Looking for an Excuse?

Hey there fellow writer/author/novelist!  If you’re casting about to latch onto an excuse to abandon your book-in-progress (whether it’s stored in a box somewhere, buried in an old computer file, or still in your heart and head), this excuse is as good as any other:

No one’s reading these days! 

If no one’s reading, then why write?  Hm?     Okay. Sure. Whatever.

Reading or Not Reading?

A few years ago, I remember sitting in a doctor’s office waiting room and nearly every person in the room was talking on his or her cell phone.

If that scene were to be repeated today, what would those people in that waiting room be doing?  Their phone (hand-held device) is not held to the ear.  Instead, every person is looking at it.  Something that would have seemed pretty strange only a decade ago.

So what are people doing by looking at their hand-held devices?  I think you will have to agree – they are reading.  Omigosh.  People are reading. 

Oh, but everyone is saying that no one is reading. Now granted there are plenty of videos, games and such on these hand-held devices, but one still has to admit – people are reading. Possibly more so than ever before.

Different Manner of Reading

Is the majority of the buying public walking into a bookstore these days and pulling a $25 book off the shelf and making that purchase?  Not so much. (Personally, I buy lots of used books from Amazon!  Don’t you??)

The fact remains: people are still reading.  They may be reading in a different manner.  They may be reading using different tools (hand-held devices and e-readers), but people are still reading.  (She said again with emphasis!)

Not only that, these readers are eagerly scooping up two or three novels for a few bucks from Kindle and reading them while waiting in the doctor’s office, or on a long plane flight, or on vacation at the beach.  Or scores of other places too numerous to mention.

Sorry if I spoiled your favorite excuse. I trust you’ll get over it.

Solzhenitsyn wasn’t Looking for Excuses

And while we’re on the subject of dousing excuses — if you really want to learn about a novelist who was convinced (for an entire lifetime) that external circumstances cannot, in any way, dampen the drive of a true, dedicated novelist – click here to read about the life of Alexander Solzhenitsyn. 

How Important Is It?

The point is this: those who are looking for excuses to jump ship will always find them.  Those determined to bring the ship all the way home to the harbor will find a way to do so.

How important is it to you that you finish your book?

Nuf sed!

Tired of the struggle writing your book? Need a helping hand? Norma Jean’s Coaching Services may be the answer you’re looking for. Fill out the questionnaire on the page and let’s see if we’re a right fit. A FREE consultation gets the ball rolling. (Or the pen writing!) Click HERE!

“Oh the times they are a-changing.”  Remember that song?

Well guess what?  Times are always changing.  They always have changed and they always will change. The only question is, will you be at the forefront of the change, or left in the dust?

Pitiful Bad News

I know, I know.  I can read; I can hear.  All the pitiful bad news:

•   Publishing companies are going broke
•   Book stores are folding
•   No one reads anymore
•   Heck with reading – no one’s even buying books anymore

If we believe all of that, no one will ever write another novel, ever.  Just as well cash it all in and walk away.  For many aspiring novelists, this is why their novel-in-progress is tucked away gathering dust. (See blog “Where is Your Novel?”)

Ups and Downs

I just have to chuckle a little at all of this bad news hoopla.  Why?  Because I’ve seen a number of ups and downs throughout my writing career. (I’ve been in this business for a very long time.)

I remember in the ‘70s when video was becoming popular.  The alarm went out that the demise of books was near. I remember sometime later when the alarm went out that there was going to be a severe paper shortage.  There wouldn’t be enough paper to even write your novel, let alone get it published into book form.

These are just two brief examples to hopefully set things in perspective.

Those Who Have Gone Before

I was privileged a few years  back, to write a number of author bios for Chelsea House Publishing.  I wrote about F. Scott Fitzgerald, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Jane Austen (my hero), Samuel Clemens, the Bronte sisters, and several others.  What fun I had peeking into the lives of my fellow authors.

One familiar thread ran through every bio – each of these novelists was intensely focused on writing what was in their heart to write.  They cared nothing about bad news, downturns in the economy, who was in government, whether or not their work would ever grace anyone’s bookshelf.  They wrote because they could not NOT write.  It was like a fire burning in their bones.

So where does all the bad news go?  Do you absorb it? Or do you ignore it? That’s your decision to make.  I certainly have a few thoughts on the subject, but I cannot lead your life.

It all boils down to this:  What matters most to you: what’s going on in the world; or what’s burning inside you to get out and written on paper? (OR on your computer?)

Only you can decide!

Tired of the struggle writing your book? Need a helping hand? Norma Jean’s Coaching Services may be the answer you’re looking for. Fill out the questionnaire on the page and let’s see if we’re a fit. A FREE consultation gets the ball rolling. (Or the pen writing!) Click HERE!