Author and publisher
has set a challenge to writers:Not only do I recommend you read the challenge, I suggest you answer it, which is exactly what I’m attempting to do here.
You say you’re not a writer? Even better. You my friend are the Golden Ticket hidden in Charlie’s Wonka bar. The question for you will be, how does an author catch your attention?
Re-reading that last paragraph, the Wonka Bar suddenly sounds like a little place downtown where single readers go to meet books.
There’s a touch of romance to the tale of a book lover, and it’s a romance every writer dreams of.
When Jennifer Holiday sings, "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going," I feel it. The emotions fall and rise, and I’m on the edge of my seat, internally screaming, yes, you will. Yes, you will. You’re gonna love me!
But the music isn’t playing. I’m alone on an empty stage, reaching out to a world that has too much to read and too little time to spare.
Is fiction a type of love affair? Yes, but perhaps one rarely experienced. These days, there are a hundred writers outside every reader’s house screaming like that random fan who’s always declaring, “I wanna have your baby!”
It gets creepy, and it’s a long, long way from Jennifer Holiday. What’s the difference? That’s easy enough: one is a consensual relationship between authors and the reading public. In the other, the stalking author is obsessed, and the reader (the star) doesn’t even know they exist. The first might work or it might fail, but the second is just wrong.
The more I think about that analogy, the more appropriate it seems.
There are many bad, spammy ways to get the (wrong) attention of a reader, but we have to do something, right? Unless this is your first visit to the Wonka Bar, you’ve tried several somethings. I know I have. This substack is the beginning of my latest effort after a period of self-imposed silence during my editor’s illness.
So what’s a writer to do?
The first option goes against every instinct in my body: More of The Same.
This can work because some readers love their genre just the way it is and can’t get enough. “I’m just like that other guy you love,” is the biggest wooing point between many writers and readers today. The gurus say your title should sound like other titles; your cover should look like other covers.
The trick to standing out is not to stand out. Camouflage yourself and get swept up with the others.
You see how cynical my description is?
There’s touch of the romantic in bucking the trend, but “romantic” here means “not very practical.” I want to be the romantic, but I also realize that none of us are a unique as we believe. We think we stand alone, but our books are more similar to one another than we think. It’s natural and right for a reader to have certain types they enjoy and to gravitate toward those choices that have proven themselves in the past.
So, look for similarities.
It’s would be pretty conceited of me to introduce myself by saying, “I’m not like anyone you’ve ever met before.” It can feel that way because we often feel alone, but that feeling and a reader’s experience aren’t the same thing. That familiarity is a good thing. It’s a place to start.
But, the get-swept-up-with-the-others technique is meant to get you read by the casual reader. This brings us back to the point Ian Gouge made, how do you stand out and transform casual readers into dedicated buyers?
There are a few shared answers we should all seek to have in common. We should all seek to stand out by the quality of our writing and by the way we touch the reader’s emotions. Many will seek to stand out with a high-concept idea.
Mostly, though, it’s not going to be about seeking something new. Instead, we need to evaluate ourselves, to ask ourselves what does the reader see and what’s hidden that needs to be moved forward? This is true for each book and for the author, as well. What is lovable and unique about the books and their author?
After twenty years as a (mostly volunteer) pastor and elder, I earned the scorn of those I served by speaking up against Evangelical support for Donald Trump.
As I navigate the aftermath and seek to shed myself of bitterness, I’ve adopted the pen name, Thaddeus Thomas, so that I might write, free of judgment. My writing is frequently concerned with issues of death and eternity, but I explore these topics in ways my churches would not have understood.
When The Last Temptation of Winnie-the-Pooh finishes, the next book I’ll share is Kraken in a Coffee Cup. It jumbles the text of Moby Dick to tell the story of a ship that sails beneath the sea, claiming the souls of drowned sailors, and my mother’s reaction to that description is a good example of the church’s vision for the purpose of writing.
“Is that what you really think happens?” she asked.
No. I don’t.
For me, fantasy is about exploring truths about ourselves through the prism of a distorted reality. That doesn’t fit into the model that focuses everything on winning souls for Christ. Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoyed The Oath by Frank Peretti. I’m not here to attack Christian fantasy, but that’s not what I’m writing, not even with The Last Temptation of Winnie-the-Pooh, which retells the passion week with the characters of the Hundred Acre Wood. Instead, that’s a story about letting go of destructive thoughts and suicidal ideation.
That’s who I am, and whether I wish it to or not, my writing reflects that.
Why read my books? Because I’m concerned with quality and form and exploring the meaning of consciousness and dealing with whatever lies beyond, weighty topics that I tackle through fantasy. Another author once described my work as, “Achingly human fantasy.”
Brilliant and absolutely practical advice. Loved the way you wrote this. I understand your point about getting swept with the others. As much of a hard pill it is to swallow, it is true that people often don't take to radical innovations so quickly and gravitate towards the familiar frequently. It is what it is, and thank you for putting it out so succinctly.
Wow! Now I’m filled with trepidation, wondering how you’ll react to Reverend Paul Lee of Young Creation Ministries when he appears next week. I hope I’ve painted him sympathetically. He’s found success in e-Vangelism by riding an imagined reaction among Evangelicals to the Trump period.