The Fallacy of Constant Visibility

I'm giving a talk in a couple of weeks about anxiety, stress, and finding ways to be happy in the midst of a writing career.

Twenty years ago, the pace of the publishing world was much slower. You submitted a manuscript (in print, via snail mail), and you might hear back in eight months. Then, maybe you would land an agent, and it would take another year to get a publishing contract. And then another year or two before the book was released.

There was still anxiety and worry and desperation, but the time line was different.

Now, things happen in days.

Thanks to indie publishing, books can potentially be cranked out in days. Not saying that's good, just saying it's happening.

Feelings of desperation and worry and anxiety are so ramped up right now, if you're not constantly in the public eye, you feel like a failure.

I've seen authors recommend staying "current" every 2-3 months in some way. Either releasing a new book, doing a special promotion, something. 

Constant visibility.

And if you're not doing that? You feel worthless, like no one cares, like you are no longer important in the writing world.

I'm gonna call HUGE bullshit on that. Right now.

Something I discovered after doing a Book Bub ad...there's a big difference in readers-addicted-to-cheap-deals and readers-addicted-to-YOU.

Readers looking for cheap deals are looking for daily fixes, and this drives the idea that romance authors MUST-DO-SOMETHING-EVERY-DAY-NEWSLETTER-NEW BOOK-SOMETHING-SHEER PANIC!!!

I sold a lot of books with Book Bub, but did I gain a lot of long-term readers? That's the kicker. I think a bunch of those consumers are looking for a freebie or a cheap deal, and do not necessarily develop author-loyalty.

I'm looking for author-loyalty. Readers who really dig my books, my voice, my vision. 

I know, even if it takes me 1 year, 2 years, 10 years to release the next book, those loyal readers will buy it.

This push for constant productivity and visibility is making lots of money for promotional businesses. It's also encouraging less-than-stellar books on the market. I see plenty of books with no editing at all. 

This is the way I look at it...

For readers who want free/cheap books, and lots of them, and daily new deals, there are plenty of books to choose from. Tons.

For readers who want to read a Penny Watson original, there are books for them, too.

These are two different types of business models, and it's fine to pick one or the other.

But for folks who feel like they are failures if they can't keep up this pace, please stop and think...

Amy Tan had four years between THE KITCHEN GOD'S WIFE and THE HUNDRED SECRET SENSES. Did we forget about her? Did she become irrelevant? No.

Pink, the singer, took time off to be with her kids. Did we forget about her/not care about her? No, she's awesome. We didn't forget.

Maybe, instead of seeing ourselves as a disposable commodity, we should see ourselves as artists. It takes time to create art. It's special and unique and worth-waiting-for. 

It's a different way of looking at this writing business, and it's a different way of dealing with stress and the current push for constant visibility.

I'm not satisfied with seeing my colleagues sell a lot of books. I also want them to be happy and not feel crushed under the stress of this business.

Go ahead and take your time if you need to. We will all still be here when you're ready for us.

You're worth waiting for!

All my best,

Penny/Nina

Telling A Story

I guess it's time for an update.

If you're expecting a perky update about my latest WIP, you're shit out of luck.

This update is about that festive life event known as the "mid-life crisis." Although, technically, I'm not sure I'm really at the mid-life point. I'm about to turn fifty. I suppose this is payback since I've been making fun of my husband's mid-life crisis for years. (I think his started at quarter-life and continues to this day).

My mid-life crisis doesn't have anything to do with feeling time-challenged. I'm fine with growing older. My mid-life crisis concerns what path to take. Which is quite common for folks in this predicament.

So, what's the problem? Here's the problem. I'm at a fork in the road. It's possible this fork has more than two tines, but let's just pretend there are two for the moment.

I write stuff. And I'm an independent author. That means *I* get to decide what to write. No agent, no editor, no publisher tells me what to do. I make the decisions about my career.

On one side of the road is the path EVERYONE TELLS ME TO TAKE. Also known as "how to sell books, you big dumb-ass" and "market-driven" and "time to grow up, sweet cheeks." On this road we have series. Lots and lots of series. Because this is how romance authors sell books and gain a readership. We have books about popular topics, like NA angsty sports heroes with six-pack abs and tattoos. Interestingly enough, there's not a ton of romance in this romance (from my vantage point, old-school romance reader clinging fiercely to my Julie Garwood books). But the readers love it.

On the other side of the road is the PATH OF CREATIVE FREEDOM. This path has nothing to do with commercial success. You write any topic that interests you. You focus on craft and unique storytelling. It's not super popular at the moment. And it's hard to hook those readers when you keep jumping around different genres.

I know the "right" thing to do in order to sell more books. Write a series, nothing too weird. Jump on the bandwagon of popular topics. Be an aggressive promoter and learn how to game the system. If you think those books just pop up on Amazon with all 4/5 star reviews, hundreds of them, and it's just a natural and spontaneous occurrence, I have a bridge to sell you.

That's not how this works.

That's not how any of this works.

