by Linda Rodriguez
“The point of [@DanaKingAuthor’s] post was to remind writers that we are, usually, at the bottom of the industry hill. This would be the hill down which shit rolls.” — @sdparker7
http://www.dosomedamage.com/2022/09/do-you-ever-think-about-quitting.html?m=1
I finished and revised a number of poems yesterday, as well as writing one long, weird one that I think will turn out to be pretty strong and will fit in the current manuscript, To Mend the Broken World. A relief that, since I've suddenly been writing poems for the next book, which I think will be a revisitation of passionate love. I may well have enough poems to make up the current book, but I know there are gaps within it that must be filled.
I feel as if this sudden efflorescence of poetry is a presage to work on a serious novel. (I find myself thinking ever more approvingly of Graham Greene and his division of his work into serious books and works of entertainment. Also, I remember Alan Moore talking about writing as magic with its power to change the world.)
I have fooled myself in recent years into thinking that I had to focus on one or the other, but why? Writing is a fool's game anymore, a crapshoot in a mob-owned casino where the odds are always stacked against you and the dice always weighted. So, why should I adhere to the industry's unuseful limitations?
Write what I want, what I feel like writing, literary fiction, fantasy, urban fantasy, paranormal romance, mystery, thriller, historical novel, family saga. What was it Whitman said about contradicting himself because he contained multitudes? I have a few good years left to write a few good books, and I might as well please myself and enjoy the process, because it's highly unlikely that I'll achieve any real success or financial reward the way the industry has devolved so badly in recent years. Witness the recent federal trial against Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster and the ridiculous (and sometimes blatantly dishonest) statements of the executives of both publishing conglomerates under oath on the witness stand.
I want to show the reality of life today, spotlight important societal issues, offer some hope and love in an increasingly dark and destructive world, and limn a possible solution or better future here and there. All too often, we live in a world cursed by our own actions, and I do believe, at the base of everything, I am called to be a blessing, as we all are. What we decide to do with that calling determines ultimately who we become.
After all, it's a simple matter of choice. We are choosing
who we will be with every action, every word. I choose to fight the copious
dark, both within me and without. I can probably never defeat it, but I can
provide a spark, a lamp for the treacherous path.
Linda Rodriguez's fourth Skeet Bannion mystery, Every Family Doubt, the follow-up to Plotting the Character-Driven Novel, Revising the Character-Driven Novel, and her co-edited anthology, Unpapered: Writers Consider Native American Identity and Cultural Belonging, will publish in 2023. Her novels—Every Hidden Fear, Every Broken Trust, Every Last Secret—and books of poetry— Dark Sister, Heart's Migration, and Skin Hunger—have received critical recognition and awards, such as St. Martin's Press/Malice Domestic Best First Novel, International Latino Book Award, Latina Book Club Best Book, Midwest Voices & Visions, and Ragdale and Macondo fellowships.
Rodriguez is past
chair of AWP Indigenous Writer’s Caucus and Border Crimes chapter of Sisters in
Crime, founding board member of Latino Writers Collective and The Writers
Place, and member of Native Writers Circle of the Americas, Wordcraft Circle of
Native American Writers and Storytellers, and Kansas City Cherokee Community. http://lindarodriguezwrites.blogspot.com.
It is important to remember that words matter. That our words matter.
ReplyDeleteKeep doing what you're doing, Linda -- " providing a spark, a lamp for the treacherous path."
ReplyDeleteA beautiful essay, Linda.
ReplyDeleteJim, you are so absolutely right. I always try to remember that my words are creating the world which I will inhabit and to be very careful about them and aware of their power.
ReplyDeleteYes, Shari, we all must keep on with this task, all of us wordworkers.
ReplyDeleteThank you so very much, Kait.
ReplyDeleteI'm all in favor of writing what we want, when we want, and not worrying about the writing "industry" as it exists today.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, a result is that many audiences who would benefit from (and appreciate) much of our work will never be exposed to it.
There are two sides here, the creation and the distribution system. I applaud those authors who have mastered both. But many of us, the creation is the only portion under our control, and we each have to make an individual decision about where we stand.
KM, you're all too correct here. I am fortunate in that I learned how to promote and market my books fairly well. Even though I was published by a major trade publisher, one of the Big Five, they did nothing in that regard for me and had high expectations of what I should do myself to bring in lots of money to them in sales. Great editors, sh*tty organization. I also have the advantage of being married to one of the top literary editors in the country, so I've got some things going on on my side that a lot of people don't have, and I realize that makes me a very lucky woman. It's all skills that can be learned, however, but it takes a lot of time and effort.
ReplyDelete