All writers get moments when they feel like giving up. Hard to say why this is. A long wait for a response, a snarky comment at the worst possible moment, the longest winter that a person can remember… (Okay, that’s a factious remark by me on the freezing temperatures that just won’t seem to end and the long months of rain Britain had preceding it, but yes, even something like that grinds a person down to an all time low.)
Bad news can make other areas of life seem unworthy and for the writer sometimes their work takes the brunt. I’m not going to give up writing but I am aware I do need to attend to more than just one genre — I love to write as I read, meaning anything and everything, and getting to work on the Space, 1889 steampunk project last year was a proverbial deep breath of crisp air. It was also exhausting. The title currently out had to be turned over at very short notice, was the second story I worked on and my first ever co-authored book. The first piece will be out in a few months and required a good deal of research. Anyone reading the book will probably be amazed to see the list of research material. No doubt, it’s not immediately obvious from reading the story, and no reason should it be — the whole point of research is the reader shouldn’t necessarily know it’s there.
I’m straying a little, though. My point is that project reminded me of how I like to write all types of material and that we all need a rest. It made me hold back on some other decisions I’ve been trying to make.
I’m currently with three publishers who take romance, two of which specialise in erotic romance, and one who is a multi-genre publisher. Yet I’ve been considering approaching a fourth. I just don’t know whether I should. I don’t want to spread myself too thin, and yet any good publisher will tell you it’s best not to have all those lovely chocolate eggs we’re all thinking about gorging on this weekend laid by one hen in one tiny basket.
Publishers go under. Writing is like any business and sometimes people fall out with each other. There are differences of opinion. In short, any number of reasons a writer may one day wish to part ways with a publisher or vice versa. It’s good to have somewhere to go. Being with different publishers also spreads an author’s name around. And lets not forget, different publishers are open to different products. I have to make the best ‘business’ decision here. That’s choosing the right story and the right publisher, matching the right pair, and deciding whether I can spread the work or take on extra. I guess I’m just musing here. I know I have a decision to make, and no one can choose for me, and that this won’t be the first time or the last I have such choices to make. Still, I thought I’d mention it because writing isn’t all about the story — it’s about seemingly straightforward decisions having consequences, and sometimes even the writer can be so immersed in the story to forget that.
