The Life of the Novelist: Intoxicating and Free

In an interview posted on The Telegraph (14 Oct 2011), Martin Amis shared with Edmundo Paz Soldán, the Bolivian novelist and professor, that novelists are the "freest of all artists", because, unlike a painter, a novelist isn't "confined by a square on the wall", unlike a musician, an artist isn't confined to "musical scales", unlike a poet, a novelist isn't confined to "the disciplines of verse", and, unlike a filmmaker, a novelist doesn't "have actors; producers; money pressures of any kind." Amis said,

The process of writing a novel [...] is intoxicating. You can do absolutely anything; you are the freest of all artists. You’re not confined by a square on the wall or musical scales or the disciplines of verse, and you’re certainly freer than a film-maker who is dependent on the weather when he goes out to make his world. And it’s completely uncollaborative – you don’t have actors; producers; money pressures of any kind. 

I'll reiterate that novelists, or writers in general, should not have "money pressures of any kind", because a writer should not write for money but he or she should write about a passionate topic, which will, consequently, help a writer maintain a sufficient level of motivation and inspiration, which is needed, because like Willie shared with Lesser in The Tenants (2005), "Man, I tell you, this writing stuff is no joke." "Baby, it's a long, hard, lonely life."

Median Author Income!

Per the Authors Guild, their Author Income survey is "the most comprehensive study of its kind in the U.S. to date." For the 2023 survey, the Authors Guild surveyed: "Thirty-six other organizations, including Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group, Ingram, B&N Press, PEN America, African American Literature Book Club [...] and 5,699 published authors."

Per the 2023 Author Income survey: "[...] the median book income (including advances, royalties, and fees from licensing and subsidiary rights) for full-time authors in 2022 was $10,000 [...]"

Therefore, per the Authors Guild, in 2023, 50% of full-time writers earned less than $10,000, while 50% earned more than $10,000. 

I won't share on what side of the median I fall on, but I do suspect that "full-time" is hyperbolic, because I suspect that, unlike Harry Lesser, most writers can't write full-time on a $10,000 income - especially if they live in The Big Apple.

THE TENANTS: A Motivating Novel and Film for Writers

Here's IMDb's plot summary for The Tenants (2005) : 

In an abandoned tenement, an African-American militant writer [Willie Spearmint (Snoop Dogg)] and a Jewish novelist [Harry Lesser (Dylan McDermott)] develop a friendship while struggling to complete their novels, but inner tension rises between the two.

In the film, which is based on Bernard Malamud's novel of the same title, Willie confessed to Lesser, "Man, I tell you, this writing stuff is no joke." And in terms of the life of a writer, Willie said, "Baby, it's a long, hard, lonely life."

Carlos Fuentes, the Mexican novelist and essayist, agreed with Willie when he reportedly said:

You must have discipline for writing. It is not an easy task. It is very lonely. You're all alone. You are not in company [...] You are delving into your depths, but you are profoundly lonely. It is one of the loneliest careers in the world [...] In writing, you are alone. That takes a lot of strength and a lot of will to do it.

If you're a writer and you're having trouble staying motivated and focused. And you don't know how to handle being constantly interrupted by selfish people who don't take your writing seriously, then The Tenants may be the novel and film for you, because Willie and Lesser are two writers who take their writing extremely seriously

"How to Write Good"?

Advice to Writers posted "How to Write Good" (March 28, 2025), which is sixteen (16) writing tips from William Safire:

1. Avoid run-on sentences that are hard to read.
2. No sentence fragments.
3. It behooves us to avoid archaisms.
4. Also, avoid awkward or affected alliteration.
5. Don't use no double negatives.
6. If I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times, "Resist hyperbole."
7. Avoid commas, that are not necessary.
8. Verbs has to agree with their subjects.
9. Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky.
10. Writing carefully, dangling participles should not be used.
11. Kill all exclamation points!!
12. Never use a long word when a diminutive one will do.Proofread carefully to see if you any words out.
13. Take the bull by the hand and don't mix metaphors.
14. Don't verb nouns.
15. Never, ever use repetitive redundancies.
16. Last but not least, avoid clichés like the plague.

