Ruth Ann Nordin's Author Blog

I recently stumbled across a YouTube video about how exhausting hustle culture is, and I caught parallels of the hustle culture epidemic and how things are in the writing world.

How many times are authors told that they must run their writing like a business? To run the business, we need to keep up-to-date on the latest improvements in packaging the book, such as formatting beautiful interior files for ebooks and paperbacks because a simple format isn’t good enough. We also need to keep up-to-date on the latest in promotional strategies because if we don’t, we might not get noticed in an oversaturated market. Of course, while juggling all of this, we need to constantly have new books coming out. No matter how much an author does (or has done in the past), the message is often, “It’s not enough.” To add insult to injury, if an author does make a living, there’s the thought that they should make more money. So even tangible success in the form of money does not eliminate the expectation that we should keep on doing more. Whatever you have done, it’s not enough. You will never truly “arrive”, and if you can’t “arrive”, you will never actually succeed. Any accomplishment you do achieve is temporary. There is no peace for one driven by the hustle culture mindset in the writing world.

The end result of this rabbit trail is exhaustion.

We are human beings. We are not machines. There comes a point when you have done all you can, and you can’t do any more. Some writers figure this out sooner than others, and they immediately take measures to balance out their lives. They don’t wait to hit burnout. Worse, they don’t try to push through burnout. They are smart. I wish I was one of them. Unfortunately, I’m not. I gave into the hustle culture mindset.

Every writer is going to be able to handle a different workload. Obviously. You have to figure out where you land on the spectrum of not enough to too much. You need to know where your balance lies. What I’m concerned about is how often a writer will have this gut feeling that it’s time to quit, and how quick other writers are to criticize them for it.

For example, I was in an author Facebook group earlier this month, and the poster was asking, “When is it okay to quit writing?” That was all the person said. We weren’t given any specifics about why they were asking the question. The responses the author received were more noteworthy than what prompted the person to ask the question in the first place because they demonstrate the mindset of the writing community. A small fraction of the authors said that yes, there are valid reasons why it’s okay to quit. Most of the writers, however, were adamant that there is never a good reason to stop writing. Half of them even wrote, “If you quit, you were never a writer to begin with.”

Let’s focus on that because this is why there is so much overwhelm and stress in the writing community. “If you quit, you were never a writer to begin with.”

Just how many books does a writer need to write to satisfy the definition of being a writer? One? Two? Ten? Twenty? How about 100? Is 100 enough to call it a day and stop writing? Why is writing the one venture where people are told they are failures if they quit writing, even though they have successfully finished and published book(s)? What other profession can you think of where someone is told they failed because they decided not to do it anymore? People quit other jobs all the time to do something else, and I don’t see them being shamed the way writers are.

With that aside, maybe you’re on the fence about whether or not you should quit. Here are some ideas on how to tackle this scenario.

1. Do you want to keep writing? If not, that is fine. It is not illegal to stop writing. Even if you wrote one thing that never got published, you are a writer. A writer doesn’t exist only when they are writing. The act of having written a story makes you a writer. We never tell an actor that they are no longer an actor when they are done making movies. We never tell a painter that they are no longer a painter when they are done with their canvas. Once your name is on that story, you are a writer. No one can take that accomplishment from you. (Now, to be a “published” writer, you obviously need to have at least one story published.)

2. Can you afford to keep writing? Are you sacrificing time spent with loved ones that you’ll never get back to produce more books? There has to be a balance. If you’re able to spend time with them and write, then you’re good to go. However, if you get no time with loved ones because you have to “crank out” the next book, then you might want to reconsider. Once that time is gone with loved ones, you’ll never get it back. (We aren’t guaranteed that we’ll have them around until they’re almost 100. So keep that in mind.) Also, can you balance your job and the writing? You have to pay the bills. If you can’t do both, then the job has to come first. (If the writing is paying the bills, then that’s a whole other source of stress to deal with, but for the sake of this post, we’ll say that you’re not reliant on your writing income.) The last area I’ll touch on is the emotional and physical toll writing can take on your life. Are you able to handle the stress that comes with trying to sell books? It is not easy to stay relevant in a world that is constantly changing. Writing income can be erratic. Can you emotionally deal with the uncertainty of it? Are you able to meet your physical needs and write? We can go for some time without exercise, but we aren’t meant to sit all day forever. We have to be mindful to keep moving or our bodies won’t work like they’re supposed to.

