“It’s a Metaphor, Dammit!” Writing from the Heart Versus Writing for the Market
As you might know from my previous posts, I have a lot of thoughts and they don’t always come out in an order that makes sense. So here goes my attempt to tell you something useful. Bear with me…
If you’re a new or aspiring author, the first thing you need to know is: If you want lots of people to buy your book, you need to write about something lot of people want to read about.
This might seem like a no-brainer. Obvious. But some of you may be thinking, “But surely if the writing/storytelling/voice is good enough, anything can sell!”
You people? You’re wrong. Nobody wants to read your series about the voyage of bacteria through the digestive tract regardless of whether paristalsis is a metaphor for your high school experience or you manage to use the word “melifluous.”
More to the point, people will accept mediocre writing and even plot holes if the topic itself is engaging. Yes. Authors whine and cry over this, but facts is facts. People want to read what they want to read.
Now, some people are lucky enough to happen to want to tell stories that resonate with tons of people. Some romance authors are like that. Their brains spurt alpha males like Old Faithful. In the case of most prolific romance authors, I don’t think they do this to pander and I don’t think they even do it on purpose. They write what they like to read, and the storylines that come to them. Lucky them, those stories sell.
On the other end of the spectrum are authors who write purely for themselves. And I don’t mean that they don’t want to sell, necessarily, but that their ideas and storylines are unique, provocative, lack mass appeal, and they simply do not care. Frankly, a lot of science fiction romance falls into this category, because in general , sci fi rom doesn’t sell. That said—people who DO read sci fi romance often LOVE it. So you might sell to a small audience, but it’s a rabid one.
Then there are people in the middle—who want to sell, and who have some marketable ideas, but also have lots and lots of stories they would love to tell that no one would buy.
I fall into the third camp. And I’m here to tell you, it can be a hard place to write from. I want to write from the heart, but I know that if I ignore the market, I’ll be a sad, sad panda.
Yes, I like money. Who doesn’t like money? The harder and bigger issue, though, is that I crave validation. More sales, better reviews and more fans are what generally signal to us that one book is better than another. It’s what signals to us that WE are better. That our ideas and brains and imaginations are better. That there is a tough pill to swallow.
Most days I take this at face value, because I don’t think anyone in this business lasts long if they bang their heads against the bars of “but I’m an artist!” But some days it irks. Mostly, it irks me about other peoples’ books.
Right now I’m on a spree of reading young adult novels, in part because I’m considering trying my hand at YA. For my first two books, I chose one mainstream bestseller and one random title that was displayed as staff-recommended at the bookstore.
The staff-recommended one? Awesome. Though-provoking, beautifully written. Truly unique. I could never aspire to write something this good. I checked it’s Amazon stats this morning. Unsurprisingly, it sells like crap.
The bestseller? Well, first off, it’s a blatant Harry Potter knock off. Second, the central theme appears to be “cool things are cool.” The characters are well rounded and the universe developed. I’m sure the storyline will be enjoyable. But it really does absolutely nothing to rock the boat. Not a single instance in this book has been touchy or controversial or a metaphor for anything whatsoever.
It is what it is. Pretty pictures drawn with words. And when I’m done reading, I’ll likely forget all about it.
Every once in a while, a book can be both straightforward and also transcendent. But if you have to chose BETWEEN straightforward and transcendental—you better as hell choose straightforward. Because unless you’re writing for The French or black-turtleneck-wearing-indi-film-watching hispters, people do not want their entertainment to be abstract.
Where does that leave us naturally abstract thinkers? We of the controversial topics and hidden metaphors? How can we write from the soul, and also be told by society that are souls are awesome?
I’m still working on the answer for myself. One option is to try on a few genres or sub genres. A storyline or character dynamic that doesn’t work in one genre might go over like gangbusters in another. For example, if you love writing strong heroines, it might be worthwhile to try both romance and urban fantasy.
I like writing vulnerable men, which is what led me from M/F romance to M/M. And it’s that same drive, as well as a habit of telling coming-of-age stories, that has me looking into writing younger characters.
Like writing opinionated politics? Try science fiction! In space, you can say whatever you want. 
Life is long and if you’re going to write for any serious amount of time, it’ll have to be about things you care about. You’ll want to write stories you’re proud of even if buyers and reviewers alike turn up their noses. So my advice is to first develop a thick skin, and then try out a few things until you see what sticks.
I wish all books I think are awesome would sell in proportion to their awesomeness. But that is simply not reality. In reality, each of us has to decide we are awesome. We have to write the most awesome books we are capable of writing and hope they reach however many people can see their beauty.
As for me, I’ve gotta write from the heart sometimes even if I know no one will read it. Otherwise, this whole writing biz is just words.
Thanks and happy reading!
Daisy
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