What Writer's Risk

"Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go."– T.S. Eliot

Every writer risks something when writing anything. Time is the biggest since writing a book either nonfiction or fiction is a publishing gamble. A writer can spend hours, days, weeks, months and some even years writing. The gamble is whether an agent or publisher will accept it or not. It's like jumping off a cliff with an air foil. You will either catch the upward flow of air or spin down to a horrible death.

I've never met a good writer who didn't believe in what he was doing and put his whole heart into it. Notice I said good writer. Bad writers are in it for the money and rarely see any. Who wants to read a bad writer...come on now, raise you hands. Ah ha, just what I thought. Nobody. I have critiqued quite a few budding writers whose project needed serious work and thought, but that's not necessarily bad, if they are willing to risk the hard work it takes to make it better. There is a wide gulf between good and bad. There are some writers who straddle the chasm.

This is the second risk...hard work. Writing never comes easily. It takes a concentrated effort of the part of the writer. You take a seed of an idea, expand it, make it creditable...you make it creditable because readers are not naive, they question everything. Don't believe for a second that a writer can make something up to fill in the gaps with erroneous information. I guarantee there is at least one reader out there who will call him on it. It's a difficult task to make sure continuity remains throughout the 300-900 pages of a novel or nonfiction. Just make one slip up by saying your character's eyes are blue when you previously said they were brown and watch the emails and letters fly in. Nitpicking you say, but the reader is particular and can make or break a budding novelist. No sales, high returns and the writer becomes a one-hit-wonder.

Another risk, I do quite frequently is change genres. As a novelist or nonfiction writer you decide you want to write about something else and watch your sales drop. I remember when Tony Hillerman changed from writing his Indian-detective type novels to one about Vietnam a few years ago and kept the same name on both genres. It was a disaster...sales plummeted and the book ended up on the sales table at a highly reduced price. Although I take the risk and write several genres, I use pseudonyms for each change. Although I run the risk of being a "new author," readers and lovers of my espionage stories are not disappointed when I change to nonfiction in a totally different area, or southern fiction. The copyright is still listed under my real name, but not too many people read copyright information in the front of the book. All they really care about is reading a good story and that's what I give them. It's a tightrope at best.

Still for other writers there is a financial risk involved. The simple fact is the chances of becoming published are small. Too many authors and too few printed books. It's a buyers marketplace. Investments in writing can be as small as the purchase of some writing books, paper, envelopes and stamps, and some investments are quite higher. Unpublished writers spend their days creating text in the hopes of being published forsaking standard paying jobs to fulfill their dreams. Others invest hard earned greenbacks in book doctors and scams to still seek their vision of seeing their work in print. With the advent of Print on Demand (POD) publishers, many writers who have received enough rejections letters to wall paper a living room, find their dreams realized at a cost.

Times have changed in the publishing world. An old dinosaur like me remembers a time when editors really edited books. Publishing houses were small and plentiful instead of the huge conglomerates they are now with all the mergers. You could even approach publishers without an agent and if you felt you needed one, the publisher would pick up the telephone and recommend one to you. Now, the writer is stymied by "don't call us, we'll call you." Even literary agents want referrals from other published writers, and a long list of credential. They want to reduce their risks which is understandable...but difficult for the writer who waits and wades through the mire of rejection and indecision.

So is it ultimately worth the risks to become a writer? Do you want to jump off the cliff and take your chances? To me, yes. There is no greater fulfillment for a writer than to see what you wrote in print. Whether you start out small with letters to the editor of your local paper. Catch an updraft into blog writing and soar into being published. There is no greater thrill than seeing what you can accomplish in writing. The sky is the limit and although there may be a downdraft or two, continue to take the risk to achieve new heights. A risk not taking is filed away and sometime in the future can become a regret. Me, I want no regrets so I stretch farther across the abyss. Soar high, my friends and write on...

Picking up the Pieces

Quote of the Day"If one dream should fall and break into a thousand pieces, never be afraid to pick one of those pieces up and begin again."– Flavia Weedn

I read this quote of the day in one of my emails today and it got me thinking about how many times we make lemonade and applesauce in our lives. Not sure of what I'm talking about? When I was a child, when something bad happened my grandmother always said that you take the rotten apples and make applesauce with it. The premise was taking something broken, rotten or bad, and making it into something useful or good out of it.