3. Do you need to adjust how you’ve been writing? Maybe you do want to keep writing, but you might have to find your balance. This might require you to slow things down. Maybe you have to relax and allow yourself time to rest. It’s better to do that than to end up sick. Don’t forget your health. Your body is just as important as your mind. How you feel will impact how, or if, you’re able to write. If you don’t make enough time to rest, your body will make you. (I know because it’s making me rest now.) I know that this is especially difficult for people driven to achieve things. I have found that cooking new recipes and doing more cleaning around the house has helped to offset the restlessness I feel if I just sit. I need to keep busy with something. I just had to replace the writing aspect because, whether other people realize it or not, writing is an active process that requires a lot from a mental standpoint. That mental work can’t be done nonstop. We aren’t machines. We need periods of rest to regain our creativity.

4. What do you want most out of life? This is more of a general question, but it’s one that is worth thinking through. Most of us will probably think, “I want to write. That’s why I’m a writer.” Let’s go beyond that. Let’s think more abstract. What overall thing would you like most in your life? For example, do you want more “peace”? Do you want more “focus”? Do you want more “meaning”? Do you want more “joy”? What is it that really means something to you deep down in your gut? What is the snapshot view of your life that would make you satisfied with the years you spent on this earth?

5. Once you figure out the answer to 4, then how can you go about getting it? What actions do you need to take to get that thing you want most? For example, say you’re always busy. Maybe you feel like you’re always being pulled in multiple directions. This has led you to feeling like your life is one chaotic mess. As a result, you want more “peace” in your life. What are things you need to let go of in order to ease that stress on your life? Granted, you can’t eliminate all sources of stress, but which ones can you remove? While you’re removing things, look at things you can add to replace the things you are removing. For example, if you’re the parent of a young child, you can’t remove the child. But maybe you need to spend less time on social media marketing your book. You can replace this with a relaxing activity you enjoy. If you love to walk, you can take the child on the walk with you. If you like to veg out on the couch and watch TV, you can do that with your child, too. In my personal life, my kids are now adults, so the young child thing no longer keeps me busy. But I am finding it necessary to remove some writing time because I can’t handle that workload anymore. I have had to replace it with cooking (which I recently found I actually enjoy; who knew?), and I also give myself 2-3 hours every day to unwind by watching a movie or some favorite TV shows. I know some would say that 2-3 hours spent on the TV is a waste of time. A few years ago, I would have been saying that, too. But given the current status of my physical and mental health, I need this time to decompress from the day so I can sleep better at night. That sleep allows me to heal in a lot of ways. Sorry to go on with my life, but I couldn’t think of anything else to help demonstrate my point on removing some stuff to gain more peace. Because my thing is “peace”. (Oh, I also stay away from arguments as much as possible. So if you find that you are stressed out by negativity, pulling yourself away from negative stuff is something I recommend. Insert stuff that is calming and positive instead.) I do believe it’s important to replace something when you take away something. That way we are intentional with our time.

I have talked with my doctor about the incident a couple weeks ago, and just in case anyone has an experience like that (where they seem to be dreaming with a partial awareness of the waking world around them), it’s a good idea to go to the Emergency Room of a hospital so they can run a scan of your brain to see what’s happening. Of course, you won’t drive yourself there. Someone else will drive you. So just let a loved one know this is the protocol if it happens to you. Also, if you know someone who suddenly acts strange for no known reason, it’s a good idea to get them to the ER as well.

