Zestful Blog Post #179
I was supposed to teach ‘How to Write a Dynamite Mystery or
Thriller that SELLS’ at the Mystery Writers of America event this Saturday in
Venice, Fla., ‘Sleuthfest on Saturday.’ But that confab has been cancelled
because of the incoming Hurricane Matthew. According to the organizer, my buddy
Randy Rawls, many presenters and attendees were coming from the Atlantic coast
of the state, and they need to take care of the home front. Here on the Gulf
coast we’re looking to miss the worst of it; keeping fingers crossed for all of
our friends in harm’s way. Marcia, ever practical, objected, “Heck, they already
had hotel reservations here where it’s safe!” I’m hoping we can put this event
together again; will keep you posted.
OK. I promised to write more about the stuff I learned at
the recent Novelists, Inc. conference. Here’s something that’s preyed on my
mind, to a head-banging extent: Should authors write the story they want to
write, or write the story they think—maybe even know—readers want?
[...Doesn’t look too bad at the moment...]
Liz Pelletier, CEO and president of Entangled Publishing,
gave a compelling talk on how to test-market book ideas before writing a book,
to better ensure commercial success. (This whole thing really has to do with
commercial success, an important point to remember.) Until recently—until social
media came along, that is—you couldn’t
test-market an idea for a novel. Well, you could, but it would have been
complicated and probably expensive. Besides, didn’t agents and editors in New
York know what’s best?
But now you can put out a single idea, or a paragraph of
hypothetical back-cover material, to your friends and followers, and ask for
reactions. You can tweak it and see what they think now. If you’re comfortable
writing detailed outlines, you can go farther still, and test it again. Liz and
her company have done these things, and in a few years they’ve put more than 50
books on the NYT bestsellers list. This is beyond impressive.
In an opposite sort of talk, equally compelling, Julian
Pavia, an executive editor at Random House/Crown, told the tale of two debut
novels, both of which had been projects of passion: The Martian by Andy Weir
and Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. Both guys basically were like, “Screw it—I’m
gonna write the thing that’s been burning a hole in my heartbrain.” Both books
became blockbuster bestsellers, movie deals, dollars spurting like arterial
blood, because readers responded to them and spread the word. Neither guy had
written a novel before; Weir was in tech and Cline was a screenwriter. Of
course their experience and skills served them well when they did set out to
write a novel.
Commercial success means you have a readership. Every author
wants their books to find an audience. But the desire to write—that first spark
of simply wanting to do it, having to do it—comes from deep down. That’s the
key: It all starts with passion. So it follows that a professional author must—must—write
the projects of the heart as well as be a journeyman. This requires planning
and intentionality. It’s way easier to give in to faster-hotter-more than to insist on slow-cooked quality. I say, if you’re compelled to write fiction, look to your
heartbrain first. Mine what’s there first. And then you’ll be better equipped
to write for the market. Your insides will be cleaner and clearer. You’ll be
happier. It might take longer. That’s what I think.
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