First of all I want to talk about success. I want to be successful (doesn’t everybody?). I have learned that success definitely does not mean happy, or necessarily rich. I have lived in the Philippines for many years, among the poorest of the poor, and I mean poor. These people could not only not afford the television; they probably could not even afford the plug.
An anomaly struck me as soon as I moved there to live. Many of them did not know where their next meal would come from, but they were happy, friendly and generally content.
Coming from a reasonable (but not necessarily happy) life as a lawyer in the UK, this made me rethink my own values a lot. Generally, we are nearly all successful – we are warm, fed and safe, but we treat success as more of a distant target than an immediate achievement. “Success is a journey, not a destination” is a phrase I have heard many times – but I believe it to be absolutely true.
Another thought I would like to share with you is the habit of aiming your inky pen at whatever the current trend is, hence the millions of us who are busy writing novels involving vampires, werewolves, zombies and all other unspeakable creatures having sex with each other in unmentionable circumstances and positions and in groups of varying sizes.
Yes, of course this is NOW popular due to certain shady books and trending movies, but there are (at least) two serious questions you should ask yourself if you are considering the commercial viability of your work:
1) What are the chances of the trend and popularity continuing up until you publish, which generally will be at least a year, maybe two after you start writing.
2) How will you make your work stand tall among the thousands of other works of a similar nature which are taking shape as we speak on computers around the world.
Spotting a FUTURE trend is a crystal ball job, but for me, I would think carefully before writing in a certain genre JUST because it is currently popular.
On a really serious note now, although one lady said she hated cats, I had many people who said they loved cats and the cat picture. So, in a shameless attempt to keep you coming back for more, I will post a completely irrelevant cat pic in my blog each week. I actually used to keep tarantulas as pets and I find them furry and friendly, but my girlfriend has convinced me that pictures of furry spiders may not be so attractive to my readers. Let me know what you think – and subscribe to my blog, please, pretty please
An anomaly struck me as soon as I moved there to live. Many of them did not know where their next meal would come from, but they were happy, friendly and generally content.
Coming from a reasonable (but not necessarily happy) life as a lawyer in the UK, this made me rethink my own values a lot. Generally, we are nearly all successful – we are warm, fed and safe, but we treat success as more of a distant target than an immediate achievement. “Success is a journey, not a destination” is a phrase I have heard many times – but I believe it to be absolutely true.
Another thought I would like to share with you is the habit of aiming your inky pen at whatever the current trend is, hence the millions of us who are busy writing novels involving vampires, werewolves, zombies and all other unspeakable creatures having sex with each other in unmentionable circumstances and positions and in groups of varying sizes.
Yes, of course this is NOW popular due to certain shady books and trending movies, but there are (at least) two serious questions you should ask yourself if you are considering the commercial viability of your work:
1) What are the chances of the trend and popularity continuing up until you publish, which generally will be at least a year, maybe two after you start writing.
2) How will you make your work stand tall among the thousands of other works of a similar nature which are taking shape as we speak on computers around the world.
Spotting a FUTURE trend is a crystal ball job, but for me, I would think carefully before writing in a certain genre JUST because it is currently popular.
On a really serious note now, although one lady said she hated cats, I had many people who said they loved cats and the cat picture. So, in a shameless attempt to keep you coming back for more, I will post a completely irrelevant cat pic in my blog each week. I actually used to keep tarantulas as pets and I find them furry and friendly, but my girlfriend has convinced me that pictures of furry spiders may not be so attractive to my readers. Let me know what you think – and subscribe to my blog, please, pretty please
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