We haven't heard Kes muse about writing for awhile.
Livejournal I have a problem. It is one I have been grappling with for awhile now.
You see livejournal I really like my third book, Unicorn Avenger buuuuuuuut it is part of a series and for people to get the whole story they need to read at least one of the two books that come before it. So like I want to plug the heck out of Unicorn Avenger but I feel kind of well embarrassed that they have to read a dorky teen dragon fantasy book or a lesbian romance book first before they get to the zombie war super hero depressing goodness that is Unicorn Avenger.
And then Livejournal I feel bad because it isn't Ryu or GCR's fault that I wrote them first when my writing skills were not so good. Not that they have really gotten better...okay looking back on the first drafts of Ryu yes they have. I mean, they are good books and I like them. I just... I think it is an issue of being relatable.
Here is my theory. Books are popular because of relatableness. I mean, they can also be super good because you know, super good, but I also feel that relatablness factors in there because you could have written pure perfect grammar distilled into liquid poetry gold, but that won't really help you if no one is interested in the content. People have to want to read your story. Look at the big top sellers in the past couple years, you have Harry Potter, Twilight, Hunger Games, and even though I loathe to say it, 50 Shades of Gray. These books are huge because of the huge appeal they have to lots and lots of people. I just...don't feel my tiny small town lesbian romance book can stand up to that. It doesn't have any magic, there is no kinky sex, no horrible and abusive relationships that are horribly misinterpreted as true love. No dystopian society, no love triangles, no vampires, and no epic fight scenes or revolutions. GCR is just about a young woman who owns a farm and wants to be a hermit and tries very hard to be but ends up failing at which is a good thing. Also there is a restaurant and an SCA group and a young man who means well and a girl who wears rainbow shoelaces and Disney movie sing-a-longs.
Did I also mention the lesbians? But no hot lesbian sex because no.
So you see how I feel that GCR will have a hard time standing up to anything out on the market right now. Well...I mean it can find a home. A small tiny home for all the asexual lesbians out there who possibly also want to be hermits. I am sure there are some out there. But mainstream, Idk. I just don't ever see it becoming the next Fault in Our Stars. Or whatever.
Now Unicorn Avenger I don't know. You got super heroes, time travel, gay rights, a sassy black girl, monks, ghosts, zombies, zombie apocalypse, and a super who calls themselves the Unicorn Avenger and wears a flower crown in one scene. Do you understand my problem?
What's that? Why don't the people that want to read Unicorn read Unicorn and those who want to read GCR read GCR? Well yes. They can even read both if they want to, I don't mind. My issue is marketing. Do I market the dorky dragon book first, the romance book first or the one which I think has the best chance in the market but also happens to be the third book? Don't get me wrong I could totally pull a C.S. Lewis and put Unicorn out first and then later when and if it does well send out Ryu and then if they both do well shoot GCR out as a bonus and then have fans argue forever about what order to read the books even after I say in interviews all over the country that you should read them Ryu, GCR, Unicorn Avenger because they love to argue about this stuff.
Which means I should go polish up Unicorn Avenger. Which was basically the question I was wondering, which book should I devote the most time to right now. Thank you Livejournal you have been so helpful. Tune in next week when I gush about Devin and his little face, and how I need to work on his story.
You see livejournal I really like my third book, Unicorn Avenger buuuuuuuut it is part of a series and for people to get the whole story they need to read at least one of the two books that come before it. So like I want to plug the heck out of Unicorn Avenger but I feel kind of well embarrassed that they have to read a dorky teen dragon fantasy book or a lesbian romance book first before they get to the zombie war super hero depressing goodness that is Unicorn Avenger.
And then Livejournal I feel bad because it isn't Ryu or GCR's fault that I wrote them first when my writing skills were not so good. Not that they have really gotten better...okay looking back on the first drafts of Ryu yes they have. I mean, they are good books and I like them. I just... I think it is an issue of being relatable.
Here is my theory. Books are popular because of relatableness. I mean, they can also be super good because you know, super good, but I also feel that relatablness factors in there because you could have written pure perfect grammar distilled into liquid poetry gold, but that won't really help you if no one is interested in the content. People have to want to read your story. Look at the big top sellers in the past couple years, you have Harry Potter, Twilight, Hunger Games, and even though I loathe to say it, 50 Shades of Gray. These books are huge because of the huge appeal they have to lots and lots of people. I just...don't feel my tiny small town lesbian romance book can stand up to that. It doesn't have any magic, there is no kinky sex, no horrible and abusive relationships that are horribly misinterpreted as true love. No dystopian society, no love triangles, no vampires, and no epic fight scenes or revolutions. GCR is just about a young woman who owns a farm and wants to be a hermit and tries very hard to be but ends up failing at which is a good thing. Also there is a restaurant and an SCA group and a young man who means well and a girl who wears rainbow shoelaces and Disney movie sing-a-longs.
Did I also mention the lesbians? But no hot lesbian sex because no.
So you see how I feel that GCR will have a hard time standing up to anything out on the market right now. Well...I mean it can find a home. A small tiny home for all the asexual lesbians out there who possibly also want to be hermits. I am sure there are some out there. But mainstream, Idk. I just don't ever see it becoming the next Fault in Our Stars. Or whatever.
Now Unicorn Avenger I don't know. You got super heroes, time travel, gay rights, a sassy black girl, monks, ghosts, zombies, zombie apocalypse, and a super who calls themselves the Unicorn Avenger and wears a flower crown in one scene. Do you understand my problem?
What's that? Why don't the people that want to read Unicorn read Unicorn and those who want to read GCR read GCR? Well yes. They can even read both if they want to, I don't mind. My issue is marketing. Do I market the dorky dragon book first, the romance book first or the one which I think has the best chance in the market but also happens to be the third book? Don't get me wrong I could totally pull a C.S. Lewis and put Unicorn out first and then later when and if it does well send out Ryu and then if they both do well shoot GCR out as a bonus and then have fans argue forever about what order to read the books even after I say in interviews all over the country that you should read them Ryu, GCR, Unicorn Avenger because they love to argue about this stuff.
Which means I should go polish up Unicorn Avenger. Which was basically the question I was wondering, which book should I devote the most time to right now. Thank you Livejournal you have been so helpful. Tune in next week when I gush about Devin and his little face, and how I need to work on his story.