I recently read an article about the way self-publishing was allowing the market to become awash with poor writers producing sub-standard work that would never normally see the light of day This article has plagued me for some time now. Some good points were made and we have to acknowledge that not all writers are going to be good enough to retire to their country estate and watch the world go by based on the profits from the sales of their books, but should that really be a reason to stop writing?
Both the Prudence books are so far down on the Amazon bestseller list that they are not even a blip on the horizon, so should I just call it quits and find some other 'hobby'?
I have to admit that since becoming a part of this merry band of sub-standard writers I have been amazed by just how many others there are out there following the same path as me. Actually it's a little bit scary just how much competition there is out there!
So what makes us carry on? We have two, three or more books out there that are going nowhere fast, why write more? I suppose we have to examine the reasons why we write. I can't speak for everyone else of course, but here is a little insight into why I will probably never stop.
Firstly it is something I have always done and when I say always I mean just that. I first started making up stories when I was very young for my two brothers. I then progressed on to making up episodes for my favourite t.v. shows. These rarely got as far as being written down (obviously no computers back then - I am that old!), but it allowed me to carry on story time in my head even after 'lights out'! As I got older I started writing down scraps of ideas for stories on any bits of paper I could get hold of. I was pretty average at school but English literature and language were always my favourite and my strongest subjects.
I didn't actually finish a complete novel until the mid 1990's after having started the story shortly after I got married in 1981. I found it the other day, hidden away in a cupboard and long forgotten. to be honest that is where it should have stayed; it was rubbish. The story itself was not bad and there were no gaping plot holes or anything like that, it was just that it was very poorly written and most of the characters were a little wooden and 'samey'. However the very fact that I can look at it now and see my mistakes means that I have grown as a writer; that I have learned along the way and hopefully will continue to do so. Still, I can not forget the feeling I got when I finally got the thing finished; the excitement, the sense of achievement, it was amazing.
And, that is the feeling I get whenever I write. That is why I write. Remember in a previous post I referred to this quote; 'if you can't find the book you want to read on the shelf, write it.'? That's what I'm doing and I suppose this is the crux of why I'm writing; it's not really for anyone else it's just for me. If anyone else wants to share the journey with me well that's great, there's plenty of room, hop on board, but if you don't that's fine too, there are plenty of others out there to hitch a ride with.
I think that probably the person who wrote the article that has prompted this post could be slightly missing the point of why most of us write. I, for one am never going to set the world on fire with my literary genius, but I don't think that has ever been my intention, it is just that it is so much a part of me, so ingrained that I just don't think I could turn my back on it now, or ever. Even if I did, a lot of my idea's come from dreams that I've had so if I did try to make a conscious effort to stop writing I don't think my sub-conscious would give up without a fight!
So my message today,
as always:
Don't be negative
Keep writing
Stay happy
Kim
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