Your Favorite Writer
This is an essay without answers.
This past weekend was ThrillerFest, which is one of the most expensive, I mean prestigious, crime fiction conferences of the year. It’s also the first one I ever attended, and the reason I fell in love with writing conferences and festivals - the too-quick conversations with close friends, the excitement of meeting people you admire, the complaining at the bar, the hungover writers struggling at early morning panels. These are my people.
This weekend at TFest, I had a conversation with a popular writer who is changing subgenres, or maybe genres entirely - she’s given me permission to write this as long as I don’t use her name (but if you want to know, I do accept bribes). Anyway, this writer is someone who has achieved quite a bit of success, but is dealing with exhaustion - not from being overworked, but from writing the same “thing” in book after book. Her readers (and she has lotsa readers) appreciate her work, but she desperately wants to try something new.
This seems like a very normal thing to experience, and I feel that any experimentation is healthy. But I also wonder if her choice will “work.” Not artistically, but professionally.
Our goal, as professional writers, is to write well enough to build a loyal readership. This is likely what turned us from readers to writers, and its the goal behind the study of craft, and what will keep you on bestseller lists. We want to perfect our writing, but to do so in a way that appeals to others (I know some people consider this crass, and say it’s more important to write for yourself but, if you write for yourself, then there’s really no reason to publish).
And this discussion of loyal readers was on the periphery of a LOT of talks I had at ThrillerFest, and have had at other events, and really came down to one question:
Why aren’t books selling more?
Most writers will tell you that publishers can do far more than you can to push your books, and that’s true - but I don’t think throwing money or marketing expertise behind a book is enough to make people love it. It’s not enough to earn loyalty.
I think back to the writers I loved and returned to, as a kid and adult - sometimes it was a group of characters I enjoyed in a series, or the unpredictability of the twists, or unique prose, or an author’s experimentation. And these were all writers who were internationally popular, so I wasn’t alone in my obsessions. These writers were lauded for how well they did certain, unique things. And no matter who they were - Alistair MacLean or James Baldwin or Ernest Hemingway or Flannery O’Connor, they never strayed far from what was most recognizable in their work. There are exceptions, of course, but when you have a favorite writer, you generally know what you’re going to get when you read their books.
I don’t have an answer to this essay. Just a question I asked this other writer, and one neither of us could satisfactorily figure out. If you write, say, horror, do you want to be the best writer ever, or the king/queen/Lebron of horror? Commercially, it often seems, the only way to become the former is to work at the latter.
I’m still mulling this over, so let me know in the comments, or in a reply, why you think I’m wrong.
EA
My “buddy” Tara Laskowski and I had a conversation about cults, and their popularity in crime fiction, for the Washington Post. We discussed two books in particular - Omar Hussain’s A Thousand Natural Shocks and Allison Buccola’s The Ascent. Tara and I have been “friends” for years, even though she’s an Eagles fan, and I hope we get to do more of these in the future. Check it out here.
The lovely Rose Martin interviewed me for PBS’s “Write Around the Corner!” Rose was a fantastic interviewer and got me to admit to some of my weirder writing habits. Also I’m really proud of my hat, which my wife has nicknamed, “why would you wear that thing on TV?” You can see the interview here.
I find Rob Hart’s writing and career fascinating. He started off with the critically praised Ash McKenna series, co-wrote a novella with James Patterson, and then turned to a blend of science fiction and crime with The Warehouse (sold in twenty languages, optioned by Rob Howard) and the Paradox Hotel, but seems to have made his breakthrough with the USA Today-bestselling Assassin’s Anonymous, which told the story of the world’s greatest assassin who gives up that life and joins a recovery program for hitmen. Yes, you read right. And the much-anticipated sequel, The Medusa Protocol, comes out this Tuesday!
Rob has always been utterly honest about his journey as a writer, and I’ve appreciated his candor and his craft. And I’m so happy he contributed the following short essay when I asked him about his favorite moment in publishing:
It's easy to point to the big wins—the Warehouse deal, which let me become a full-time writer, or hitting the USA TODAY bestseller list, or Spielberg optioning Assassins Anonymous. But all that stuff is icing compared to this one piece of fan mail I got.
Assassins Anonymous is about an elite assassin who gets into a 12-step program for killers. It's a fun concept but it was important to me that I treat the recovery process with respect. It saves people's lives; it's not a gimmick. I'm lucky to have friends in recovery who were generous enough to share their stories with me, and help guide me through the process.
A few months after the book came out I got an e-mail from a woman who read it. Getting fan mail is rare. I get a letter once every few weeks. They're always lovely (except for the people correcting my grammar/spelling, because first of all, don't do that, but also, nine times out of ten, they're incorrect about the thing they're correcting).
This woman wanted to thank me, because she had been in a recovery program, and it hadn't worked for her, but after reading the book, she was inspired to give it another try.
And I'll tell you what: This could all disappear tomorrow, and that'd be enough to hang my hat on. Assassins Anonymous was about me working out some of my own shit—can I grow, can I change, can I be a better person? To see those things reflected in someone else, and make that connection... there is literally nothing better. It wasn't just one of the best moments of my publishing life. It was one of my best moments, full stop.
See? YOU SEE? Isn’t that lovely? I had the chance to hang out with Rob this weekend, and tell him in person how excited I am for his success. If you haven’t read his work, start with Assassin’s Anonymous (hanging out on the USA Today bestseller list this week) and continue with The Medusa Protocol. Check them both out, and Rob’s other work, on his web site.
It's giveaway time! The winner of a copy of The Medusa Protocol is:
Bq_____@aol.com
Congrats, and I'll send you an email with more information soon!
One of the things I’ve written that I’m really proud of, and don’t mention enough, is a trilogy of short stories that told the story of a pair of siblings - a gunslinging brother and his murderous sister - on the run. The stories appeared in three different anthologies, The Night of the Flood, The Swamp Killers, and Paranoia Blues: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Music of Paul Simon. All of the stories can be read individually, but the last one gives me a lot of pride. That was an excellent anthology with terrific authors, and my little story of ultraviolent siblings was plucked out and chosen for an Anthony Award nom. Really, all the stories are so good and, if you have the time, I’d love for you to check it out. We don’t read enough short fiction. YOU COULD FIX THAT. Also if you buy it I’ll spill whatever tea you want. I have so much gossip after this weekend, my God.
I always enjoy reading your whatever-this-is, Ed. This time in particular, though, thanks for the shoutout to PARANOIA BLUES: CRIME FICTION INSPIRED BY THE SONGS OF PAUL SIMON. I'm a little biased, having edited the anthology, but I agreed with you that the book turned out well ... and your take on "Still Crazy After All These Years" was a highlight.