Wow. An author listing her L's; L's being Lessons Learned. Are those losses? I don't think so. Every word from your hands, heart, brain brings you closer to authorial and reader Nirvana. It's bound to be icky before you hit your stride. Many have unpubbed. No shame in it. We've all written shit and lived to tell about it. You might start a trend here.
"The lesson: write to market all you want, but you have to actually like the market. If you’re faking enthusiasm for a genre, the reader will know. They always know."
Yep. This is why, when I've been looking for freelance fiction opportunities, I skip genres and fandoms I genuinely don't give a damn about. That's why it's puzzled me over the years when I see fandoms destroyed by writers who clearly don't care about the sandbox they're writing in, disregarding lore and everything fans love. I can write anything, but I have to *care*, and if I don't, then I'd rather not.
"My best work happens when I write characters I find genuinely interesting and put them in situations that are weird and dangerous and not easily managed. My worst work happens when I write for a market I don’t respect. That probably sounds like common sense, and it is."
True! There's a fantasy I wrote first as a short story in college, where I was riffing on a famous fantasy writer, whose books I actually did enjoy. I was specially leaning into the way that author wrote characters and friendships, where I would find myself asking if the alleged friends even liked each other. But when I returned to that trunk story years later, I was reluctant to resurrect it. I realized I don't care about the setting -- faux medieval Britain, and I didn't really care about the characters as-is.
"It's easy to snark about someone else's work. But wouldn't it be more fun to write something I would actually want to buy?" This is what I asked myself at the time. And so I scrapped the setting, reworked the characters, and set down to write a passion project.
Every artist must have artistic integrity. Life is too short to waste time on endeavors we don't care enough to do justice to.
I don't think you were wrong to try experimenting, but that's what pen names are for. Author / editor / publisher Kristine Kathryn Rusch used to write "the Business Rusch" on her blog. She typically focused on crappy contracts the trad publishers dole out to writers, and advising writers on protecting their IP rights.
But she also writes prolifically, in multiple genres, and has dozens of pen names. Kristine Grayson novels are sweet romance, Kristine Nelscott does mysteries, assorted bylines are for tie-in novels, etc. You could have avoided alienating your audience with Tess if you wrote under a different name. Pseudonyms are the most fun way I can think of to experiment while still "dancing with the one who brung you," as it were.
I love this newsletter. Love it. Love it because I think this kind of reflection is how writers get better. I also think there’s a lot of haze and hype around publication, and I sometimes feel a bit disoriented (/gaslit?) by the reaction to work, so much that I wonder if the author themselves knows what/how/where the book/novel actually *is*. Pulling off a work of long-form fiction is ridiculously difficult, and even really great (not perfect) books deliver a kick-A experience. I loved the honesty in your note, and every writer working on their craft would do well to go and write their own note about their own work, even if they only email it to themselves. I’m going off to write mine now.
As a way of providing a data point for you to analyze, I observed my own reaction to your list of books. I want to support writers I enjoy as people, but find it hard to pull the trigger on getting one of their books, especially since I have a subconscious reluctance to buying something I don't have any intention of actually using. I'm a bad "supporter" who doesn't just do the thing to support the person they want to support. I'm trying to be better at it, but I want to own less stuff, not more. Anyway, I observed myself from afar as I read your list, asking myself which of these books would possibly rise to the top of any list of things I will find or create the bandwidth to consume.
But Time's Assassin was the one that picqued (I refuse to ever spellcheck that word...it just gets a red line) my interest. It jumped out at me right away. So I ask myself why. Obviously, the basic premise. Time travel historians is fun. I'm a time travel person in general. But my selection is also a cheat, because in the earlier book in the list, you reference Doomsday Book, which was great. That lines up with the vibe I would be interested in. Secondarily, Time's Assassin is the first of a (presumed) finished-ish trilogy. I was intrigued even before I got to the synopsis of book three, which promises that this entire trilogy is wide-ranging and covers a lot of ground, which only added to the allure of book one. Thirdly, it's a really good cover, and all three have a nice matchey-matchey aesthetic that I demand in my books.
But even so, I have to still interrogate myself on why this book has bubbled up the list of 'maybes'. 30% is that I just enjoy your Substack and videos and am rooting for you. I think it was important that your own transparency showed how you feel about your own work and are another way of me evaluating if your tastes might line up with mine. The self-deprecating nature of this post, but also the joy and celebration of your own work was a strong one-two punch.
But the biggest element was probably comparing it to something I already like, Doomsday Book. If I didn't have that reference point, would I have even lingered on it? I didn't linger on any of your other books, because they aren't anywhere near my wheelhouse. It just makes me wonder if the "if you like X, you might like Y" pitch is maybe the strongest way to get someone to at least give your pitch or your cover a second glance.
I really like your writing, even on topics that basically do not interest me. After reading this, I just have to make time to try some of your books. I used to read a lot of sci-fi, so the time-travel books sound most appealing ...
