{"id":6246,"date":"2015-09-25T11:00:04","date_gmt":"2015-09-25T16:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.christophergronlund.com\/blog\/tjw\/?p=6246"},"modified":"2015-09-25T11:00:04","modified_gmt":"2015-09-25T16:00:04","slug":"writing-reality-checks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.christophergronlund.com\/blog\/tjw\/2015\/09\/25\/writing-reality-checks\/","title":{"rendered":"Writing Reality Checks"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.christophergronlund.com\/blog\/tjw\/wp-content\/upLoads\/buddhaheads.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-6247\" src=\"http:\/\/www.christophergronlund.com\/blog\/tjw\/wp-content\/upLoads\/buddhaheads.jpg\" alt=\"Buddha faces\" width=\"800\" height=\"449\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.christophergronlund.com\/blog\/tjw\/wp-content\/upLoads\/buddhaheads.jpg 800w, http:\/\/www.christophergronlund.com\/blog\/tjw\/wp-content\/upLoads\/buddhaheads-300x168.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a>[First thing: If you&#8217;ve never read Richard Nash&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/What-Business-Literature-Richard-Nash-ebook\/dp\/B00IODNL7E\">What is the Business of Literature?<\/a> you should check it out. It&#8217;s a free e-book, and I&#8217;m sure it can be found online. Yep &#8212; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.vqronline.org\/articles\/what-business-literature\">right here<\/a>.]<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">* * *<\/p>\n<p>Richard Nash&#8217;s &#8220;What is the Business of Literature?&#8221; is one of the best things I&#8217;ve ever read about writing. (It ranks up there with Ann Patchett&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/The-Getaway-Car-Practical-Writing-ebook\/dp\/B005JEXTBO\">The Getaway Car<\/a>.) It&#8217;s a reality check to writers who think that all they have to do is simply write a book (and it sells itself).<\/p>\n<p>While I recently wrote about how I admire <a href=\"http:\/\/www.christophergronlund.com\/blog\/tjw\/2015\/09\/17\/to-never-be-there-at-all\/\">Elena Ferrante&#8217;s stance that she will simply just write<\/a>, the reality for most writers is that&#8217;s not going to happen. Even John Irving has a Facebook page these days and has made a [sort of] book trailer for his next release (and he&#8217;s always done interviews):<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/QePwydNFaUA\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Richard Nash Interview<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/janefriedman.com\/an-interview-with-richard-nash\/\">Jane Friedman recently interviewed Richard Nash<\/a>. You should read it. While Nash mentions more than a few things from &#8220;What is the Business of Literature?&#8221; there are plenty of new points made showing how much things have changed just in the time since he wrote the original piece.<\/p>\n<p>If you&#8217;re not in a reading mood, this is the bit that matters most from the interview:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Writers need to find other modes of engagement, and especially those modes of engagement that are uncopyable, because the values of copies is just declining.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Books are copies. They are subject to race-to-the-bottom, cut-rate pricing. We&#8217;ve seen that the very publishers who once gripped an industry and steered it to their whims can now be shut out from the largest bookseller out there &#8212; effectively hitting an author hard.<\/p>\n<p>But an author creating an experience for fans of their work featuring their presence is something that cannot be copied or controlled by Amazon&#8230;<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Sherman and Jess<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>I&#8217;ve talked about Sherman Alexie and Jess Walter&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.infiniteguest.org\/tiny-sense\/\">Tiny Sense of Accomplishment podcast<\/a> more than enough times, here. But I&#8217;ll talk about them once more.<\/p>\n<p>With their podcast, they give fans a view into their minds. They share works in progress, answer questions about writing, and interview other creative people. And recently, they&#8217;ve done a good handful of live shows.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/WFRnY4e2kJ0\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s the thing: If they toured and came to Dallas, I&#8217;d easily pay $50-$75 for a ticket. If they offered something even more exclusive than a stage show, I might go as high as paying $150. Hell, I&#8217;d even drive my ass to Oklahoma if they decided to be like many touring acts and force people in the Dallas\/Ft. Worth Metroplex to go to Winstar Casino to see shows.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Speaking of Podcasts<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>I recently mentioned <a href=\"http:\/\/www.christophergronlund.com\/blog\/tjw\/2015\/09\/18\/not-about-lumberjacks\/\">a fiction-based podcast I&#8217;ll soon be starting<\/a>. The main goal is to get back to short fiction, but I also &#8212; for once &#8212; hope a show I do will have a bit of a following.<\/p>\n<p>Regardless of what success (or silence) it might be met with, it&#8217;s made me think about different ways of getting fiction out there. <a href=\"http:\/\/podiobooks.com\/title\/hell-comes-with-wood-paneled-doors\/\">My first podcast was fiction<\/a>, and while it&#8217;s over 4 years old, it gets 800-1200 downloads a week with absolutely no promotion. With the new podcast, I want to try different things. Audio allows certain kinds of storytelling that I can&#8217;t do on paper or screens.<\/p>\n<p>While it&#8217;s unlikely I&#8217;ll do live episodes of <em>Not About Lumberjacks<\/em>, that is probably my own limiting talk. <a href=\"http:\/\/menseekingtomahawks.com\/\">Other local podcasters<\/a> have done live shows.