But I have never been market-driven. I've been story-driven. Even if my stories are weird, and blend genres, and push limits. That's how I've done things.

And now, at the ripe old age of almost-fifty, I have to decide if I'm trying to sell books. Or trying to write truly unique stories that might not fit into a tidy little marketable box.

And to add a bit of extra angst into the mix, the romance genre I fell in love with--twenty years ago...yep, I'm old--no longer exists.

What the hell am I going to do with this fork? Bend the tines? Throw it into a fire? Admit defeat and open a flower shop?

I feel like I've been banging my head against the wall for a long time, and I have a big fucking headache.

I've been getting great advice by many smart and wonderful people.

And I have an extremely cool, small, devoted group of readers. Clearly, folks who also like to think outside of the box of the typical romance novel. Folks who appreciate older characters, different types of stories, mixing Yeti into a holiday tale, and are not off-put by the occasional cuss word.

God bless us, everyone!

I have about a dozen books in the queue. A lot of the books are already partially written. Some of them are a sentence of an idea. Just one image that sparked something.

I know the ones I *should* write.

I know the ones that make rational, reasonable sense. That would continue to mold my "brand" and grow a consistent readership.

I know.

(You can see where this story is going, right?)

But the one that keeps nagging at me to write it doesn't fit in any tidy box. It's raw and intense and like nothing I have ever done before.

Like a tornado clearing a new path?

I'm not sure if Penny is going to write this one.

I'm pretty sure Nina is going to write this one.

Hi. My real name is Nina, and I'm going through a mofo mid-life crisis.

And so I climb into that Thelma-and-Louise convertible, perched on the edge of the cliff.

Surprisingly, I feel relief. Trying to squeeze into this box has been sort of stressful.

Jumping off the cliff is liberating.

Stay tuned for more...

Talk soon,

Nina

Is Anybody Listening?

Statistics from the national RWA....


6% of romance readers are between the ages of 14-17.

9% of romance readers are between the ages of 18-24.

40% of romance readers are between the ages of 35-54.

If you tack on the 55-64 age bracket, you get...

51% of romance readers are between the ages of 35-64.


So, only 9% of romance readers are 18-24, and yet the "New Adult" category is the hot new trend. What does this mean? Why is NA so hot, why are publishers pushing younger characters and teen angst (YA) when the majority of romance readers are more mature?

Do mature readers want to read about teens and young adults dealing with coming-of-age issues? I asked some friends why older women would want to read about this age group, and they replied "they're nostalgic" "they want to recapture their youth" "for entertainment."

Since I have teens, the last thing I want to read about is teen angst.

I'm living teen angst right now, thank you very much.

And...the very last thing I want to read about is teenagers having sex. *Penny faints*

But I wonder if this is really what mature readers want. Since I recently published my novella APPLES SHOULD BE RED, I've been receiving emails, Twitter messages, and Facebook posts from readers who are thrilled to see a romance with older characters--late 50s, early 60s. The overriding sentiment is "thank you so much for showing that more mature women are capable of love and lust and happy endings" and "I wish this would start a trend and more books with characters in this age group would become available." I've seen discussions on reader message boards expressing this same sentiment.

I, personally, would love to see more books with mature characters who have been around the bend a few times. It seems like a lot of readers feel the same way--readers who make up the majority of the romance-purchasing population.

Is anybody listening?

I sure hope so.

All my best,
Penny

Romance: The Rodney Dangerfield of Fiction

Sometimes it seems like no matter what we do, romance just can't get no respect. Even if our books are on the top of the NYT bestseller list for weeks and weeks, even if we get good reviews, even if they're written by scholars and academics. 

They're still considered trash.

On the big old totem pole of fiction, we're beneath everyone. Way beneath literary fiction, children's fiction, cookbooks, turfgrass manuals, mysteries, thrillers, and horror. On the very bottom, in the mud-pit, is romance.

So, we do what we can to earn some respect in this publishing industry. We write high quality books. We sell. We win awards.

But at the end of the day, there's still one piece of this puzzle which is pretty damned important that is being over-looked. Mainly because I think it's an old-fashioned concept.

And that's professionalism.

If we want to be respected in the industry, we, the authors, need to act with professionalism. In every way.

Maybe I'm old-fashioned. Maybe I'm a stick-in-the-mud. But I spend a lot of time cringing when I see certain behaviors that I think are setting back the respectability of our genre.

Here are a few ways we can help to promote professionalism as authors. I'm breaking this up into three categories...1. Respect Yourself. 2. Respect Your Colleagues. 3. Respect Your Genre

Penelope's Hot Tips: How To Be A "Professional" Romance Writer

1. RESPECT YOURSELF

* If you attend a professional romance writer's conference, dress appropriately. Do not wear flip-flops, tight blue jeans with your muffin top hanging out, and skimpy tank tops with no bra. Dressy casual, people! Also, don't pick your teeth with toothpicks at the dinner table while some big-name author is speaking. (Don't ask).

