Identity Crisis
Most of the authors I know have an alternate source of income. When asked what they do they will respond by naming that primary job. “I’m a teacher,” they say, or “I’m a lawyer.”
I’ve often told writers that until they identify themselves as authors they limit their success. I think if you’re a writer you need to feel like a writer, to think of yourself as a writer. When asked what you do, you should be comfortable saying, “I’m a novelist. I also…”
For me, this all changed nearly two years ago when I helped launch Intrigue Publishing. In addition to being part owner of the small press I am its editorial director. That means I help select which manuscripts we will acquire. Once that decision is made I also work directly with our new authors to fine-tune their manuscripts. Our goal is to select great books. Afterward my goal is to make great books even better. It has been very gratifying to work with some superb writers and I enjoy the push-and-pull exchanging ideas that can upgrade a book while pushing aside ideas that would interfere with an author’s vision or style.
My new responsibilities are rewarding, but they also absorb a lot of time. They divert my attention away from the manuscript I’m developing. Refining other people’s characters is pushing Hannibal Jones and Stark & O’Brien out of my head. And I’ve found myself reading incoming books when I would have been writing my own. I’ve had to ask myself, is this who I am? Am I a publisher who writes or a writer who publishes?
That question has haunted me for months, but now it seems to be answering itself. The next Hannibal Jones novel called me to read what I had so far. About halfway through a working title appeared. Three quarters of the way through I realized I needed to add a suspect and deepen Hannibal’s relationship with Cindy. My characters wanted attention. More to the point, my story was feeling betrayed.
If that last sentence didn’t make sense to you, then you’re not a writer. I am. I have to face that fact now. I’m a publisher because I want to bring great new books to the public and help new writers become published authors. But I’m a writer because I need to write. I write because I have to, because if I didn’t something inside me would die.
So, while some writers may suffer identity confusion, mine is past. I’m also a publisher. That’s something I do. But first and foremost I’m a novelist. That’s what I am.
I’ve often told writers that until they identify themselves as authors they limit their success. I think if you’re a writer you need to feel like a writer, to think of yourself as a writer. When asked what you do, you should be comfortable saying, “I’m a novelist. I also…”
For me, this all changed nearly two years ago when I helped launch Intrigue Publishing. In addition to being part owner of the small press I am its editorial director. That means I help select which manuscripts we will acquire. Once that decision is made I also work directly with our new authors to fine-tune their manuscripts. Our goal is to select great books. Afterward my goal is to make great books even better. It has been very gratifying to work with some superb writers and I enjoy the push-and-pull exchanging ideas that can upgrade a book while pushing aside ideas that would interfere with an author’s vision or style.
My new responsibilities are rewarding, but they also absorb a lot of time. They divert my attention away from the manuscript I’m developing. Refining other people’s characters is pushing Hannibal Jones and Stark & O’Brien out of my head. And I’ve found myself reading incoming books when I would have been writing my own. I’ve had to ask myself, is this who I am? Am I a publisher who writes or a writer who publishes? That question has haunted me for months, but now it seems to be answering itself. The next Hannibal Jones novel called me to read what I had so far. About halfway through a working title appeared. Three quarters of the way through I realized I needed to add a suspect and deepen Hannibal’s relationship with Cindy. My characters wanted attention. More to the point, my story was feeling betrayed.
If that last sentence didn’t make sense to you, then you’re not a writer. I am. I have to face that fact now. I’m a publisher because I want to bring great new books to the public and help new writers become published authors. But I’m a writer because I need to write. I write because I have to, because if I didn’t something inside me would die.
So, while some writers may suffer identity confusion, mine is past. I’m also a publisher. That’s something I do. But first and foremost I’m a novelist. That’s what I am.
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