On my end, I’ll be doing a CT Scan tomorrow and will also see a neurologist in February to rule out anything serious. I haven’t had an incident since, so it’s possible this won’t happen again, but I’d rather be safe and get tested. We didn’t test my mom early on, and she ended up needing a lung transplant. My father-in-law didn’t get his annual prostate exams and ended up finding the cancer when it was in stage 4. By then, it was too late to help either my mom or him. So I’ve learned to be proactive. This doesn’t eliminate bad things from happening, of course, but I think it increases your chances of having a better outcome in the long run.

Now, the annual physical did reveal a low white blood cell count on my end, so the doctor ran that again, and it’s still low. I will be seeing a Hematologist to see if we can find out what is going on there. From my initial look into things, this situation could stem from a wide range of issues, so I’m not even going to venture a guess on the root cause here. It could be related to what happened a couple of weeks ago, or it could be a separate issue.

I managed to write in two stories one time last week. That put me at 1,000 words total since I do 500 per story. My mind just doesn’t come up with much content like it does with some writers. Some writers can sit and write 5,000 words a day in just one story. I need more time to think of what happens next. I have rushed out stories, and I think I do my best work when I take it slow. But considering all the other stuff I have going on, I have to lower my expectations anyway. There are other things at play in my life, too. I have the deaf son who pretty much needs more support than my other kids who are independent at this point. I help them out when I can. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to turn the “mom” gene off no matter how old they get. Now I understand the sitcoms where the adult son has his mom bringing him chicken noodle soup when he’s sick. And, of course, I have my husband. A relationship needs to be watered in order to thrive. When I start publishing books, my kids weren’t even potty trained yet. I used to think when they were adults, I would have more time to write. That has not turned out to be true. The health stuff has propped up, and when your sons want to talk to you for a while to tell you what’s going on in their lives, you want to listen because you know it’s only a matter of time before they get married and will be busy. I am hoping I’ll get to spend time with grandchildren when they come along. I guess life is always busy in one way or another. It’s just the stage of busy-ness that we all find ourselves. Writing is still something I enjoy, but the older I get, the more I value the time with family and margin the house a home. Writing was a “job” for a good decade for me. Now I’m finding it has become more of a hobby again. As grateful as I am that I actually did make a living with the writing thing (something that was my dream back when I was 13), I am more grateful that I’ve been a wife and mother. God has greatly blessed me. Not to be morbid, but if I were to die tomorrow, my life would be complete. I have no regrets.

On a more uplifting note, I am going to post an update on where I am with my books, but I would like to make a little more progress in them first. 🙂

Yesterday morning, I lost three hours of awareness. I thought I was sleeping. I have a vague recollection of what I was doing. From my viewpoint, I was dreaming. But I was talking and walking all over the house. I only have fragments of what my husband was telling me. I have nothing at all from what one of my sons was telling me, and I don’t remember eating a breakfast bar (an unhealthy one I would never eat under any other circumstance because I am trying to take care of my body). What I remember is waking up at 5am, thinking I was unusually tired but had to get up, so I took care of my eyes with the damp warm cloth (because I have dry eye).

After that, the dreams started for me. It was like I was primarily in a dream but there was the outside voice of my husband that wasn’t getting through. I was saying all kinds of stuff that had to do with the dreams. The outside voice coming from my husband made no sense, and I kept saying, “What?” I was also saying, “Jesus Christ is Lord” and “my dad had schizophrenia” over and over. Then I was intermittently crying and laughing. I was pacing around the bedroom. I have no memory of this. I only remember snippets of my husband saying, “You have a mammogram tomorrow.” “You don’t talk to her anymore.” “We’ve been married for 25 years, do you remember that?” Apparently, I even forgot I had children. Then he left for work and asked one of my sons to watch over me. He said I was just sitting in the chair when he left with my eyes open. I was just staring off into space when he had to leave.

