One can be a passionate writer and still be market-savvy.
Exactly! And I do think that it's actually more savvy to write your passion and then find the market than the reverse. Because the thing is? It's passion that's going to allow you to write a book that's strong enough and compelling enough to BREAK IN to that market. The point is to stand out, not to fit in.
They shouldn't let it stop them from writing the story the way it demands to be written, because that's dishonest, but they should be aware of the potential pitfalls.
Well, I also think an author has to really consider if a story really demands certain things or if it's about them being more comfortable. I think a lot of authors fall back on some of the -isms because it's a comfort zone issue, not because of the story.
And yeah, you can't sit there and try to please everyone, but I do think there are some levels of awareness and conscience a writer needs to have. Because books do have impact, they do affect culture, they do influence people's thinking. Even fiction. Especially fiction.
I guess I'm just looking at it from the point of view of someone who had an author come and respond to a review very negatively and didn't even bother to consider whether maybe she HAD written something that was (however unintentionally) really hurtful.
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Date: 2009-08-30 11:02 pm (UTC)Exactly! And I do think that it's actually more savvy to write your passion and then find the market than the reverse. Because the thing is? It's passion that's going to allow you to write a book that's strong enough and compelling enough to BREAK IN to that market. The point is to stand out, not to fit in.
They shouldn't let it stop them from writing the story the way it demands to be written, because that's dishonest, but they should be aware of the potential pitfalls.
Well, I also think an author has to really consider if a story really demands certain things or if it's about them being more comfortable. I think a lot of authors fall back on some of the -isms because it's a comfort zone issue, not because of the story.
And yeah, you can't sit there and try to please everyone, but I do think there are some levels of awareness and conscience a writer needs to have. Because books do have impact, they do affect culture, they do influence people's thinking. Even fiction. Especially fiction.
I guess I'm just looking at it from the point of view of someone who had an author come and respond to a review very negatively and didn't even bother to consider whether maybe she HAD written something that was (however unintentionally) really hurtful.