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Lisa Lenard-Cook is a regular
columnist for Authorlink. She is an award-winning published author and writing
instructor. Read more about Lisa.
"I’d be lying if I said that the above developments didn’t depress me as much as they depress you." —Lenard-Cook
Borders in Chapter 11. Celebrity “authors” getting the majority of book deals. Blog numbers declining. So why, you ask yourself, should you bother writing at all?
I’d be lying if I said that the above developments didn’t depress me as much as they depress you. There are times I’d even argue it’s harder for me, a so-called midlist writer with two novels and a dozen nonfiction books published over the past fifteen years. At last count, I have six novels in my closet—and two more in progress—without a publisher nibble in sight. There are plenty of mornings when I sit down here and ask myself why I bother—just like you.
But, while I’ve commiserated about the sorry state of publishing with writer friends, non-writer friends, students, and even Doris, the CEO of Authorlink, I’ve never been much good at wallowing in self-pity. My preferred approach to a roadblock is to send it over to right brain until a solution comes back, usually something unexpected and wonderful.
"How can I help you keep the faith? How can I help you keep going. . ." —Lenard-Cook
Thus the idea to write a column for all of us latter day lonely writers, a column to give us heart in the face of all those daily depressing statistics, all those form rejections (and, still worse, all those “loved it, but can’t buy it” ones), all those Facebook updates without a single “like.” How can I help you keep the faith? How can I help you keep going even though the going isn’t merely tough, it’s a slog through a quagmire?
Here’s how it will work: I’ll post a question at the end of each month’s column, with a link for you to share your comments on Facebook. On the 15th of each month, I’ll compile the results and add my thoughts. You’ll want to be sure to check back on www.authorlink.com to see how your thoughts compare with others’.
Each month, I’ll post a new topic and a new link for you to join the conversation. Just like that, you won’t have to be a lonely writer any longer.
So, are you ready? Okay. Click here to tell me why you write, even when the going gets tough.
Lisa Lenard-Cook’s first novel Dissonance was short-listed for the PEN Southwest Book Award, and her second novel Coyote Morning short-listed for the New Mexico Press Women’s Zia Award. Lisa is on the faculty of the Santa Barbara Writers’ Conference and Vermont College’s Lifelong Learning Program. Her book about fiction writing, The Mind of Your Story, (April 2008) can be purchased at amazon.com.