I don’t remember coming down the stairs. I do remember seeing my son in the living room chair and him asking me if I wanted to go for a walk. We will go on our 3-5 mile walks a couple times a week. I said yes, and I remember thinking exercise would help me. My son said from there, I spent 45 minutes walking from the kitchen to the living room to the laundry room and back. And I even ate that breakfast bar. At this point everything is a complete blank. I wasn’t in “dream mode” like I was upstairs. Apparently, I kept asking about the library books I got on Saturday. He eventually hid them because I was fixated on them. I was also telling him, “my dad had schizophrenia” over and over, too. All I remember is coming down at 9:00am, agreeing to the walk, and getting in the car. But the clock in living room did say 9:00am, and the car said 9:45am when I got in. So I know I lost time. The walk did help, but I don’t remember getting down there, and I don’t remember half of the walk. Things came into “focus” at the halfway point, and from that point on, I was fully engaged and aware of everything going on around me. I did cry on and off throughout the day because this episode scared me. I had trouble sleeping last night because I worried I’d wake up like that again.

I just had a physical two weeks ago, and I’m due to go in on December 3 for a follow up for more blood work on my white blood count. I am going to tell my doctor about this (and any other episodes) I have. My dad did have schizophrenia, and I remember my mom saying he was doing similar stuff. This was before I was old enough to remember it. He was resistant to getting help, but back then, you could make someone get treatment if they needed it. Now you can only make someone get treatment if they are a threat to themselves or others. I’m glad I wasn’t a threat to anyone. But I am also willing to go in to get tested. I guess having a degree in Psychology has paid off after all. I know that getting help does not mean someone is stupid or that someone is a loser. I am aware that Psychology is one of those fields that still has some stigma attached to it, though it’s not as bad as it used to be. My dad was able to have a normal and productive life because my mom caught what was going on and he took the right medicine. The sooner you can catch this, the better. I want to get help if I need it, but in order to figure out what’s going on, I’ll need to have the proper tests done.

I’ve watched my mom go through a lung and heart transplant, which her body rejected, when she was 48. I watched my dad deal with schizophrenia and emphysema. He died from the emphysema. I saw him with the breath thing they use (sorry, I don’t remember the term for the machine) and the oxygen tank he needed. I promised myself I would do everything possible to take care of my health so that I never ended up like that. I can think of plenty of other places I’d rather be than a hospital. Now I’ll have to address the mental side of things. It’s possible there is a physical explanation for what happened yesterday. Or maybe it will be mental issue. Whatever it is, I will go with the doctors’ advice. So I’m optimistic about the path forward.

In the meantime, I am going to start teaching Eric (the son who said he would take over my books when I can no longer do it) the ins and outs of what I do with these books. I will consult an intellectual property lawyer about handing over copyright of my books to him so that he can prove to Amazon, Google, Draft2Digital, etc that he has full rights to them. I’ll also arrange for him to be on my business account for finances so he can get the money. I figure since he’ll run the business, he should get the benefit from it. No one else is interested, and it’s not like I’m making a lot of money so no one in the house is arguing over “their share”. I finally did set up investments last year and arranged for everyone to be taken care of when I can no longer do it myself. I’m going to have a power of attorney set up with my husband so he can handle things for me just in case I am unable to make decisions.

I know all of that sounds extreme. People have told me I’m morbid. But I want to make sure my loved ones are taken care of, and I want to be able to do all of this while I’m able to mentally do so. Maybe this was a fluke. Maybe I’ll be fine from here on out. I don’t know what the future will bring. I’d just rather be proactive. I’ve watched too many people die and leave their loved ones in a state of confusion. My dad was proactive, and that made everything easier to deal with. I had been prepared for his death. When he got emphysema, we knew he didn’t have a long time left. We had the time to grieve in advance. My mom was a bigger shock, but given how bad her lungs were, we knew we might have to grieve her, too, and we did in the year it took for the transplant to happen. When the call came that she died, I already knew she was no longer alive. No one calls before the sun rises to give you good news. Death is morbid, but it’s also a reality. I would rather have my family missing “me” than wondering what investment accounts I have or what to do with my books because they never ran a business.