* Make sure your author head-shot is professional. Keep your clothes on. Spare us the birds-eye view booby shot. If you want to be taken seriously as an author, your head-shot should not look like a porno. Also, if your bio mentions masturbation or your own personal sex habits, you've crossed the line from professional writer to TMI wanna-be.

* I know there are plenty of folks who think the terms "smut, filth, dirt, etc" are perfectly fine to describe erotica. They think they're cute, funny, tongue-in-cheek. They may indeed be all of these things. They may attract a certain readership. But don't kid yourself. Under no circumstances is calling yourself a "smut-writer" professional.

* Learn your craft. Take writing classes, go to workshops, get a critique group. Write the best-quality work you can. This will earn you respect as an author. Present a polished, professional work to the public. If you self-pub a book riddled with errors, poor grammar and typos, and fail to have it professionally edited, it's a slap-in-the-face to yourself, your readers, and the genre.

2. RESPECT YOUR COLLEAGUES AND YOUR READERS

* Do not bad-mouth your colleagues in public. EVER. No matter what transgression has occurred. Discuss in private with your buds. But do not discuss in public settings--this includes Twitter, FB, message boards, etc.

* Reciprocate. If your colleagues are helping to promote you and your books, and you are not reciprocating, you come off as a stuck-up beeyotch who doesn't have time for the "little people." Make sure to reciprocate, and to say thank-you. Good manners are professional! Do no underestimate the power of good manners.

* The reader is always right. Even when she's wrong. Do not leave rude, cuss-filled tirades after bad reviews. Do not engage in pissing matches on Twitter. Be gracious, kind, and polite. Karma's a bitch. If you earn an AUTHOR BEHAVING BADLY badge, it's difficult to shake it. Complain in private to friends, family members, and your dog. Public bad behavior sticks with you a long, long time, and is, plain and simple, totally unprofessional.

3. RESPECT YOUR GENRE

* Be an ambassador of romance. Recommend good books to readers. Boast about colleagues and their accomplishments. If you hear someone refer to our books as "bodice rippers" you might want to gently point out that there are many sub-genres of romance and erotica, and that "bodice ripper" refers to a certain subset of books that are no longer published. Gently. Kindly. With a freakin' smile on your face.

You have to decide what your goals are. If your goal is to sell a ton of books, you might not care about professionalism. After all, sex sells. Maybe you like your naked photo "head-shot" and your book Daddy Spank Me is selling like hot-cakes. If that's your only goal--to sell a ton of books--then it doesn't matter if you're professional or not.

But if you want to be respected by your colleagues, your readers, and industry professionals--agents, editors, publishers--then you need to act appropriately. The romance industry continues to struggle with respectability within the publishing world--in spite of huge sales and popularity. If we ourselves, as authors, don't act/speak/dress professionally, we're kicking ourselves in the butt. 

How can we expect the rest of the world to treat us with respect, if we don't do it ourselves?

Feeling hopelessly old-fashioned,

Penelope

It's Romance, People! Romance!

I divide the world into two types of people.

People who can laugh at themselves.

And people who can't.

What I have noticed, in all of my infinite wisdom, is that certain people (regardless of their job status, family background, or financial standing) are blow-hards. They take themselves way too seriously.

There are certain folks who should take themselves seriously.

The president of the United States should definitely take himself seriously. A cardiac surgeon who is about to perform a complex surgical procedure should take himself seriously. A social worker who makes decisions about abusive families should take herself seriously. People making life and death decisions, involved in nuclear physics, and FBI agents should take themselves seriously.

The romance biz....well, let me put it this way. Our genre includes such tropes as missing babies, Sheikhs, and forced seduction. The covers of our books have half-naked guys on the front, liberally slathered up with oil. Our fans have tattoos of fictitious vampires on their bums. In the great scheme of things, I don't think the romance industry ranks up there with medicine, the space program, or law enforcement.

Now, don't get me wrong. I think that the authors who create these books are incredibly hard-working and talented people. I have the utmost respect for my colleagues and all the agents and editors and publishers involved in making this industry successful. It is a very lucrative industry, and it supports a lot of workers. But we can't forget this is an entertainment field. Just like sports, film, and music. These are big business, big money makers, but entertainment nevertheless. Which is why I love actors/musicians/athletes who recognize the absurdity of what's going on around them, vs. the actors/musicians/athletes who buy into their own hype.

Sean Diddy can't laugh at himself. (Have you ever seen a photo of that guy smiling? Seriously?)

Johnny Depp can. And does. All the time.

I love folks in the romance industry who can make fun of themselves, have a good perspective on life, and realize that vampires aren't real.

And, I'm sort of fed up with the romance folks who think they're all bad-ass and "King of the World." For Christ's sake, we have Fabio on our book covers, people! Fabio!

This is a typical scenario at my house....My husband gets home from work and asks how my day was. I tell him I was working on a sexy scene in my WIP. I ask how his day was. He tells me a patient almost died on the table, and he saved his life.

My husband saves patients' lives. And maybe when those people are recovering, they'll read a romance novel for entertainment.

Gotta keep things in perspective.



Penelope