“Nobody knows anything...... Not one person in the entire motion picture field knows for a certainty what's going to work. Every time out it's a guess and, if you're lucky, an educated one.” --William Goldman, Adventures in the Screen Trade
In this quote, William Goldman was referring to the motion picture field, but I think the same can be easily said of storytelling in general, of books and movies, of video games and shorts. Anytime someone has a creative idea, a new story to tell, no one has any idea what's going to work or not.
I think this is a prime example of something to keep in mind when you're dealing with people in just about any industry that involves the sale of stories.
This is one of the reasons why I think it's so important to write what you want to see. No one knows for sure what's going to sell and what isn't, so why spend time trying to chase it?
Sure, there are things you can do to make your novel more saleable, but there's no guarantee that it will sell. Your story must be sound, yes, and it needs to be the best story it can be. It needs to look and function like a story and have correct grammar and spelling. Otherwise, it could be the greatest story in the world but no one will buy it. These are things you do with your craft. You need to hone your craft to the best of your ability and then tell the stories that speak to you, rather than chase a trend of someone else.
That's why every book I've written seems like a departure from the last one. I couldn't swing to more drastic poles between each of my novels, but I write what interests me.
I have no idea if this works or not. Will the people who find me with The Serpent's Head, which is a sci-fi western, care about The Aeronaut, which is a steampunk World War I espionage love story? I have no idea. But people seem to like them both and they're both selling, so that works well enough for me.
The truth is this: I don't know what is going to work for sure. I can make an educated guess, but that's all it will be: a guess.
But why would I spend time writing something, anything, if I didn't believe in it and it wasn't what I wanted to write? Life would be so bland and boring if I spent my time trying to chase every bestselling trend. And I'd be behind the curve significantly. By the time I could write a book that chased a current bestselling trend, there's no guarantee that would be the trend anymore. Better I work to write what I want and try to set the trend.
It's also important that you take this notion, that no one knows anything, and apply that to the bad feelings you might get when you get a rejection. People might not be rejecting your story because it's bad, but because they don't think it will be easy enough for them to sell. They could be wrong, though. All they're doing is guessing.
And isn't that a heartening thought? The publishing and motion picture industries are predicated on a variety of guesses on a daily basis.
I don't know about you, but it makes me feel a little bit better about this whole process.
As for my writing:
I have a bunch of stuff coming out soon, some of it even later today, but none of it has posted yet. Watch my twitter or this space next week.
I think this is a prime example of something to keep in mind when you're dealing with people in just about any industry that involves the sale of stories.
This is one of the reasons why I think it's so important to write what you want to see. No one knows for sure what's going to sell and what isn't, so why spend time trying to chase it?
Sure, there are things you can do to make your novel more saleable, but there's no guarantee that it will sell. Your story must be sound, yes, and it needs to be the best story it can be. It needs to look and function like a story and have correct grammar and spelling. Otherwise, it could be the greatest story in the world but no one will buy it. These are things you do with your craft. You need to hone your craft to the best of your ability and then tell the stories that speak to you, rather than chase a trend of someone else.
That's why every book I've written seems like a departure from the last one. I couldn't swing to more drastic poles between each of my novels, but I write what interests me.
I have no idea if this works or not. Will the people who find me with The Serpent's Head, which is a sci-fi western, care about The Aeronaut, which is a steampunk World War I espionage love story? I have no idea. But people seem to like them both and they're both selling, so that works well enough for me.
The truth is this: I don't know what is going to work for sure. I can make an educated guess, but that's all it will be: a guess.
But why would I spend time writing something, anything, if I didn't believe in it and it wasn't what I wanted to write? Life would be so bland and boring if I spent my time trying to chase every bestselling trend. And I'd be behind the curve significantly. By the time I could write a book that chased a current bestselling trend, there's no guarantee that would be the trend anymore. Better I work to write what I want and try to set the trend.
It's also important that you take this notion, that no one knows anything, and apply that to the bad feelings you might get when you get a rejection. People might not be rejecting your story because it's bad, but because they don't think it will be easy enough for them to sell. They could be wrong, though. All they're doing is guessing.
And isn't that a heartening thought? The publishing and motion picture industries are predicated on a variety of guesses on a daily basis.
I don't know about you, but it makes me feel a little bit better about this whole process.
As for my writing:
I have a bunch of stuff coming out soon, some of it even later today, but none of it has posted yet. Watch my twitter or this space next week.
As a reminder: The Aeronaut and Escape Vector are still out and still need your purchases and reviews. If nothing else, they can use you telling people about them. If you want signed copies, visit the shop here on this page.
Also! here's the full list of "rules and guidelines" I've been collecting over my years of studying writing advice and process.
Also! here's the full list of "rules and guidelines" I've been collecting over my years of studying writing advice and process.
As far as my work outside of all this: There's a lot of great stuff on Big Shiny Robot! and Full of Sith for you.
And please, please, please don't forget to check out any of my books, drop reviews of them on Amazon or Goodreads, and follow me on twitter and Facebook!
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