I was going to write about my indecision on what story to work on next…what great literary masterpiece I should scribble away on during that period of time after I’ve closed out revisions and while my book is hopefully out on a submission. It’s an important question, because I already have a sequel ready to launch (okay, numerous pages already written), but if the first book doesn’t sell, well, maybe there’s no call for all that effort on a series that’s dead on arrival. Anyway, I was musing on this on Friday, when this blog post by Saladin Ahmed got my eye – Cap In Hand: The Darker Side of the Writing Life – go ahead, take a few minutes to read it. I’ll be here when you get back.
I’ve read THRONE OF THE CRESCENT MOON, and thought it was a great book. Obviously, a lot of other people did as well. Anyone who writes hopes for the reactions that Ahmed’s book generated, and that wonderful response translated into critical success, sales, positive press, and awards – but not a financial windfall. At least, not the J.K. Rowling, Stephen King, Dan Brown type of windfall.
From the outside looking in (i.e., someone who hopes to actually write for a living one day), it’s a sobering thought. Not that most authors never achieve the sort of financial riches of the famous few, but that even those who appear to have “made it”, by almost every objective standard, still struggle. Some of us want to quit our jobs and pursue writing, others of us hope to pursue writing well enough that we can quit our jobs – in the end, all of us hope we can eventually sustain ourselves doing what we love.
There’s a cautionary tale hidden here, and perhaps the specifics of Ahmed’s situation are well, too specific, to draw too many conclusions. As a father with kids, and a full-time job, I can appreciate the difficulties in managing one’s time (I can also appreciate wanting to go to GenCon; I’ve been, and it’s great). I can also sympathize with financial hardship and hard choices. But, I can’t imagine any worse feeling than feeling trapped – of having to choose between writing and surviving. For many of us, there is no choice – we really can’t do one without the other.
I hope Saladin Ahmed gets the chance to complete his series and continue the story he began in THRONE OF THE CRESCENT MOON. More importantly, I hope he gets all the help he needs.
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