On writing

I'm really tired of seeing posts about "tips for M/M writers" and "things M/M writers need to be doing" and "WTF are you doing M/M writers, this is terrible!!!" (OK, maybe not that last one.)

These posts seem to be preoccupied with the One True Way to become a popular, successful M/M writer. This One True Way seems to involve

(1) reading all of your reviews to determine how you can improve
(2) running all your writing by "a gay friend" to make sure it works
(3) networking
(4) networking
(5) spamming the hell
(6) dissecting the works of successful authors in order to emulate it
(7) read your dialogue out loud! (I hate hate hate this one)
(8) don't be a jerk

Some of this is common sense. Honestly, I'm of the opinion that if you're stupid enough to go and call out readers who leave bad reviews, participate in name calling and trolling, well... survival of the fittest. You're an idiot and it's probably for the best you're bounced out early. Harsh? Maybe, but uh, why the hell would you think that's a good idea?

I hate the "read your dialogue out loud" line. I'm a terrible conversationalist. I stumble and fumble and combine phrases all the time. I often skip and stumble over words when I'm reading aloud. Reading my dialogue out loud would not help me. Here's the thing -- no two writers are the same. No two writers have the same process or use the same tricks and techniques. Maybe it's important for some writers to read their dialogue out loud, but it's not a technique that helps me.

This plays into the "dissect others' works." Again, not something that helps me. NGL, reading a lot? That helps. Sitting down and tearing a book apart paragraph by paragraph, word by word? That makes me second guess every word I write, which doesn't help me write.

Also, I value that my readers leave reviews on my books. Occasionally, I go check them out, to see what people think. Do I take it to heart when someone dislikes my book? Yeah, a little. I like my stories, and it makes me sad when someone is disappointed by or doesn't like something I've written. Do I immediately think, "well, how could I have done better?"

No. No, I don't.

For one, most of the time, I don't know who my readers are. I don't know their backgrounds, I don't know what they like, and I don't know what made them form the opinion they did about my book. Opinions are by their nature personal and subjective. I write what I write because I like it. For another, I have betas and editors, whose objectivity I trust, to tell me if I've screwed something up. I'm continuously looking for ways to improve my writing, and most of all -- I keep writing. I don't need to check all of the things about a past book before I move forward. I'm always moving forward, and that is the most important thing.

And that's what writing is about. WRITING. It doesn't matter if you read dialogue out loud, dissect others' writing, etc. etc., not if you're spending all of your time trying to figure out how to write so that you have the most and broadest commercial appeal. I know how I could become more popular; I could start writing contemporary and include more sex in my stories. That's not something I plan to do, even if I do have a contemp story I'm percolating on. I like what I write, and it works for me (and for a majority of my readers, I believe :3).


Basically, what I'm trying to say is that there is no "One True Path" to being an M/M Romance writer. Yes, there are things that help (especially with regards to marketing and networking, though I'm a huge slacker on both those fronts), but you don't need to do what everyone else is doing to make it work. You find your own way, you find your own space, and most importantly, you keep writing.