Today, I'm combining the wisdom of two authors I much admire, Benjamin Stevenson and John Floyd.
Two
nights ago, I hosted/interviewed Australian author Benjamin Stevenson on stage at the
Centennial Theatre in Burlington, Canada. To say I was 'outnumbered' is
an understatement: Benjamin's book "Everyone in my Family has Killed
Someone" has sold a million copies! I don't believe I've sold even half
that if you were to combine all my books, short stories, and comedy
pieces put together. (Okay, the newspaper columns had audiences in the
millions, but that wasn't fiction.)
It was an electric night on stage with Benjamin, as we both got our start writing standup. Lots of fun! But some of the things we talked about have really resonated with me after the event.
Benjamin said it takes him two years to write a book. (It takes me one year. I sit in awe of cozy writers who can write three a year, frankly.) We both agreed on one thing: We have to be really excited about a book project to sit down, bum in chair, and write every day until that one project is done.
Excited. I've thought back to my own career as a novelist, and can see that this drives me as well.
I didn't start as a novelist. I began life as a short story writer. But when the short story market began to shrink, I started to think about meeting the challenge of writing a novel.
My first series is still my bestselling individual series. Rowena Through the Wall was epic fantasy, or what they would call Romantasy these days. It was featured in USA Today some years ago, and took off (a top 50 Amazon bestseller, all books.) That series was great fun to write, but once I finished it, it felt that fantasy was kind of done for me. I looked around for something that would excite me.
This brings me to John Floyd's column from a few weeks ago, The Old Genre Switcheroo, about moving between genres or subgenres. I realized that this is what I've been doing. It's how I've stayed excited, while continuing to write novels.
My next series was The Goddaughter mob
caper series. You can't get more different from dark ages fantasy than
that! A contemporary mob goddaughter in Hamilton doesn't want to be
one, but keeps getting dragged back in to bail out her family. 
Totally different genres with different rules. What they did have in common? Both series were high comedy.
When that series ended, I looked around for another genre or subgenre that I could get excited about. Something that would challenge me, and provide a host of fresh ideas.
Which led to The Pharaoh's Curse Murders (out this week!) and the historical Merry Widow Murder series. Still humorous, but with the challenge of a 1929 setting and - new for me - classic mystery plotting requirements.
Challenging and therefore exciting, for this writer.
What does all this prove? This is what I've learned:
The secret to having a multi-decade career in fiction writing is to be versatile. Move where the market goes. Keep yourself fresh by exploring new genres or sub-genres.
Versatility. Which begs the question, what's next for this writer, after The Kennel Club Murders, out April 2027?
I'm excited to see.
Melodie Campbell is the winner of ten awards, including The Derringer and the Crime Writers of Canada Award of Excellence, for her 21 novels and 60 short stories. She didn't even steal them.
NOW AVAILABLE AT B&N, AMAZON, CHAPTERS/INDIGO AND INDEPENDENTS!
As always sensible advice!
ReplyDeleteThank you Janice!
DeleteGreat advice. Meanwhile, with great shame, I confess I never heard of the Rowena series, so I just went on-line and bought them. I'm not a big fan of romantasy or standard bodice rippers, but with your sense of humor? Oh, yeah, I'm looking forward to reading them!
ReplyDeleteEve, you are a doll! Ahem...I think I may need to apologize in advance, as they are rather hot?? I was actually doing a parody of bodice-rippers, which some people 'got' but others simply thought were funny books. (I mean, she rips her bodice in every scene...I thought it would be obvious, but found that any time you please a reader is just the best thing, regardless how.)
DeleteMelodie, I would hope they're hot! What's the point of getting your bodice ripped and that's it? ;)
DeleteLaff! You've made my day.
DeleteMel, the other secret of having a multi-decade career is to live for multiple decades. So keep up whatever you're doing for the sake of your health and general wellbeing, which of course includes having fun and as many laughs as you can squeeze out of this world of ours, which has become more interesting than those proverbial Chinese philosophers ever imagined. I'm off to buy Rowena too and looking forward to Lucy and the Cursing Pharaohs.
ReplyDeleteOh Liz - that is perfect! Yes, not only are we blessed to have a multi-decade writing career, but blessed to be still on the right side of the grass! Thank you for that wisdom.
DeleteStarting in Romantasy just proves you were ahead of your time.
ReplyDeleteDangit! You're right, Mike. Maybe I should re-excite myself and revisit my first born series.
DeleteI’m reading and loving The Pharaoh’s Curse! For me, I’m just not happy unless I’m hanging out with fictional characters in my mind. There’s nothing better than going to bed knowing that you’ll get to spend time with a story, weaving and tapping to see where it goes. I love revisiting old slush piles and seeing if I can sculpt that old clay into new beauty. And yes, I’m in awe of writers who sell in the millions but I keep blinkered vision and aim for contentment at what I have achieved. And Dear Mel, have you ever achieved - and you keep achieving.
ReplyDeleteI see the germ of a Sleuthsayers post by you in the above comment, Lisa! Will talk offline - and thanks for the kind words! You've made my day.
DeleteI think you're right, Melodie - we have to stay versatile. It's Sutton's Law (slightly modified). If we want to be read, we've got to go where the readers are.
ReplyDeleteSo true! It took me a while to realize that. The real trick is to find that special place for you: it's no fun writing for money, if you don't love what you're writing.
DeleteFor me, it was to become friends with fantastic writers like you. To listen and take your advice (which I should have more often). To write, take the reviews on the chin, flip them the bird, and keep going. I wanna be you when I grow up.
ReplyDeleteSheri, you have me laughing out loud! And truly, you've made my day. "Take the review on the chin, flip them the bird, and keep going" - that's going to be MY motto from now on!! Thank you so much for commenting
DeleteMel, I'm late to the party--but thank you (!) for your kind words. In suggesting we all experiment with other genres, I was probably being more desperate than wise, but I really have found that writing more SF/fantasy (and Westerns) is a lot of fun.
ReplyDeleteJohn, you are the most versatile writer I know! To be famous in more than one genre...well, that's an achievement we all can strive for. Yes, it's fun! And I've learned that lesson - for me, it has to be fun, or why do it?
ReplyDelete