I’ll keep you updated on what happens. I figure this is going to take some time to figure out. In the meantime, I’ll keep on watching my health the best I can and write more books since I still love writing them.

Today as I wrote in my horror romance, I realized why I have been stuck in a certain scene for the past week. I’m glad it didn’t take me longer to figure that out because it took me two full months to finally get unstuck in The Preacher’s Wife. In the case of The Preacher’s Wife, I had to transition the couple from having a platonic marriage to going over that hurdle. I knew the mechanics of what to do, but honestly, a sex scene is not just a sex scene. There are so many nuances involved in it. How does the relationship change? What do the characters learn about themselves? What do they learn about each other? How does this advance the plot? I’m learning that some need more description than others.

In The Preacher’s Wife, that scene is so emotion-heavy that I gloss over the actual physical aspects of it. Right now someone is probably wondering what this has to do with my horror romance. The part that had me stuck in this horror romance was that I was at the “first time the couple is in bed” scene. The circumstances are different. I am not writing The Preacher’s Wife this time. But I still had to figure out how to best go about writing it for this particular couple.

The way I approached this scene pretty much sets up the groundwork for what kind of horror romance writer I’m going to be. That probably sounds crazy since I’m at 28,000 words and have focused so much on the psychological horror vibes up to now. No one has died yet. It’s coming, but it can’t happen yet. I have to lay down the foundation first. There has to be motive when the hero starts killing people. (He kills to protect the heroine.) Before the hero can step out to protect her, he has to fall in love with her. That’s why their first time matters. It has to be there.

I have read quite a few dark romances, gothic romances, paranormal romances, urban fantasy romances, and horror books by now. I have been processing what makes them different and what makes them similar. I have been trying to figure out where I fit in with this pen name. I already figured out who I am with my general romances, though I recall that taking a couple of years to nail down. Given my experience, figuring out where I land in horror romance is easier. I came into this thinking I was going to have a completely different “voice”, but the more I wrote the story, the more I went back to rewrite scenes since I didn’t like how abrasive the characters were coming across.

The other day, Rami Ungar wrote a blog post about The Shining by Stephen King. I remember years ago when I learned that Stephen King didn’t like the way Stanley Kubrick directed it. Later on, there was a TV miniseries made for The Shining that was more in line with Stephen King’s vision for the book. While reading Rami’s blog post, I kept thinking about how a story can come off differently depending on how a person’s interpretation of it goes. Kubrick did amass praise for his vision. I actually enjoyed King’s vision more. The father was more relatable. The descent he took into madness was far more tragic in King’s version. King wasn’t as “abrasive” I guess with his approach to the father. Considering my taste as a reader, that makes sense.

Now, I am not writing a story like The Shining. But while I was writing in the horror romance today, I had to ask myself, “Which approach is best served for me as the writer? What is the voice that best suits me? I can’t approach this book as just the author. I need to look at it as someone who wants to read this story, too. This approach, by the way, is the opposite of writing to market. Writing the market is all about being the author who is delivering a story for a specific audience. You, the writer, do not need to agree with the vision in order to please the reader. If are you writing for passion, though, you are your own audience.

Once I removed the vision I had for what a dark romance reader seems to want, the scene came un-stuck. So I would say my book does not fall into “dark romance”. Those romances are more abrasive than what I like. They are like Kubrick’s version. And that doesn’t resonate with me like King’s version. I want more gentleness. More of a “conscience” I guess. I don’t want such a morally grey hero or heroine. I want there to be more of a sense of right and wrong, and I want the characters to struggle. I don’t want the hero to just go out and kill people. I want him to be cornered into a place where he has no choice. He eventually becomes a “monster”, but he’s also the good guy. I want people to be rooting for him. So he’s a sympathetic villain, maybe.

I wish there was an actual “Horror Romance” category, because this is what the story really is. I am learning how to blend horror and romance together. It’s been a lot of fun. I can feel the creative muscles working as I play around with different ways to go about the story. After a while of writing the same genre, a writer can feel stuck. By venturing into new territory, you get to come back to that same genre with fresh new eyes. I have found that taking on this horror romance has sparked my excitement for regular old historical romance. While lousy advice for writing-to-market authors, I think playing around with different types of stories is great advice for writing-for-passion authors. It’s fun where there’s something new to learn.

