Tag: John Grisham

WHY WRITE FICTION? by Art Smukler, MD, author & psychiatrist

by artsmuklermd, posted in Writing

Worldwide there are millions of authors.

Writers who sit in front of their computers and make up stories are a special breed. They devote countless hours searching their souls to find just the right way to portray their imaginary characters, to make them come alive on the page and make their make-believe-lives something that readers will want to devour.

It can’t be just the money. The percentage of Grishams, Cobens, Patchetts etc. are so rare that it’s like a girl who writes songs and aspires to become Taylor Swift. It can obviously happen, it happened to her, but the chances of it happening are minuscule. If you become a rock star or a famous author you can make a fortune, but everyone else is doomed to getting their pittance from Amazon or Barnes & Noble. And obviously, 99% of writers support themselves with a real job, with savings, or with family money.

Is it simply a silly hope that you’ll be the one who breaks through and garners all the money and acclaim? No. Writers aren’t stupid. They’re smart enough to create an imaginary world and they’re smart enough to know that the chances of them making enough money to live off their books is like winning the lottery.

So why? With everything stacked against success, why do very bright people keep persevering?

Lester, one of the detectives on THE WIRE, the TV series that ended 15 years ago, said it so well, when describing why detectives battle the odds to catch and then convict the crooks, ‘It’s the journey, not the destination.’

And for me that’s the answer for writers too. Authors love the journey. They complain, describe the misery and loneliness of writing, how frustrating it is, but in the end they keep doing it. In spite of all the obstacles, the creative process is engaging, exciting, and meaningful. Even if no one else agrees, the author like the determined detective, will not be derailed. The process is too important. Agents and publishers have their opinions and we have ours. And if every so often you lose your impetus just give it a little time. You’ll bounce back.

If we can’t write, we suffer.

Don’t suffer!

Get back to your characters, your plot, and your fantasies.

You never know who your story will touch.

Check out PATIENT X, a mystery. If you think you have a problem as a writer, you’ve got to meet Jake Bennett.

Thanks for reading. If you’re not a subscriber to Tales From Smukler’s Couch, just click away and you can become one.

Art

#authors, #writers, #psychiatrist, #mystery, #suspense, #romance, #JohnGrisham, #HarlanCoben, #AnnPatchett, #TaylorSwift, #amateursleuth

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RESULTS OF THE OBAMA-SPIELBERG EXPERIMENT, by Art Smukler, author & psychiatrist

by artsmuklermd, posted in Psychiatry, Writing

Last week, I used 10 well-known celebrities in my post title. These ranged from Barack Obama to Mark Cuban to Steven Spielberg. My theory was that Google would connect anyone with an interest in these personalities to my blog site.

I imagined millions of potential viewers, with thousands of my books lining their shelves.

It didn’t happen — not even close. I’ve published 50 posts and have a total of 9000 hits, an average of 180 hits per post. For this experiment I received a grand total of…(drum roll) 190 hits. 8 new people decided to follow my blog and 7 people downloaded books. Fame and riches did not rain down upon me.

What does it all mean? To me, it means that post readers are interested in actual content — subjects that matter to them and people who have something to say. Just listing famous people doesn’t do it. Also, for someone to buy an unknown person’s book, there needs to be some sort of  emotional connection or a recommendation from someone that they respect.

There’s no easy way to become known throughout the internet and throughout the world if you haven’t earned it. And really, that’s the way it should be.

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