I've lived by this principle my whole life. Writing is another way for me to make applesauce out of what life dishes out. On my other site, I use the heading, "Where Murphy's Law and the Luck of the Irish Combine in Writing." Now, I'm only Irish by marriage, but Murphy's Law reads...whatever can go wrong; will go wrong. Luck of the Irish is self-explanatory. When you combine the two you reach a status quo between bad and good. Sort of. It takes a little extra effort to look for the blessing or good stuff in everything bad that happens.

For example, I was in a head-on collision a couple of months ago. That is a very bad thing, I'm sure everyone can agree. Both automobiles were totaled. Here's my view on the situation. All the vehicles were totaled, but everyone walked away from the accident with a few broken bones and bruises. Cars can be replaced; people can not. Sure broken bones are a royal pain as they heal, but you can not heal from death.

The hospital did a CT scan because the x-rays showed something strange and they wanted a better view. The CT showed tumors in my abdomen. As I said in my previous post, I've had major surgery in the past few months. Now, everyone hears tumor and thinks cancer. I was one of those also. I cried. I pitched a fit big-time. I prayed. Then I chose action and a proactive stance over self-pity. Now don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with sitting on the pity-pot, but just don't make it a life long ambition. It's just not what I'm about.

I finally reached a point of peace with the whole issue. I figured if I didn't wake up from surgery then my job here on Earth was complete and I could go on to a place where Murphy's Law didn't existed. Not a bad thing considering my life. If I woke up from surgery then my job here on Earth was not complete. Something was left undone. Either way it was out of my hands. So many people scramble to pick up all the pieces of the problem or their lives to keep control. An example of the shattered glass or shattered dreams. Inner peace is more important than control.

I had surgery, complications, and healing in the past few months. It has been a growing experience. If I had not had my accident, the tumors would still be in my body...growing and making me ill. Considering my heart stopped twice during surgery, I'm still here writing. The shattered dreams and glass of the accident are past. There it will remain until forgotten. What is important is that I am here, doing what has to be done. Writing, learning, advocating, teaching, and loving everything around me. So my pretty car is gone. It was replaced. The other people involved are living their lives to the fullest. Let's be honest here, not too many people walk away from a head-on collision without permanent damage. The three of us had a wake up call. Look at the shattered pieces of your dreams, stop trying to pick up ALL the pieces, pick one and create something wonderful.

Kicking and Screaming into the 21st Century

Welcome to my Blog,

I've joined the 21st century kicking and screaming along the way. For a few years now, Blogs have replaced the old journals and diaries of the previous century. I've written in journals all of my life. I've got a footlocker full of them.

As I look back over time, I guess I've always looked at new technology with hindsight. The microwave oven, although invaluable in my life nowadays, was something I waited to get. Computers, I have to admit it wasn't until my father got one that I first realized the ease of it as a writing tool. I used to spend hours upon hours tapping away on my old typewriter editing and reediting, which now sits forlornly in the garage. I never saw the need until I got my first one. I looked at blogging the same way. How could journaling here be better than having a book in hand for all time? Less finger cramping for one thing. Computer monitors are backlit so I don't have to turn on the lights and wake everyone up was another.

My daughters finally convinced me to connect with myspace and start a page there. Like everything else, I procrastinated for YEARS before I finally made a page for myself. What really spearheaded my action was a message in the Books and Writers Forum in Compuserve. I've been a member there since before AOL/Worldcom bought it out. I finally saw the value of having a myspace account and a blog. Marketing was a major selling point for me. It was a way to get myself out there without going there. Well honestly, I still have "to go there." As a writer, I'm always looking for tools to help me along the way...this is my newest one. Even if I protest against it, usually dragging my feet and scuffing my shoes in the dirt, I have done it now.

Before there was email, it was letter writing, telephone calls, and actual one on one conversations. Can you believe it? Talking face to face with someone? Introducing yourself and seeing them? All of these are being replaced in the cyberworld. You can find anything on the net. Now, even me.

With postal rate increases coming along almost yearly, this is cheaper and faster. Now, be honest, cheaper is important. With the price of gas reaching over three dollars a gallon, people buying hybrid cars, and everything else...you save money where you can. Oh, don't get me started on gas price or rising costs of everything...I'd be here all day!

It all made sense and seemed normal to me. That in itself is strange, because I'm the Queen of Abby Normal. Long live the Queen! I usually find unconventional ways of doing things to make things work. I struggle against conformity constantly. Why conform, when unconformity is fun and exciting...but that's another blog for later.

Thanks for stopping by and reading. Y'all come back now, ya hear?
Jo