The June 22, 2009 issue of The New Yorker had a profile of Nora Roberts, and reading that got me thinking about what goes into a successful career in romance writing. It’s especially timely because I’ve been hearing a lot lately from authors, “I want to make a living with my writing,” and because with RWA nationals next week, there’s an opportunity to engage in this inquiry with the greatest minds in the category…
Of course, every author’s career path is unique, and there is no formula–there’s a lot of serendipity in publishing, and one could boil the whole thing down to writing books that attract a large and loyal readership. It does seem, however, that to break that down into its elements, one would have to, at least:
*master your craft
*understand your readership and the book marketplace
*meet your deadlines
*be indefatigable in promoting
*pace yourself realistically
*keep expectations realistic
*be career-oriented in your thinking
*be professional in all your interactions
Each of these is a deep conversation unto itself, I think. I have more questions than answers…
What do you think?
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Excellent post. I think one I would add is always keep your “eye on the prize” (which would kind of fit under being career-oriented). I think that a career in publishing requires focus–concentration on the end goal. To me, the end goal has always been to get my books on the shelves of Barnes and Noble.
Once I get that goal accomplished? I’ll readjust.
Jennifer, what about all the steps BEFORE the book gets to the bookstore shelf?
Pacing yourself realistically…
This is the hard one for many of us, I think. When we receive too many offers, or when the deadlines come too quickly, we are enthusiastic and excited, but ‘realistic’ can come too far down the line.
If one is to maintain a sustainable career, it’s a vital skill to master, though!
Great post, Deb. It’s good to have an editor’s insight.
These are interesting times for all of us in publishing. I’m hearing more about writers being dropped for not meeting sales expectations.
In such an environment can we even talk anymore about building a career? Not every author starts out with a bang.
Each one of the things you list are crucial for authors, but the second one: Understand your readership and the book marketplace is a doozy.
I think it’s easier for an author to understand readership, but the book marketplace? I’m trying. Really I am!
Carolyn, when we think about the marketplace, we don’t just mean what subgenres are hot and which ones aren’t…we’re also thinking about: how are buyers buying and reordering; what kind of sell-through are they looking for in what period of time; what’s the returns cycle; what promotions are available and how much will they cost; when do sales surge, peak, fall off; how are the retailers doing–are their sales robust, how’s their foot traffic, how’s their average sale; how many units need to sell in a week to hit the bottom of a bestsellers list–how about the top of that list? It really is a 1000 piece puzzle… One way for authors to learn more about the marketplace is to get to know the booksellers in their area and ask them “how’s business?”. Especially in the romance category, there are some incredibly knowledgeable and experienced booksellers.
Regarding professionalism:
I’ve noticed at prior conferences that there are two groups of people who tend to stand out in a crowd: those who are exceptionally professional and those who are exceptionally not.
Regarding building a successful writing career:
I’ve heard some say that because there are so many more authors, lines, and publishers now, it’s much harder to build a career around writing because readers have many more choices than they did, say, twenty years ago.
I don’t know how serious or real this impact is, but as a reader, I try to help my favorite authors by sharing my reactions (and often, gifts of my favorite books!) with my closest friends.
As a writer, I’ll take this advice to heart. There are certainly areas on this list in which I have room for improvement.
One of the most useful things I ever did before being published was to take an intensive book-editing workshop at the Banff Centre for the Arts.
Being able to see things from your editor’s side of the desk is invaluable, because once you fully understand how many people are at work behind the scenes in publishing, and what they have to do, you know exactly why you have to meet your deadlines and promote yourself and keep your expectations realistic.
And I’d argue that you should be indefatigable, not just in the promotion of your work, but in the work itself. This business, like all others, has its ups and downs — you have to be prepared to weather all of that, to take the lumps and not lose faith, and meet the high points graciously and gratefully while realizing it’s usually the story, and not you, that’s being panned or praised.
Being professional so often comes down to just being courteous, in my opinion.
And being successful can often come down to a stubborn belief you can do it.
*be indefatigable in promoting
That’s the kicker for me, especially if you’re with a small press. I’m not one who’s comfortable initiating the “read/buy my book” types of things authors are expected to do.
The “book marketplace” is a challenge as well. Everything seems to be more and more of the same. Agents/publishers want something ‘new and different’ — as long as it’s a new and different approach to something already out there. The economy has eliminated so much risk taking on the part of a major publisher.
Re the markets–if it’s any consolation, the retail end of the book business seems to be doing alright in Canada. I work in a large format bookstore, and we’re been doing well this year so far. (But of course, we’re a much smaller market than the US.)
The biggest thing for me that you pointed out was pacing yourself. I wrote every day last year before I deployed, determined to get my book ‘out there’. When I got to Iraq, I realized that, hey, I have a year, only one year, to write as much as I want. Then I realized that I was going home and my children and the rest of my life was going to interfere. Setting a daily world goal has helped me pace myself. It gives me the ability to say yes, I have accomplished something today, even if I feel like I’ve slacked off, the numbers don’t lie.
A friend of mine has been driving herself to exhaustion trying to meet her deadlines. My goal is to write enough so that when I retire from the Army, I can write full time. But I use my friend’s example of what I hope never to do. I admire her ability to produce awesome work but the hours and the late nights are definitly wearing. And having given up a year of my children’s lives, I don’t ever want to put a deadline ahead of time with my kids.