I’m pretty much moving at the speed of a snail these days, but I figured I would hop on and share what’s going on.

I am 45,000 words into Masquerade Bride

I really enjoyed this one because it was so different from the stuff I’ve already done. This is more than a romance. I am going to categorize it under romance and fantasy because that’s the best way to describe it. The reason she is taking on the new life is to secure a love match, and there is a lot of courtships that are happening through the course of the book. But this is also about how she grows during the course of the story. That aspect surprised me. I didn’t expect that angle to pop up. This is what makes writing by the seat of one’s pants so fun. You get thrown off course, and in my experience, this is for the best–as long as your brain is wired to be a “discovery writer”. If your brain is wired to follow a plan, you need to plot.

I am putting some Easter eggs into this story only because I love my past Regency characters and like to insert them in if possible. Christopher Robinson and Lord Edon are my top favorites, so I did a cameo with them. I have decided even if I’m not making this a series, I still want to weave it into the other Regency books I’ve written. If I can’t write these books the way I want them, then there’s no point in even writing at all.

I am 18,000 words into The Science of Love

That 18,000 does include two excerpts from past books, so we’re probably looking at about 14,000 for the actual story itself, but I haven’t bothered to calculate the totals.

This is a cute and sweet romance. I plan for it to be pretty steamy only because the heroine needs to feel physically attractive after the harsh way she was rejected in the past. My husband and I were talking this morning based on a video we watched together on YouTube, and while the person was talking about how important it is for men to have a healthy sex life with their wives, the same is true for the wives. Women want to know that her husband desires her physically. We go through a lot of bodily changes post children, and sometimes we look at ourselves and grimace. (Some women hold up better after birth than others. I happen to be one of those women who did not hold up well at all.) It means the world to me that my husband still wants to be with me. I think that’s why I’m so drawn to adding sex scenes in my books, even though I do consider myself to be a Christian romance writer. My aim is to present that side of marriage in a way that honors the gift God has given husbands and wives.

The Horror Romance

I had a cover illustrated for that book so now the book is more “real” than it was before. I’m 26,000 words into that one. I have figured out why the town is the way it is, but I’m still trying to figure out why the heroine’s family is the way it is. I know there has to be some part of the local Louisiana mythos involved since that is the basis for the storyline. It’s really interesting when you research the different legends and spooky stories in any given area. You start to realize that there are similar stories all through the world. The creatures just take on different names, and they have minor differences that make them distinct to the area they’re in. But overall, there truly is nothing new under the sun. In one version or another, it’s the same kind of being that creates terror into the hearts of people everywhere. In my story, I have decided the hero takes on the persona of the monster in order to protect the heroine. (Hence the “dark romance” label I’ll be attaching to it. I’m intrigued by the premise of how an average person can transform. That character development is going to be fun as the story progresses.)

I have decided that book will go into KU. I’m keeping my Ruth books wide, but this pen name will be in KU. I don’t feel like trying to market a pen name on top of this one. I don’t think KU is going to pay out well, but having been a KU reader, I have picked up on the benefits to being in the program. I can join promotions that I can’t as a wide author, and it’s easier to convince people to read a book that is borrowed, rather than bought. I think back to when KU first came out, and some of us (me included) were saying that KU authors were going to be worse off in the end because wide authors were building a sustainable career by not putting all of their eggs in one basket. And blah, blah, blah. Now I can see that we were wrong. I’m staying wide with Ruth because I built things up for Ruth wide. I put out just over 100 books as Ruth. Those 100 books aren’t going anywhere. Future Ruth books will be wide. However, if I were a brand new author starting out today, I would do KU. The market is too saturated to try to be wide at this point. (That is just my opinion.)

