Okay. The time has come to write about writing once again.

Why now? Because I miss talking about writing and literary theory, and I don’t get to do it anywhere else. 

In terms of published work, I’m currently in a state of semi-forced hiatus, because the publishing industry isn’t really looking for what I write. 

That doesn’t mean that it’s bad, necessarily, but right now, thrillers and crime novels (and recipe books) are selling, literary fiction is not. Topical books, books with expanded social commentary, books from people of marginalized backgrounds, these are the types of things that readers, and what remains of the reading audience are seeking out.

Which is good, in many ways, in giving opportunity to a wider scope of writers. But less good for me at present. 

So I don’t have anything on the horizon for publishing, but I do have several manuscripts that I’ve completed to first draft, and several ideas that I’m exploring. Indeed, I write a novel a year, because I love writing, but I’m less attached to the literary industry and the scene type stuff that draws many wannabe authors in.

Of course, if someone offered me a publishing contract, I’d take it, don’t get me wrong. But also, I’m an introvert and a quiet person, and I’m happy to not have to do the circuit. So it’s good and bad.

Though that also means making less money from my fiction work, and ideally, that would be a real career path. But it’s not a realistic one, for almost any author in Australia. The average income for a fiction writer in Australia is $18,200 per year, and that’s probably at the higher end of what most writers make for their fiction work alone. So really, it would be considered a hobby, even for the names that you recognize on the bookstore shelves. 

Yet, even so, I, like many others, write for the love of it, and the need to get these stories out of my head. And things change, literary trends shift, book popularity ebbs and flows. 

Maybe something I write will align with the right trend at the right time at some stage.

But as I say, I still write, I still read as much as I can, and I still like to talk about the craft of writing, and learning how to become a better writer. 

So I’m gonna’ go back to writing about that. 

In some ways, it feels less impactful at this stage, because if my own writing isn’t selling, what can I offer in terms of valuable writing advice? But I do know writing, and what works, in general terms, versus what doesn’t.

And hopefully, if you read along, we’ll both learn some new things.