Wow. An author listing her L's; L's being Lessons Learned. Are those losses? I don't think so. Every word from your hands, heart, brain brings you closer to authorial and reader Nirvana. It's bound to be icky before you hit your stride. Many have unpubbed. No shame in it. We've all written shit and lived to tell about it. You might start a trend here.
Every book you learn something, see something different.
"The lesson: write to market all you want, but you have to actually like the market. If you’re faking enthusiasm for a genre, the reader will know. They always know."
Yep. This is why, when I've been looking for freelance fiction opportunities, I skip genres and fandoms I genuinely don't give a damn about. That's why it's puzzled me over the years when I see fandoms destroyed by writers who clearly don't care about the sandbox they're writing in, disregarding lore and everything fans love. I can write anything, but I have to *care*, and if I don't, then I'd rather not.
"My best work happens when I write characters I find genuinely interesting and put them in situations that are weird and dangerous and not easily managed. My worst work happens when I write for a market I don’t respect. That probably sounds like common sense, and it is."
True! There's a fantasy I wrote first as a short story in college, where I was riffing on a famous fantasy writer, whose books I actually did enjoy. I was specially leaning into the way that author wrote characters and friendships, where I would find myself asking if the alleged friends even liked each other. But when I returned to that trunk story years later, I was reluctant to resurrect it. I realized I don't care about the setting -- faux medieval Britain, and I didn't really care about the characters as-is.
"It's easy to snark about someone else's work. But wouldn't it be more fun to write something I would actually want to buy?" This is what I asked myself at the time. And so I scrapped the setting, reworked the characters, and set down to write a passion project.
Every artist must have artistic integrity. Life is too short to waste time on endeavors we don't care enough to do justice to.
I don't think you were wrong to try experimenting, but that's what pen names are for. Author / editor / publisher Kristine Kathryn Rusch used to write "the Business Rusch" on her blog. She typically focused on crappy contracts the trad publishers dole out to writers, and advising writers on protecting their IP rights.
But she also writes prolifically, in multiple genres, and has dozens of pen names. Kristine Grayson novels are sweet romance, Kristine Nelscott does mysteries, assorted bylines are for tie-in novels, etc. You could have avoided alienating your audience with Tess if you wrote under a different name. Pseudonyms are the most fun way I can think of to experiment while still "dancing with the one who brung you," as it were.
I love this newsletter. Love it. Love it because I think this kind of reflection is how writers get better. I also think there’s a lot of haze and hype around publication, and I sometimes feel a bit disoriented (/gaslit?) by the reaction to work, so much that I wonder if the author themselves knows what/how/where the book/novel actually *is*. Pulling off a work of long-form fiction is ridiculously difficult, and even really great (not perfect) books deliver a kick-A experience. I loved the honesty in your note, and every writer working on their craft would do well to go and write their own note about their own work, even if they only email it to themselves. I’m going off to write mine now.
This is an interesting and honest outlook, and a lot of learn too.
Fantastic article. I applaud your transparency.
As a way of providing a data point for you to analyze, I observed my own reaction to your list of books. I want to support writers I enjoy as people, but find it hard to pull the trigger on getting one of their books, especially since I have a subconscious reluctance to buying something I don't have any intention of actually using. I'm a bad "supporter" who doesn't just do the thing to support the person they want to support. I'm trying to be better at it, but I want to own less stuff, not more. Anyway, I observed myself from afar as I read your list, asking myself which of these books would possibly rise to the top of any list of things I will find or create the bandwidth to consume.
But Time's Assassin was the one that picqued (I refuse to ever spellcheck that word...it just gets a red line) my interest. It jumped out at me right away. So I ask myself why. Obviously, the basic premise. Time travel historians is fun. I'm a time travel person in general. But my selection is also a cheat, because in the earlier book in the list, you reference Doomsday Book, which was great. That lines up with the vibe I would be interested in. Secondarily, Time's Assassin is the first of a (presumed) finished-ish trilogy. I was intrigued even before I got to the synopsis of book three, which promises that this entire trilogy is wide-ranging and covers a lot of ground, which only added to the allure of book one. Thirdly, it's a really good cover, and all three have a nice matchey-matchey aesthetic that I demand in my books.
But even so, I have to still interrogate myself on why this book has bubbled up the list of 'maybes'. 30% is that I just enjoy your Substack and videos and am rooting for you. I think it was important that your own transparency showed how you feel about your own work and are another way of me evaluating if your tastes might line up with mine. The self-deprecating nature of this post, but also the joy and celebration of your own work was a strong one-two punch.
But the biggest element was probably comparing it to something I already like, Doomsday Book. If I didn't have that reference point, would I have even lingered on it? I didn't linger on any of your other books, because they aren't anywhere near my wheelhouse. It just makes me wonder if the "if you like X, you might like Y" pitch is maybe the strongest way to get someone to at least give your pitch or your cover a second glance.
Thank you. I've not read any of your books yet, but reading this encourages me to try "Twitter Crush" and then maybe the time travel series.
I really like your writing, even on topics that basically do not interest me. After reading this, I just have to make time to try some of your books. I used to read a lot of sci-fi, so the time-travel books sound most appealing ...