Fighting the Competition
September 10, 2001
7:28 a.m.
In his own journal, John Sullivan recently commented on the fact that there are no divisions in the world of public consumption. It all started with a reviewer commenting on an anthology that included one of John's stories and one from George Martin. John's story was not reviewed as kindly as George's, and that drew a comment from a friend about how there are no divisions. New writers are compared to existing artists, and you have to be better than them to make your mark. This is true. Oh, sure, there are the tons of small press publications that are like the minor leagues of the genre. Small press is the domain of the brand new writer. No offense intended anywhere. I love small press magazines, and routinely get rejected by them [terribly sadistic grin]. But scan their TOCs, and you don't usually see a whole lot of household names. There are divisions of publications. That's not what I think of when I think of the point of John's comments. Those divisions are professional divisions--divisions among editors' tastes and capacity, and the business capital they have to work with. Every writer should be aware of those divisions and treat them however is appropriate for themselves. But in the eyes of the real consumer, the reader, there are no divisions. A reader judges you by how you compare to Tim Powers or George Martin or Mercedes Lackey, or Andre Norton, or Greg Bear, or ... That's just how it is. If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. When in doubt, throw in a cliché. But is it really true that there are no divisions? Well, yes, but not really. I think the truth of the matter is that first time readers will compare the enjoyment they get from reading your stories to the enjoyment they get from reading an established writer. If the story does its job, the reader will read you again, and again, and again, until they no longer are comparing you to George Martin, but instead are comparing you to yourself. Reviewers are what they are. Some like your work, some don't. No issue there. But the truth of the matter is that this is not really a zero-sum game. I am in a division with myself. You are in a division with yourself. If George Martin sells something it does not affect my ability to sell my work at all--thank goodness ... I mean, at this point in my "career" don't you think it would be nearly impossible to consistently write better than George Martin? The only thing that really affects my ability to sell my work, is the quality of my work. Simple as that. In some ways, of course, this situation is more scary than if we were in direct competition with all these big names. But it's closer to the truth than thinking we are.  
Have a great day.  Daily Persistence is © Ron Collins |
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"Usually about a morning. If an idea isn't exciting you shouldn't do it. I usually get an idea around 8 o'clock in the morning, when I'm getting up, and by noon it's finished. And if it isn't done quickly you're going to begin to lie. So as quickly as you can, you emotionally react to an idea. That's how I write short stories. They've all been done in a single morning when I felt passionately about them." Ray Bradbury on how long it takes him to write a short story |
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