Let’s get serious!

Excuse the picture above of the woman who appears older than dirt. It’s probably the most serious shot I have of myself. The thing is, I’m posting this for my fellow writers, as well as readers interested in the writing process. It’s supposed to be a specific page, though WordPress makes it so frigging complicated to add a new page that I can’t tell whether it will be separate or just shoved in as a new blog post!

Okay! Fine! Hissy fit over!

This is all about the writing, publishing trends, editing tips, etc. – dead serious subjects. As it appears, I’m experiencing a very long wait about the fates of Another Man’s Poison and Recurring. And as such, I’m keeping busy writing plenty of other things – The Boardwalk Psychic – Second Sight, The Deader the Better, and a short piece, Good Girls Get Ugatz (for the benefit of those unfamiliar with this phrase, it refers to a part of the male anatomy and is taken to mean getting the shaft [capisce?] in Italian). My mother drummed this into my head when I was a kid. My otherwise very straight-laced mom was slightly ahead of her time.

Anyway, I digress.

There are so many newsletters and blogs out there, it’s enough to make your head spin. I thought it might be beneficial to share some of the tips and writing news I’m picking up that might be of interest to authors. I did catch something fascinating when reading through a Sisters in Crime Link. The interview is about a fairly successful literary writer, Ottessa Moshfegh, who wrote a book, Eileen, because she needed name recognition, and, as this author was brave enough to share with the writing world, the money! From what I gather, she wrote her novel in the current Gone Girl/The Girl on the Train style that publishers and agents all seem to be going so nuts over lately. Here’s the point, the book is getting noticed. Go to https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/sep/16/ottessa-moshfegh-interview-book-started-as-joke-man-booker-prize–shortlist for the complete interview.

I was told by two separate literary agents that the Gone Girl trend is what publishers are currently looking for and really aren’t interested in much else in mysteries and thrillers. Obviously Recurring isn’t in that Gone Girl category.

So fellow writers, what do you think? Are you tempted to “sell out” for fame and fortune, or are you willing to produce work that is true to yourself but gets unread?

In case you’re curious – count me in as a SELLOUT. You can’t pay a mortgage with literary awards. And, as my dear old mom would say: Good Girls Get Ugatz!

Addendum: IT WORKED. IT’S A SEPARATE PAGE! Thanks to Dean at WordPress troubleshooting!