Writer, Be True to Yourself

My husband and I recently watched the making of Star Wars. I’m sure there are MANY “makings” of the original, beloved Star Wars trilogy, but this was bonus material included with a box set of the original 3 movies, about the making of those movies, including interview footage with George Lucas. Anti-News Millennials who simply refuse to purchase a cable plan, we were looking for something to keep us busy for a couple of nights and I quickly realized we were sitting on some really interesting material. Watching the making of any movie, you expect to learn about the filming, costumes, actors. I had no idea we were about to embark upon a wild adventure, watching George Lucas do the unimaginable as he struggles to tell the story in his heart.

When you’re just starting out as a writer, it’s easy to see yourself as a small fish while imagining those who’ve “made it” walk on water, never having faced the same struggles as you. I was guilty of the opposite, having heard many times over that everyone has to start somewhere and perhaps forgetting that life does offer advantages to those in a better financial position. Yes, money can jumpstart your writing career. That aside, what really caught my attention is that George Lucas fought a long, hard battle against opposing forces who believed they knew better how to tell his story than he did. A legend in its own right, Star Wars changed the course of sci-fi history and no one anticipated its success. Its author had a vision, and he didn’t give up on that vision when everyone told him he was crazy. Lucas initially had 3 stories to tell, and he wasn’t sure he’d get the chance to tell them all. But he stuck to his guns, launching his own independent filming company and securing a monster-sized bank loan. He bet the farm and won. The rest, as they say is history.

Sadly though, the story doesn’t end there. Though episodes 7 – 9 of Star Wars received mixed reviews, we know Lucas sold the rights to these titles. Episode 7 had an intriguing premise and appeared to be the beginning of a new and exciting journey but Episode 8 took us in an entirely different direction and Episode 9 (a movie with its premise highly in dispute between its two head writers) was shocking and, in my fair opinion, a major let down. Though he made a killing, I understand George Lucas regretted selling the rights to these later movies. I really can’t say I’m surprised.

After completing my first novel, I searched for a major publishing house to sell it to. Self-publishing was a relatively new phenomenon in 2010 and it was thought by most that an author self-published her work only after being rejected by the big five because, essentially, it wasn’t ready for publication. I attended workshops and conferences and I dreamed of attracting the attention of a major publishing house, believing that if I was welcomed into the exclusive club they would make my dreams come true. I didn’t think there was any two ways about it, until I got that letter. Publisher X (one of the big 5) was interested in my debut novel, Dangerous Ally, but certain changes needed to be made in order to make it “ready” for publication.

Many authors would probably offer a different perspective on this. And in numerous instances, I imagine, suggested changes would in fact improve the quality of the writing submitted. But after reading that letter hundreds of times over the course of a decade, I stand firm that what I was being asked to do (cut back on the side stories, which essentially, connected the other titles in what I later made a series) would not have improved upon the quality of my work, only made it different, more in line with the other titles in Publisher X’s line, I suspect. I spent years wondering if I made the right decision. I’m not wondering anymore.

I’ve met many authors over the years who’ve told me they have books sitting under their mattresses, which were rejected by publishing houses for one reason or another. I wonder why those authors don’t take matters into their own hands. We who’ve been in this business for years know that “marketing assistance” from publishers isn’t what it used to be, or, to authors like myself who’ve been writing less than 20 years, perhaps we never received assistance at all. After deciding not to make the requested changes to Dangerous Ally, I published the book with a small press. I’ve since come to the conclusion that decisions about covers, formatting and release dates are things I really like having control over as an author, and hey, why not keep 100% of my royalties too?

As humans, we get one shot at this thing called life. I want the books I write to be the stories I want to tell, not what someone else believes they ought to be. I put my heart and soul into my work and I know my fellow authors do as well. Here’s to telling the stories of our hearts and never compromising our creative imaginations one bit.