the chicken or the egg. Do people read X subgenre because they love it, or because they want a romance and subgenre X happens to be all that's available at that point in time.
I figure the truth is somewhere in the middle.
no subject
Date: 2008-11-09 05:28 pm (UTC)Well, if you try something new and it fails, you get kicked out. If you try something old and it fails, nobody can blame you - or not as much anyway.
no subject
Date: 2008-11-09 05:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-11-09 06:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-11-11 04:01 am (UTC)http://www.rwanational.org/cs/the_romance_genre/romance_literature_statistics
Trends in publishing romance
Date: 2008-11-09 08:56 pm (UTC)Of course, these days women in romances have to choose between Vampire Love and Werewolf Love. I am only partly joking. :/
Lauretta
PS Congrats to Serge - as a former Project Manager, I know deadlines are rarely attainable.
Re: Trends in publishing romance
Date: 2008-11-13 12:06 am (UTC)