Friday, November 16, 2007
Beyond the Velvet Rope
Pirates define success as the amount of treasure they receive on a perfect haul. They seek the fastest ship, the swiftest sword, and of course, all the rum they can consume.
What do writers define as success?
Do you ever imagine your WIP on the shelves at Barnes and Noble? Do you envision the cover art, the color of the jacket, even the font for your name? Do you ever get an automatic high when you think about your first book signing?
Maybe you have envisioned your published work announced as Oprah Winfrey’s latest choice for her book club. Everyone knows that Oprah’s book club seal is a token promise of success.
Have you dreamed of being the guest writer on your favorite blog? Do you have an important message to convey in your story, and long for your voice to be heard? Would you like to be touted as the writer who achieved the perfect formula? Or, maybe you aspire to win a Rita, a Golden Quill, or NaNo *g*.
I think every writer at some point in time has these aspirations. For many writers all of these signify the culmination, or the defining moment of their success.
I have often thought about what I want out of my experience as a writer. What will actually define my success? My conclusion is far beyond people standing behind a velvet rope waiting for my signature. The most important thing is telling my story, and doing it well.
I have read thousands of books in my lifetime. I want to create in my writing what I love in my reading. I love the feeling of finishing a well-written book. I call it the awe moment. When I am a few pages from finishing the book and I want so much to read the last words, but I hesitate, because I never want it to end. Have you ever closed the cover of a book and become emotional from the beauty of the story?
I define success as the ability to write the awe factor.
I look forward to completing a story, not just any story, but my story. And when I finish I want to type the last words, roll my desk chair away from the computer, and know the sweet feeling of completion. I don’t care if it’s not the best story ever written, or even worthy of publishing. Finishing is my goal, and then the rewrites and quest for the awe factor will begin.
Maybe some would argue that I want to achieve the awe factor in order to have all the experiences I have mentioned. What they don’t understand is I view my reward as making a living doing something I love.
To me, book signings and cover art are icing on the cake, but the cake is the culmination, and what I crave the most.
Other than publishing, what defines your success as a writer?
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13 comments:
I hadn't really thought about my name on the cover of a book until reading this. Gosh, that would be so awesome. And I've attended some book signings with my friends who are doing the signing, it's painful. Even top published authors don't like them very much so I'm not looking forward to that. However, meeting someone who has read my book and likes it would be nice.
You hit it right on the head, it's the awe factor. I want that. I want to create that. I have read books and been loath to let the characters go. That's why I love a really good series. You get to live with those characters much longer.
I want to move people. I want people to relate with the characters, to root for the characters and to remember my characters. That is the ultimate measure of success for me.
Fantastic blog as usual. LOL!
Thanks Terrio:)
I love Ranger in the Stephanie Plum series (as if you all didn't know). He's the first character that I've never been able to put away along with the book on the shelf.
I want that in my characters. If I could create just one character that made readers never want to let go, I think it would be the bomb:)
Do I think I can? Sure, the problem is getting them out there. I'm sure discarded manuscripts everywhere have the awe factor in a character. It's just a matter of being discovered.
The writer writes in order to teach himself, to understand himself, to satisfy himself; the publishing of his ideas, though it brings gratification, is a curious anticlimax.
~Alfred Kazin
Think, February 1963
I've thought about my name on the book. I go to the library and figure out what bookshelf I'm going to be on, who I'm going to be shelved between.
Of course, I'm going to have to look again--I was doing this with the last name "Colley", but if I'm going with Sophie Sinclair, then obviously I have another shelf to look at. :)
I haven't thought about booksignings. Mainly because you have to be pretty well established by then to have really good ones. Otherwise, they're pretty quiet, I think. It would be awing to meet people who drove a long way to meet me and buy my book though...still, I can't quite wrap my mind around anyone doing that. Other than you guys, perhaps. *LOL* But you're like family. I can't imagine complete strangers doing it.
And the AWE factor is IT. You need to coin that term. JK Rowling definitely has the AWE factor down pat. Eloisa James does a great job of that too with most of her books...and there are tons of others I could name. I don't think overall I'd have an "AWE factor" in my books. I have blips of awe. *LOL* Which is good, right? I mean, blips can turn into stretches and then eventually perhaps the whole book.
Gawd, Ranger is HAWT, HAWT, HAWT...he's awe on a stick. I can take and leave about every other character in that series, but Ranger I want to take home with me. *LOL*
Love,love, love the quote Hellion:) It defines the entire point of my blog.
I love that you have thought about where your book will be on the shelf in the book store or library, that's great.
I'm weird I envision cover art and font. I'm a font queen from way back:)
I also have to admit I am a praise whore. I would love for a published writer to read my work and give me a good review. Shallow but true.
Nah, all writers are praise whores. Nature of the game. If Sherrilyn Kenyon read my book and said, "Wow, hilarious. I wish I'd written it." I would simply fall over and die in giddiness.
I would substitute "JK Rowling" but that's like having God read my book and saying, "I wish I wrote it."--my mind can't wrap around the concept as a possibility.
In one of my chapters, one of the AYU (as yet unpublished) writers used Covers as a focus tool. That Imagine It and You Can Do It philosophies, like you're suggesting here. She created a mock cover of her book with the title and her name in the fancy font, just as something to strive for. She finished her book--and I think she had editors and agents requesting her stuff, pretty high up and far along... If you love to play with fonts and covers (and I've seen the men you have at the Bat Cave--you'd have a freaking great cover!)--you should try it, just for fun.
Lissa - you hit the nail on the head for me. When I come on to these blogs and read about being published and people reviewing what I write and people I don't know buying a book I wrote, it doesn't really blow my skirt up. But when I think about writing "The End" and having someone I really respect reading it and saying WOW! That gets my juices flowing. So now I know what to call that - "The AWE factor"!
If Eloisa read my book and loved it I'd be over the moon. I aim for a book like SEP so if I get even close to that I'll be ecstatic.
Hey! I want a mock up cover too. Oh, I need to find time to play with my name in pretty fonts. Dang all this work spread all over my desk!!!
Wait - I want to see what's in the Bat Cave!! What am I missing? I bet it's good, huh?
Come on, give a girl a treat on a Friday. LOL!
Irish-It's always been that for me from the beginning. Being able to create words on a page that affect a person so much even long after they've read the last word is my greatest aspiration.
I'm glad you like the awe factor:)
Terrio- I'm sending you a little taste of what appears on the homepage at The Batcave everyday:)
Be aware it comes with a drool warning...
Sorry, messed up the last one.
Now you've got me all a twitter sitting here waiting. LOL!
Cap'n made me a cover and then I played with it and made it a little more colorful. Now I have to make her one. Which means trolling the net for more hottied. Man, life is tough...
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