Write for yourself, not the market

I meant to tout this book yesterday (its debut day), but I forgot (bad author, bad). Linnea Sinclair's (my mentor and author gal pal) sequel to the RITA-award winning Gabriel's Ghost (I LOVED this book!) is Shades of Dark, and it hit bookstore shelves yesterday. I'll be grabbing a copy as soon as I can get myself to the bookstore. Since it's a sequel, you should really read Gabriel's Ghost first.

Fabulous romantic sci-fi author and wonderful friend Stacey Klemstein referenced an article in her blog yesterday on Danielle Steel. For those of us who are published, it's comforting to know that we all have the same doubts, fears and insecurities. It's definitely worth reading. Here's the article on CNN.com. There's one quote in particular that both Stacey and I now have printed and taped where we can see it:

"I still never finish a book without being terrified I can't write another one. I never start one without being terrified I can't finish it," she says. "It's sort of a torturous process."

Amen, sister. But we all keep going anyway. ; )

Now, for today's blog topic: Write for yourself, not the market. If you're like me, it can take years to get published. During that time, it's important to write what you love, or in my case, what I wanted to read but couldn't find. If you write a Young Adult vampire novel because they're blazing hot sellers right now, but you don't really like YA vampire novels, it will show in your pages. Not to mention, by the time your book hits the shelves, YA vampire novels probably won't be so hot anymore (or maybe they'll be so hot that it's nuclear). The point is, the market changes quickly, like blink of an eye quick. So to stay sane and happy, write for your passion, not for market popularity.

That love for what you're writing, the fun, the passion, the "I can't wait to get back and visit with my characters" will all have to be strong enough to keep you going day after day, week after week, month after month -- you get the picture. And when your book is in your local Barnes & Noble, your readers will sense the passion that you had while writing it.

Your passion has to be strong enough that you want to write every day -- that you have to write every day. The difference between a writer and someone who likes to talk about being a writer is that you're compelled to write, they're compelled to talk. Your day isn't complete unless you write. It's like an obsession. Writing isn't something you do; a writer is what you are. And published or unpublished, nothing will change that.

If Magic Lost, Trouble Found hadn't been published, I'd still be writing Raine stories for myself -- or that Urban Fantasy that's clawing for my attention. ; ) I wouldn't have stopped trying to get published, but not getting that contract wouldn't have stopped me from writing.

Coming up this week and next: Write real dialogue for real characters, writing & critique groups, music I listen to while writing, and how I plot a book.

And coming up on Saturday: Instead of the Saturday Fun Pic, I'll have the Saturday Fun Read. Quite some time ago, I posted part of Chapter 1 of The Trouble With Demons. Since I've done some editing/tweaking to it, and since there are a lot of new readers to my blog, I'm going to post the revised version.

Lisa