It appears that Safire's advice was taken from his Fumblerules: A Lighthearted Guide to Grammar and Good Usage; however, anyone who is well-read could assume that Safire was trolling, and the title of the post would lead one to assume that as well, because there many authors whom creatively and successfully violate Safire's tips. 

For example, Vladimir Nabokov "creatively and successfully" used "affected alliteration" extensively throughout his oeuvre. For instance, take these two lines from Lolita:

• Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins
• Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth

A perusal of Safire's Wikipedia page revealed that he mostly wrote non-fiction, which his tips would be more appropriate for; so, the Advice to Writers post maybe should have been titled "How to Write Good [Non-Fiction]". 

Writing a Book: Talent vs. Grit

Reportedly, Colum McCann, the writer of literary fiction, guaranteed that a writer with 80% talent coupled with 100% desire will be "so much better" than a writer with 100% talent but with only 80% desire. McCann:

The writers who are prepared to keep going [i.e., gritty writers] are the ones who are going to make it. I can guarantee that a writer with 80 percent of the talent and 100 percent of the desire will be so much better than the person with 100 percent of the talent and only 80 percent of the desire. It always works that way. 

We posted previously that Angela Duckworth wrote in Grit that grit can be a better indicator of success than "talent" or IQ scores, because talent that's multiplied by effort equals skill, which when multiplied by effort, God willing, equals achievement. 

In addition, Duckworth shared four keys to possessing grit [as a writer]:

1. Develop a Fascination

In other words, write about something that you’re passionate about. Otherwise, you may become bored with the physical writing slash typing process.

2. Daily Improvement

Improving daily may not be sustainable, but if you've written for 30 minutes every day for a week, try to write for 45 minutes, which, once again, may be more sustainable if you're writing about a topic that you're passionate about.

3. Write about something that serves a greater purpose.

In other words, be an altruistic writer.

4. Growth Mindset

In other words, don't have a limiting mindset. For instance, if James Franco can write a book, God willing, you can too!

The Fear of Writing

Richard Rhodes, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, reportedly opined that fear, not talent, stops most people from writing. Rhodes said:

"If you want to write, you can. Fear stops most people from writing, not lack of talent, whatever that is."

In addition, Rhodes implied that possessing passion is more important than treasuring talent. Rhodes said:

[...] You’re a human being, with a unique story to tell, and you have every right. If you speak with passion, many of us will listen. We need stories to live, all of us. We live by story. Yours enlarges the circle.

And I would add that a number who people who do overcome their fear of writing are reluctant to share their writing - out of fear. 

Similes and Metaphors: Keep it on the Body

Kimberly King Parsons related that a teacher advised her [during her MFA studies at Columbia University?] to “Keep it on the body.” In other words, Parsons was advised to connect every metaphor or simile to the human body. Parsons asked:

Why compare something rust-colored to a brick when you could compare it to a spleen? Why put a plane in the sky when you could put a floater on the back of somebody’s eyeball?

Parsons opined that “Keep[ing] it on the body [...] builds bodies and worlds simultaneously." 

You may not want to use this technique exclusively, but peppering your writing with metaphors and similes that are inspired by the human body could add some muscle to your writing, but you might have to reexamine your bio.

Writer vs Actor

What's the difference between an actor and a writer? Per Joan Didion, unlike an actor, a writer can perform alone - while an actor, even in a so-called one-man show, needs a director, a producer, a lighting designer, etc. Didion reportedly said:

I wrote stories from the time I was a little girl, but I didn't want to be a writer. I wanted to be an actress. I didn't realize then that it's the same impulse [...] It's performance. The only difference being that a writer can do it all alone.

Writers: Don't Sell-Out

Previously, I've posted about the importance of writing about a topic that you're passionate about. Otherwise, you may not be able to sustain the discipline to finish writing a book. 

And Jennifer Weiner, a #1 New York Times bestselling author, advised that one should not sell-out. In other words, one shouldn't write with the sole intention of appealing to an agent or publisher. Instead, write "the story you want to tell". Weiner:

Don’t write something just because you think it will sell, or fit into the pigeonhole du jour [i.e., that's trendy]. Tell the story you want to tell, and worry about how to sell it later.

Seth Godin: "Books Don’t Sell!"

