I just put up a post on my Alessandra Clarke blog announcing that I won’t have a new novel out under that name before year end. (Also announcing that Rider’s Revenge is on a 99 cent sale this week and that the box set is just $4.99.)
It hurt to write that, because even though I only have a dozen or so people who probably care, I don’t like not doing what I said I would do. As a matter of fact, if I had made that promise to one specific individual who I knew was waiting for the book I’d probably force myself to work insanely long hours to get that book out just to keep that commitment. (I’m #5 Responsibility on Strengthsfinder. It’s what we do.)
I have always envied those people who had one direction they knew they wanted to go in and who went in that direction without hesitation. With writing if you can be that person and you give readers what they want, it’s a path to tremendous success. (If you don’t give readers what they want, it can be heart-breaking to an extreme because that’s the only direction you want to go.)
But the fact is, I’ve never been that person. In high school I played three sports, enjoyed all of my classes except history, and also did mock trial and other extracurriculars. In college I triple majored and would’ve majored in ten subjects if they’d let me.
And because I’ve never been that person I have to pay the cost of it. Namely, with writing, the slower sales build and the risk of disappointing fans with what I choose to write next.
The good thing about my approach is that I am diversified and can shift direction easily. (Assuming I want to, which is another thing entirely…)
Anyway. Thought I’d share my writerly pain of the day. In good news, I did finish the first draft of that cozy mystery before my Strengths coach training so am hoping to get it edited and published in the next month. (Which will give me a whole new batch of fans to disappoint! Good times! Haha….Sigh.)
M.L. Humphrey 