<\/p>\n<p>I know the odds are against me with the new show becoming something bigger than I hope, but I have more of a chance than repeating the efforts I&#8217;ve made all along with traditional fiction, doing things &#8220;the right way.&#8221; Like it or not, publishing really is a matter or who you know, or figuring out ways to be known outside of just writing.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.christophergronlund.com\/blog\/tjw\/wp-content\/upLoads\/be-mighty.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-6207\" src=\"http:\/\/www.christophergronlund.com\/blog\/tjw\/wp-content\/upLoads\/be-mighty.jpg\" alt=\"Forest: Be Mighty...And Keep Your Axes Sharp!\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.christophergronlund.com\/blog\/tjw\/wp-content\/upLoads\/be-mighty.jpg 800w, http:\/\/www.christophergronlund.com\/blog\/tjw\/wp-content\/upLoads\/be-mighty-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Talks I&#8217;ve Given<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Last night, I hung out with a friend who podcasts. He came to a recent talk I did about storytelling and podcasting &#8212; and liked it enough that he wanted to chat about the process I use to create slides for the talks I give.<\/p>\n<p>I like talking to people because I like sharing things in the hope it helps others. I never realized the effect a talk can have on people until I started speaking up.<\/p>\n<p>After giving a talk, people always come up to me. A lot of times, it&#8217;s not even with a question; many times, it&#8217;s not even about telling me they appreciated the talk. It&#8217;s about a moment.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>This person just spoke for an hour and obviously put a lot into it and it affected me &#8212; and before this moment ends, I want one last taste of all this before going back to the bigger world outside.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>I say this as someone who&#8217;s felt that as an audience member of some great readings, talks, and shows I&#8217;ve seen. It&#8217;s why people linger after it&#8217;s all done. Sure, it&#8217;s networking for some, but for even more, I&#8217;d argue that it&#8217;s all about keeping a moment in time alive before it blows away and lives as only a memory.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Changing Times<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>It&#8217;s easy to say times are changing for writers. People have said it for decades (probably even longer). But it&#8217;s clear that times <em>are<\/em> changing for writers.<\/p>\n<p>Technology we never imagined now dictates how writing is distributed. The things writers compete with are growing at a rate that is also hard to imagine. (A good friend <a href=\"http:\/\/www.moonstrikevr.com\/\">just made this<\/a>.) It&#8217;s easy to call videogames and social networks distractions, but it&#8217;s what writers compete with today, no matter how much some complain it shouldn&#8217;t be like that. (For the record, I don&#8217;t think videogames are a distraction.)<\/p>\n<p>I love books. But [with exceptions] most people I know who used to read regularly now read less. However, they love feeling like they are part of something bigger than them, even if it&#8217;s just a special moment in time.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe Richard Nash is right&#8230;maybe the book is becoming much like a concert t-shirt, a memento to prove you were there for something special that could not be copied.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.christophergronlund.com\/blog\/tjw\/wp-content\/upLoads\/fireworks1.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-6253\" src=\"http:\/\/www.christophergronlund.com\/blog\/tjw\/wp-content\/upLoads\/fireworks1.jpg\" alt=\"People watching fireworks\" width=\"800\" height=\"466\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.christophergronlund.com\/blog\/tjw\/wp-content\/upLoads\/fireworks1.jpg 800w, http:\/\/www.christophergronlund.com\/blog\/tjw\/wp-content\/upLoads\/fireworks1-300x175.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[First thing: If you&#8217;ve never read Richard Nash&#8217;s What is the Business of Literature? you should check it out. It&#8217;s a free e-book, and I&#8217;m sure it can be found online. Yep &#8212; right here.] * * * Richard Nash&#8217;s &#8220;What is the Business of Literature?&#8221; is one of the best things I&#8217;ve ever read [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.christophergronlund.com\/blog\/tjw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6246"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.christophergronlund.com\/blog\/tjw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.christophergronlund.com\/blog\/tjw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.christophergronlund.com\/blog\/tjw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.christophergronlund.com\/blog\/tjw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6246"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"http:\/\/www.christophergronlund.com\/blog\/tjw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6246\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6261,"href":"http:\/\/www.christophergronlund.com\/blog\/tjw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6246\/revisions\/6261"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.christophergronlund.com\/blog\/tjw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6246"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.christophergronlund.com\/blog\/tjw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6246"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.christophergronlund.com\/blog\/tjw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6246"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}