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on the occasion of me thinking about all that writing advice that was going around on here last week, during which time I also received a few fan emails that brought up a very similar point over and over again, I want to take a minute and mention something! (thread)
one thing I hear a lot is some variant on "wow, your books are so different from anything else I've ever read!" often followed by some variant on "I'm a new writer trying to publish unusual books--how do I do that?"
at which point my brain usually goes
at which point my brain usually goes
because the honest answer is: it can be ~really fucking hard~ to do. You'll hear a lot of "we can't tell what genre this is supposed to be" and "this needs [x] if it's going to be marketable" and at that point it's up to you to what extent you feel comfortable compromising.
and I always feel weird giving advice on this topic whenever I get asked to, because I went into writing & publishing with zero desire for fame and fortune (I'd happily write anonymously) & a DEEP desire to write the exact things I want, on my own terms, for 5 readers if need be.
one time I told my high school guidance counselor (who was trying to get me to pursue a creative writing degree) that I'd rather write books that a hundred people love than books that a million people read once and get rid of, and she gave me this look of absolute pity
but that was my honest goal at 17 or whatever and it's still my honest goal ::counts on fingers:: seven books in. And so I'm probably a terrible person to ask for publishing advice, because writing the exact shit I want is a hill on which I am 100% prepared to die.
I think there is infinite value in ripping a story straight out of your fucking soul and transcribing it verbatim. And sometimes it'll align perfectly with whatever publishing wants at the time, and that's great! But if your story is hard to classify, don't expect that to happen.
It might take a really long time to find the perfect home for that story. You might get rejected by more places than you thought existed. Your hopes for your books might get beaten down (mine did) and you might think very seriously about quitting (I did).
Publishing is a long game, and even more so if you insist on playing it by your own rules. You might have to walk away from offers of representation or publication if their vision of your book strays farther from yours than you can live with. AND THAT'S OKAY.
Because many readers who find your weird, hard-to-classify, oh-god-you've-glued-three-genres-together-what-even-is-this-thing book will adore the ridiculous monster you've created. Because nobody could've written it but you.
It's frustrating. It's fucking hard. It's worth it.
It's frustrating. It's fucking hard. It's worth it.
anyway this is kind of a non-advice thread because I don't believe in one-size-fits-all writing advice, but I can for sure share my experiences if they'll be of use to anyone else, so please feel free to ask me anything, whenever, here or in email/dm, and I'll do my best to help!
what I'm really trying to get across here though is: if you are writing something "hard to classify" or "unmarketable" or "too weird" I am cheering you on so fucking hard and I will read the shit out of your book whenever that becomes possible.
weird books forever. that's all
weird books forever. that's all