The Preacher’s Wife

I still have not updated the cover, and I am still in the same scene I was in when October 1 rolled around. That means I have been at 35,000 words for months now in this one. I think I dread putting this couple through the trial that’s coming. Anyone where remember Brave Beginnings when Ernest kidnapped Julia? It’s kind of like that in the level of intensity. There’s going to be some on page physical abuse and a pretty nasty fight that comes as a result. These are not easy topics to cover. (At least not for me.) I hate to see the heroine suffer that way. But this is what needs to be in the story. Right now, I’m still at the transition point where the hero and heroine fall in love. It’s been a pleasant build up. That’s going to change after her ex shows up. This book is pretty on “on hold” while I sort out how to do all of this. I have to find the right balance. I read a book last week that went off the deep end. The author did a great job up to the very last two chapters, and at that mark, the story just went off the rails nuts. It was a very unsatisfying (and disgusting) experience. The story lost all of its strength. If the author had tampered a lot of the crap down, it would have remained a solid 5-star read. It quickly became a 1-star read. I do not want to risk giving the same kind of experience to those reading this book. That is why balance is key.

I stumbled across a video from someone who was talking about four different communication styles. And that got me to thinking about writing styles. Writing, after all, is a way of communication. We’re just communicating in written form, rather than speaking. So today, I am going to make an attempt to take what I gleaned from this video and apply it to the world of writers.

I tried to link in the video, but I kept getting an error. I want to credit this person for inspiring today’s post. The video was titled “How to Talk to ANYONE (Once You Know Their Color!)” by Vinh Giang.

RED AS A WRITER

Red is direct. This is a writer who likes to get right to the action in the story. They aren’t going to do the “slow burn” approach. I doubt they find tons of backstory, heavy description, or side chatting to be all that interesting. Their dialogue is probably more direct. You won’t get a lot of thoughts or actions around the speaking. And most of what the characters do add directly add to the plot. You won’t find much fluff here. This makes me think that these writers’ stories are probably shorter as a result.

As a marketer, I think these writers probably get straight to the point and say, “Hey, I have a book out, and here it is.” I doubt they want to linger around social media for long, and they probably are more interested in strategies to market (more than hanging out and chatting with people online). So I’m thinking ads might be a strength for these people.

Readers are not likely to find these stories boring. In fact, for readers who don’t have much spare time on their hands, these writers are perfect. They deliver a good, solid story in as few words as possible. This kind of writer also pleases readers who like a the story that flows at a steady pace. If we were on a road trip, this writer would take you directly from Point A to Point B. The story starts with a bang and continues the momentum the entire way through. On the flip side, of course, there will be readers who’ll think the story feels rushed. These readers want to take at least one stop from Point A to Point B.

YELLOW AS A WRITER

This writer excels at marketing. People are drawn to them. They are the talkers. They make people feel heard and comfortable. They care about people, and it shows. These are your extroverts. I suspect this type of writer would rather market a book than write it. (It boggles my mind that these people exist, but they do. I have talked to them, and they truly do an awesome job of promoting their books without even saying, “I have a book to sell you.” They are the stars of social media. Truly, their energy for being around people is a gift because it is hard for some of us–like me–to even know what to post.)

My guess is that this type of writer loves to add in extras to their stories. I read a book by a yellow years ago and remember the characters having long conversations where they were simply playing games and engaging in witty banter. The focus was more on enjoying who the characters were and how they related to each other than adding anything directly to the plot. So we can think of these types of writers like taking a road trip where you stop to check out the sights along the way. Those sites don’t just have to be character’s conversing. It can be a side plot that doesn’t do much for the main plot. The main thing is that you relax and enjoy the ride. While I believe these people will write longer stories than reds (overall), their love for having the book out to market will override their urge to linger too long in the story.

