I've talked about jealousy and writing before, but in sort of different terms. Today I start to tackle the act of being jealous a little bit, and why it tends to be weird in writing compared to other crafts.
We all have those moments. One day we're on top of the world, the next we're nose deep in self-pity. The key is to enjoy the ups while we're on them and to realize that we will find our audience, one reader at a time. Whether we end up with a broad readership or an eclectic one, they are still people who love our work and there isn't much better than sharing with them.
I've definitely been jealous before. We know about the success stories for obvious reasons, so it's easy to think that either that's going to happen to us, or that happens to everyone *but* us. And it really doesn't help when you hear about something you know is crap selling incredibly well. >_<
But on a personal level, I've accepted that not everyone will like what I write - I think it was John Scalzi who said that there's no such thing as a book that everyone likes. I just want to get my books to the people who will like them, which seems like a reasonable goal for now. I might not ever be as big as the people whose works fill my shelves, but if I can at least get my books out there to be read, that will be better than nothing.
We all have those moments. One day we're on top of the world, the next we're nose deep in self-pity. The key is to enjoy the ups while we're on them and to realize that we will find our audience, one reader at a time. Whether we end up with a broad readership or an eclectic one, they are still people who love our work and there isn't much better than sharing with them.
ReplyDeleteI've definitely been jealous before. We know about the success stories for obvious reasons, so it's easy to think that either that's going to happen to us, or that happens to everyone *but* us. And it really doesn't help when you hear about something you know is crap selling incredibly well. >_<
ReplyDeleteBut on a personal level, I've accepted that not everyone will like what I write - I think it was John Scalzi who said that there's no such thing as a book that everyone likes. I just want to get my books to the people who will like them, which seems like a reasonable goal for now. I might not ever be as big as the people whose works fill my shelves, but if I can at least get my books out there to be read, that will be better than nothing.