Due Credit

Writers are a by in large a solitary bunch; not surprising, because writing is a combination of being in one’s head much of the time in order to come up with stories and the actual writing part is usually an alone activity. Writers in general, I think, also have a tendency to believe because we do our craft alone we also accomplish it alone, and, that our product somehow ends up in a parallel universe populated by faceless non-people.

I am not guilty of the first faux pas; I know I need lots of help and support and I’m grateful for it. But I am guilty of the last. Before I discuss my failings, I do want to say a public thank-you to all the people who have helped me do what I love to do. First, my parents. My mom, bless her heart, even reads my vampire stories. Right up there with mom and dad is my sister, who is my first and number on editor, my confidant, my cheerleader, and she gives me good ideas. My husband is a great supporter too; he allows me the time I need to write. I would also include here all of my friends who read my books, even though they may not care about the subject matter. These sorts of people need to be thanked often, if only for listening to all of your story ideas and how hard it is to be a writer ad naseum.

Beyond the folks who love me are the editors and publishers with whom I have worked with, both good and bad. I have learned so much from all of them; I often say it’s just as important to know who you don’t want to work with as who you do. Included here are all the artists who have interpreted my work, both on the covers and as illustrations. I am an artist myself and I do some of my own, but sometimes either I don’t have time, my style doesn’t match, or it isn’t the policy of that particular publisher to allow me to do my own. It was weird at first to see my characters done in a way that I wouldn’t do, but I have come to enjoy alternate interpretations. Check out the flikr feed to see some of the great artwork done for me; the ones that are not my work I have noted and given credit for on my website.

The other surprising group of people I would thank would be all the mean people I have met. Of course, all sorts of folks make it into my books, disguised appropriately. But unpleasant people…they make the best villains. A number of my vampires were former corporate acquaintances. Moohaha. But would they ever guess? Not to worry. Carly Simon sung, “you’re so vain I bet you think this song is about you”. I would change that line to “you’re so vain, you’d never guess this monster is about you.” Still, if you do this be careful. At least change the name. ;-)

Ok, so on to what I really need to do, thank my readers. Let me first say I’ve always appreciated them. I know where those royalty checks come from. But what I didn’t do at first was to truly write FOR my readers. I wrote what I loved and how I liked to write. I’m an artist. Artists should do what they feel. Well, yes, if said artist never want to publish. If you DO want to publish, you must temper your artist expression with what the market wants, and the market is composed of PEOPLE. People who BUY YOUR STUFF.

I’m capitalizing that for me as much as anyone else, because I constantly have to remind myself of that. For example, I love settings. I choose books with lots of rich descriptive passages because that is what I like to read, and that is how I enjoy writing. But…today’s readers for the most part do NOT want lots of description. I have a friend who told me “I just skip over those parts.” Argghhh! All that hard work is being bleeped over? But stylistically clean and straightforward prose is what most people want today, at least in genre fiction that I do. So I adjusted.

I also had to reconsider my view of young adult literature. I have written several “sweet” YA books that I love and I have published. But they have never made that great leap. Why? Today’s youth want more mature fiction with adult themes. So, if I wanted to be successful in the YA world, I had to adjust. The book I have at Flux (waiting to hear back, sigh) is more in this vein.

In conclusion then, I think acknowledging the people who enable you to write is so important. No one does anything in a vacuum. Finally, acknowledging your readers as real people, that is, people who have likes and dislikes, and are not just repository for your art, is equally important. It is art, but it’s also a product. In today’s world, people have less and less money to spend. And like those candy bars at the check out counter, tweaking your work to fit today’s sensibilities will hopefully make it too temping to ignore.

Thank-you, readers, for teaching me this.