GREEN AS A WRITER

This is the writer who will give you the slow burn kind of story if that’s what you’re looking for. This writer loves to start in the character’s ordinary world before the conflict comes into play. So we get to see the life before the pivotal moment when everything changes. They will give you backstories, lengthier dialogue sections with the character’s thoughts and feelings inserted throughout the conversation, and they might give you tons of description if that adds to the atmosphere they’re going for. So if we were on the road trip with this writer, we would not only take stops along the way, but we would also spend a night to spend significant time at these stops. If you want to dip your toes in the water and smell the flowers along the way, this is your type of writer. The downside is that this type of writer will feel boring to readers who would rather just get to the plot.

For this writer, keeping up the connection with past characters is fun. They will often do series, but even if they don’t, you’ll find Easter eggs across different books to clue you in that all of these characters co-exist within the same world. Their stories tend to be longer because they are enjoying all of the time with these characters. They hate to say goodbye. While finishing a book is key to being able to share it with the world, it’s a bittersweet experience. (But that’s why they keep bringing back past characters.)

This is a very pleasant writer to engage with, just as yellow is, but green isn’t the center of the stage. Green is more of the encourager. Their interactions online will be friendly and warm, and they are sincere, but they are more likely to focus on the other person rather than talk about themselves. They probably don’t share much of their personal life. They probably don’t like to market at all but are on social media because they have to let the world know they exist so people will find their books. Their strength is more in line with making sure they have links available in their profiles (or perhaps books displayed in their icon or headers). They will mention when a book is out, but they would rather be writing than spending time marketing.

BLUE AS A WRITER

This type of writer loves spreadsheets. They love numbers. They will run ads and take note of every keyword and the exact Return On Investment they get from them. They know exactly how many books they sold and where. They excel in details. If you want a book that is thoroughly researched and detailed, this is your kind of writer. If you take a road trip with this writer, you will see some of the sites along the way to the destination, but each spot will be something that has to do with the story in some way. You’ll learn the history about something you didn’t know before. You’ll know what material makes up their outfits or how they decorate their home. These writers get lost in the research and forget to keep writing the book. For readers who love description and accuracy, this is this your kind of writer.

They like their work thoroughly edited. Simply hearing, “I enjoy the book,” from a beta reader won’t work. They want things they can change or do better. They want specific feedback. They are perfectionists. They want every word to mean what it says. They are careful with punctuation. They watch their dialogue to make sure it’s on point. In some ways, they are like reds as far as getting to the point, but they also enjoy some of the immersion in the story that lets you soak in the experience, too. While all writers are sensitive about criticism, the degrees of this sensitivity varies. Reds bounce back pretty fast. Yellows have tons of support to get them back on their feet. Greens will practice self care to get back in the groove. Blues, however, are hit the worst and have the hardest time getting over it. The reason it hits them the hardest is because they are their own worst critic. (Remember, they are a perfectionist.)

TO SUM UP

This is why I don’t believe we can tell every single writer that they MUST write or even market a certain way. The writing and marketing styles that best mesh with each writer matters. If you can figure out what color you are as a writer, it’ll probably help you moving forward. Now you know why you do what do you. More importantly, you know who you should listen to when seeking advice. For example, if you are a yellow, the red’s way of doing things will not work for you. There might be some lessons you can glean from them, but only take the things that best align with your strengths. You aren’t trying to please every reader. You are only trying to please readers who are “yellow” readers. Another example, if you are a green writer, and a blue writer is telling you that you need to monitor Amazon ads, you don’t have to do that. Those numbers don’t motivate you like they motive the blue writer. Just have a general idea of where you are. That’s good enough for a green.

Your strengths matter. Knowing those strengths will help you. There’s no point in trying to be someone you’re not. I know it sounds cliche, but you’re better off being the best “you” that you can be.

Also, if you are a reader who is reading this, this probably explains why some authors appeal more to you than others. Even if people agree that they love the same genre, there’s bound to be some authors who seem to “wow” you while other authors aren’t your cup of tea. Your personality matters as much as the authors’ personalities do. A book is a transaction between two people. Sometimes that transaction works, and sometimes it doesn’t. That’s okay. You don’t have to like every book you come across. Just enjoy the ones you do. 🙂