571 Unique ISBNs from the Major Publishers for 52 weeks Ending on 8-24-2022
(BookScan\Lincoln Michel ) 

Seth Godin posted on his blog: “The odds of a particular book selling a lot of copies are close to zero.”

Seth’s assertion is based on the fact that, per Bookscan, there were 450,000 books published in 2022. If you subtract the self-published books and only include the books published by the largest publishers (e.g., Penguin, Random House, Simon & Schuster, etc) that would result in approximately 45,000 books published that year. 

Of those 45,000 books published, distributed, and advertised by the largest publishers, Seth posted that only 163 books, or 0.4%, sold more than 100,000 copies. Seth wrote: “Those are extraordinarily bad odds.”

Lincoln Michel posted the numbers on the Counter Craft Substack, which are based on 45,571 unique ISBNs from the major publishers for 52 weeks ending on 8-24-2022:

• 0.4% or 163 books sold 100,000 copies or more
• 0.7% or 320 books sold between 50,000-99,999 copies
• 2.2% or 1,015 books sold between 20,000-49,999 copies
• 3.4% or 1,572 books sold between 10,000-19,999 copies
• 5.5% or 2,518 books sold between 5,000-9,999 copies
• 21.6% or 9,863 books sold between 1,000-4,999 copies
• 51.4% or 23,419 sold between 12-999 copies
• 14.7% or 6,701 books sold under 12 copies

As you can see, most books (i.e., 51.4% or 23,419) published by the major publishers only sold between 12 and 999 copies.

In the end, Seth wrote:

Write a book [on a topic that you're passionate about] because you can and because it might make a difference. But don’t listen to your publisher’s [TikTokers or YouTubers] suggestions simply to sell more copies. [Because] [y]ou probably won’t.

The Writer: "A Long, Hard, Lonely Life"?

In the film The Tenants (2005), which is based on Bernard Malamud's novel, Willie Spearmint confessed to Harry Lesser, "Man, I tell you, this writing stuff is no joke." "Baby, it's a long, hard, lonely life."

And Carlos Fuentes, the Mexican novelist and essayist, agreed with Willie when he reportedly said:

You must have discipline for writing. It is not an easy task. It is very lonely. You're all alone. You are not in company [...] You are delving into your depths, but you are profoundly lonely. It is one of the loneliest careers in the world [...] In writing, you are alone. That takes a lot of strength and a lot of will to do it.

Three Characteristics of a Work of Fiction

Isaac Bashevis Singer reportedly related that there are [at least] three characteristics that a work of fiction must possess [to be well-written]:

1. It must have a precise and suspenseful plot

2. The author must feel a passionate urge to write it

3. He must have the conviction, or at least the illusion, that he is the only one who can handle this particular theme

We would add, that of the three, number 2 is the most important - especially as it relates to actually getting the writing done, because, like we've mentioned a number of times, it will be very difficult for a writer to write for hours without the energy from a topic of passion.

To Delete or Not to Delete?

Mary Gaitskill observed that it's not uncommon for her to have second thoughts about crossed out longhand text. Consequently, instead of hitting delete, she puts suspicious digital text into brackets, which gives her options. 

Gaitskill shared with The Believer (February 1st, 2009):

I’ve noticed that when I’m writing longhand, sometimes I’ll write something and I’ll go, Oh, that’s awful, and I’ll cross it out and I’ll write something over it. And frequently when I go back, I decide that what I crossed out was actually better. When you’re writing on the computer, you don’t cross it out, you just delete it. But now, if I’m not sure, I don’t delete it. Instead of making the revision, I just put it in a bracket and write my second idea, and I can look back and see which I think was better, because sometimes the first thing is actually better.

If there's some text that I'm not confident about deleting, I copy and paste it to the end of my document, which gives me options; however, sometimes there's text that I am confident about deleting immediately, and, thank God, I've seldom had regrets. 

But the question remains: To delete or not to delete? 

To Outline Or Not

Do you write outlines for your characters or do you let them develop (organically) on the screen?  

Per Advice to Writers, Walter Mosley prefers to discover his characters while writing; however, some of his writer friends prefer to use detailed outlines. Mosley reportedly said:

I have writer friends who spend a great deal of time outlining and detailing the biographies of their major characters. Through this process, I am told, they discover the motivations underlying actions taken by these players as they move across the stage of the novel [...] 

