Tuesday 1 June 2010

I don’t like to complain, but….

I am hugely lucky.  At the moment I am doing the two things I have always wanted in my life – I take care of my children and I write.

I saw a seriously depressing statistic the other day. It went something like this;

7% of books published make up 92% of book sales.

So basically all  of the big names make the sales, the rest of us just fall into oblivion.  As I said – depressing.

Things are happening for me, but it is all frustratingly slow.  Sometimes I want to fast-forward a couple of years so I can see what position I am in then.  If success (and in my eyes that is less to do with fame and fortune, and more simply being able to support my family comfortably while doing what I love) is only round the corner then that is fantastic.  If not, then I will have to start thinking about going back to my day job when the baby is old enough. The thought of going back fills me with dread, but if it is what needs to happen then that is what I must do.  While my husband is hugely supportive, I can hardly expect for him to put up with me sitting in front of my laptop for the rest of my life if it’s not bringing the cash in.

If I could see into the future and know what was going to happen it would make life easier. I will always keep writing because it is what I love, but I will not put the effort into the other side of it – the queries, the agents, the promotional work. Of course, knowing what is going to happen is impossible, but if you don’t keep trying then you will never know what might have happened.

In the meantime know I am doing all the right things.  I write my ass off and I am trying to get my work out there.  I just have to make sure I am enjoying what I do at the moment as trying to look too far ahead just ties me in knots.

7 comments:

  1. Good morning, Marissa. While I read your post I had a flash image of several of us tethered to a line as we made our way through this adventure called being an author. As each of us begins to feel doubts or the first inkling of wanting to quit, the others will help pull that person along until they get over it! ;) Have a great week.
    --James

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  2. Thanks James - great image! I have no intention of quitting, it can just all get a little frustrating at times. Thanks for the support. It is always appreciated!

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  3. You better not quit! You're damn good or your work would never have made it as far as it did with Vamplit. You just need to believe! I know I do - and now que the orchestra music as we sing together - "Have to believe we are magic...nothing can stand in our way..."

    Okay, I'm lame.

    But seriously, I do know where you're coming from. This gig is hard and I've never faced this much rejection in my life! It's daunting, it's frustrating and most days I wonder why in the hell I'm even bothering.

    I don't envision myself as a bestseller, sure I joke about one day being one in every place I post a bio of myself, but I do think that some day I will make some money at this writing schtick. Like you, I just wish it was now rather than later.

    I have enough sheer force of will to carry us both, don't you worry. You keep on keeping on... and do what you do best - write, parent and love your spouse.

    As long as there's food, the rest doesn't matter anyway, right? I got your back GF!

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  4. I always feel statistics are math twisted to depress people. Polls are the worst. Forget about it. You are in the middle of a changing industry and those statistics were out of date yesterday, a month ago, a year ago...

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  5. Who believes in statistics. They don´t mean a thing. Tell that to J.K. Rowling when she was sweating her guts out. What annoys me though is how much crap writing is out there getting published.

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  6. While finishing up my blog tour this morning, I found this, which I wish I would have remembered last night. So I'm back with http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/2010/05/platform-shmatform.html <--Excellent blog to draw inspiration for promoting your book. You don't have to be a big name to be a top seller.

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  7. That is a great site, Wendy - just what I needed to see! Thanks so much.
    C.J - you have a fabulous way with words! I can feel myself turning into a fellow yank as I read, complete with whooping, high fives, and calling each other girlfriend! Brilliant!
    Glynis - much love as always. Big kisses...Mwahhh!

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