Let the Market Choke Itself on Marshmallows

A while back, I offered to answer questions about the sometimes-frustrating-journey-to-getting-published.

I’ve been periodically pecking away at them via email and occasional blog posts. (Examples: Why It’s Better to Give Away Your Writing Than Be Invisible and How To Schedule Time to Write.)

But now that I have a healthy stockpile of submitted questions (maybe 50?) foldered up in Gmail, I thought I’d devote some weekly space to … well, all things writing.

And I’m continuing on with one of my favorites: When you write, do you try to first identify what the market needs or wants?

I could virtually *kiss* the person who sent this one in.

But as my friends smirk on at the idealism they know is about to be poured out in the paragraphs to follow, I should offer a quick disclaimer:

Said Disclaimer: Here’s my financial situation. I am married and I worked in traditional jobs (read: collected steady paychecks) for fifteen years. My husband and I purposefully live within our means–meaning we didn’t buy the biggest, flashiest house the bank told us we could “afford” so we’re not shouldering any crushing debt. In addition, even though I recently gave up a steady income, which did cut our income almost exactly in half, my husband works, so our family doesn’t depend only on my writing income.

That’s not a brag-fest. To be honest, it means many of you benefit from a higher standard of living than we do. But it’s important to spell this out for two reasons:

1. To throw in a bonus tip: It’s always wise to minimize your debt so you have the freedom to pursue your dreams–writing or otherwise.

2. I want to acknowledge that the answer to the “do you write toward the market?” question might be different if I had to sell books to keep my two year old from starving. Fair enough?

That said, do I write to the market?

No. I don’t.

Here’s 3 reasons why:

• I don’t write based on what society wants for the same reason I don’t buy groceries based on what my two year old wants. Let’s face it, him eating all you can eat marshmallows would eventually cause a bit of a downward spiral, health-wise. And I’m not sure the bazillions of cloned romance novels (sorry loves), vampire chronicles, and “tell-alls” that hit the best-seller list necessarily make the reader or the reader’s world a better place either. I have a responsibility as a parent and as a writer to deliver more than marshmallows.

• Writing is like thinking. As you’re forming and re-forming sentences, grappling with concepts, you’re choosing to let your brain live and breathe what you’re writing. The very act of trying to get the words onto the page is developmental. It impacts who you are as a person. I believe in writing toward my own growth–to cement my own learnings or to search for meaning, for example.

• I think the best writing comes out of our passions. Whatever is burning hottest in your spirit, that idea that you keep stumbling upon, that thing you’re always thinking about before you fall asleep at night? If you chase that down, your own personal interest and hunger will drive you to write with that attractive tone of a real live person rather than an info-mercial host on paper. If you write about what is really going on in your life–what God is genuinely stirring in you–then, in my opinion, you’re more likely to wake up happy to write, to find the daily discipline to do it, and to insist on seeing the project through to completion.

Lastly, can I just say: I think the world has too many flaws and too much dysfunction, to much un-love and un-truth, for any of us to afford to be neutral? Write about what matters. Maybe you’ll save someone from choking on those marshmallows.

Curious about how Sarah got into writing? Click here.

Have a question or comment…or want to share a writing tip or idea that came to mind as you read? Click the comment link above the title of this post and let’s get talking :)