It is, however, not my way of discovery. I meet my characters the way I encounter people in life—at a place and in a situation where I have less knowledge than I’d like and am almost always, at first, paying attention to the least important details. After that, I’m in discovery mode.

In the end, one method may not be better than the other, but a writer may want to try both methods and choose the one that he or she finds the most beneficial. 

The Three D's of Writing

Nora Roberts, the prolific novelist, opined that "it’s going to be really hard [for a writer] to get anything done" without the "three D’s: drive, discipline and desire." Per Advice to Writers, Roberts advised:

The most important thing is you can’t write what you wouldn’t read for pleasure. It’s a mistake to analyze the market thinking you can write whatever is hot. You can’t say you’re going to write romance when you don’t even like it. You need to write what you would read if you expect anybody else to read it. And you have to be driven. You have to have the three D’s: drive, discipline and desire. If you’re missing any one of those three, you can have all the talent in the world, but it’s going to be really hard to get anything done.

And Roberts is correct in that if a writer isn't writing about a topic that he or she finds engaging, then it may be difficult to maintain enough drive, discipline and desire to complete a piece. 

Writing, Rejection and Letting Go

Let It Go!

What should a writer do with his or her manuscript, which has been (repeatedly) rejected by agents and publishers? 

One option is to self-publish. And as hard as it may be to do, the second best option may be to, as Colin Broderick advised, "LET IT GO!" And move on to writing the next book. Broderick advised:

My advice is just write: write, write, write...but just as important: know when to let go. You must let go in order to move forward. Again and again I see young writers I admire getting stuck on one book. They try to get it published and nobody wants it and they go back and tweak it again and again for years without getting into something new. My advice is, "LET IT GO!" Stick it in a drawer, move on. Trust me, you will get better just by virtue of experience, and if you turn out to be Ernest Hemingway twenty years down the line, they'll ask you what you have stored away in that drawer of yours.

Need Therapy? Writing May Help

People use a variety of, both positive (e.g. ذِكْر) and negative (e.g., drugs), therapeutic methods to escape the dread that comes with life's inevitable trails and tribulations. As a positive method, Graham Green, the English writer and journalist, suggested writing as a form of therapy. 

Green reportedly said: 

Writing is a form of therapy; sometimes I wonder how all those, who do not write [...] or paint can manage to escape the madness, the melancholia, the panic [and] fear, which is inherent in the human condition.

In the Mood [to Write]?

If you're waiting to get into the mood to write, you may be waiting for some time. It's best to make a writing schedule and stick to it - in the mood or not.

Harry Crews, the American novelist, gave similar advice. He reportedly said:

You can’t wait to write until you’re in the mood. My God, if you waited until you were in the mood, it would take forever. You have to sit down. The name of the game is to put it in the chair.

Of course, because nobody's perfect, some days you're just not going to be in the mood and, consequently, you're not going to write, but those days should be infrequent.

A Writer's Un-Interest

A lot writers are of the opinion that success comes with writing a New York Times Best Seller, but, per Thomas Wolfe, the pinnacle of success is reached by developing in an un-interest in three things: 

• money 
• compliments 
• publicity

Thomas Wolfe reportedly said: "You have reached the pinnacle of success [as a writer] as soon as you become uninterested in money, compliments, or publicity."

Are Writers Narcissistic?

Source: Krizan and Herlache, 2017

Previously, we posted some quotes from famous writers concerning the connection between being a writer and belong alone. For example, James Baldwin wrote in the essay “The Creative Process” (1962): "The primary distinction of the artist is that he must actively cultivate that state which most men, necessarily, must avoid: the state of being alone."

And, per The Paris Review's "The Art of Fiction No. 151, Martin Amis said, "The first thing that distinguishes a writer is that he is most alive when he is alone."

Interestingly, the poet Mary Karr made a connection between being a writer, being alone, and being narcissistic. Karr opined: 

All writers are narcissistic. That’s not the same as being a narcissist, as being a sociopath. But no one can sit in a room by themselves for twelve hours a day thinking about what they’re thinking and not be a little more self-focused than the normal person.

Karr may be onto something, because it's fair to say that, in general, (prolific) writers are narcissistic (i.e., more self-focused) than non-writers.