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Do you write for the market? Or do you just write novels, picture books and articles for yourself?

You’ll hear the advice both ways:
Write what you want to write so you can write the truest book you can write.

Write with the market in mind.

It depends on your writing goals.
If your writing is self-expression and you have other means of monetary support, then please yourself!
If your goal is a career as a writer, and becoming a writer who makes a living wage, then the answer is more nuanced. It’s not just write for the market; you must write what you want to write. But you must also find your audience.

Writers who have a long career seldom start off with a bang. (I once went to a conference where every speaker had sold his/her first book to the first editor who saw it. I went home and cried.) Instead, it’s a slow build of an audience who comes to your work one at a time. This means your writing is improving while your audience is growing.

However, this doesn’t give you the pass on considering the market and your audience.

Consider Your Audience

What is your audience reading? What is popular? That’s often the question that writers ask themselves and it’s a valuable one. Knowing the current market is vital. But you must go deeper and ask, “Why is my audience reading this type of book?”

For YA literature, for example, dystopian literature has been wildly popular for the last five years or so. Why? Because in times of upheaval, people reexamine their identity and challenge the very foundations of civilization–which is exactly the task every generation faces as they come to adulthood. Who are they? What will their life be like?

Are dystopian novels dead? Click on the image for an interesting take on how the genre is overrun with cliches from uzerfriendly.com

When I approach an editor’s revision letter, I do the same thing. I don’t do every thing the editor asks for. Instead, I look for the deeper, perhaps unspoken concerns, and address those. Editors don’t need to be right; they just need to provoke you to move from your stubborn position and do something even more wonderful than they ever imagined. That’s what I’m asking you to do here. Look at trends in the marketplace–and transcend them. Find a way to answer the deeper concerns in a way that only YOU could do.

And sometimes, even doodling can be fun! Am still not 100% but I went on strike (I hate being sick) and drove out to the countryside with the dogs this morning to give them a good run, then got back home and finished up this little doodle that I'd started up late last night. Yes, I'm trying to think up products for Easter for my online stores of course :)

I turned this into a few products including this card at Zazzle:

Oh, and my Rabbit Blue Stamp won a Today's Best Award on Zazzle yay!

Am already wondering what to draw next ... hmmmm ... :D Happy Weekend!

I'm feeling very uninspired today ... I finally have time to draw but have a mild cold and nothing seems to come out right and the scanner seems to be making things worse, ack. Not a great day but I did a few test sketches of rabbits and I decided to fool around with one of them and place it on the background from another of my drawings (Lily-of-the-Valley in case you're curious) and this was the result:

After which I doodled a bunny on an Easter Egg:

Which the scanner screwed up completely as the colours are different and the faded blue strokes on the rabbit are pretty invisible ... but that's okay as I'm not happy with any of my drawings and sketches today anyway. I gave up fiddling with the scanner and decided to post these two, even if I'm not crazy about them. There are good days and bad days and the good days will eventually return, right? Right?

Off to make another hot drink to soothe my aching body and take more vitamins to fight off this cold. I rarely get colds so am also extremely annoyed at being sicky ...

EDM Challenge 152: "Draw something in a plastic wrapper."

Yes, I've been busy :D I decided to take time off and indulge my need to get some drawing done. I haven't done an EDM Challenge in what seems AGES, so looked them up and grabbed this plastic bag of organic pasta out of my teeny 'just-starting-up' larder/pantry. It kept me busy for a bit, and therapeutically soothed my 'stressed-from-the-move' soul.

Red Hot Mug interpreted as a card and Love card on Zazzle :D

I miss my Daylight Lamp!! I used it to draw by, in the evenings, so I could still see the true colour of my pencils. As it is, I had to stop last night in the middle of this drawing as I no longer knew what reds I was using. and I continued it today in the clear light of day, sitting by the window.

I bought this lovely deep red mug at the markets last week. I haven't done it any justice as far as its real colour is concerned, but this was my attempt nonetheless :) I used watercolour pencils so scanned the above once I'd finished drawing it in case I destroyed it when I "painted" the water on. Below is the final result, which turned out neither as well nor as badly as I'd imagined:

Bonjour!! I'm now in France!! I still can't quite believe it and am loving it here. If anyone would like to know a bit more about what's up in my life, I've blogged over at my Musings blog, so head over there.

Meanwhile, I have been suffering without my coloured pencils and sketchbooks. Who knew I'd depend sos much on having the huge range of colours I had at home? They are now in storage with all the rest of my art supplies and what's left of my material possessions, waiting for me to find a more 'permanent' abode here in France. So I have only managed a doodle and a text design in between the huge chaos of packing, moving and semi-settling in. Not really happy with either but at least I got something small done!!

Tree of Hearts card is up over at Zazzle.

I did this text design:

Love makes me Happy card at Zazzle.

And no prizes for guessing that there's a love/hearts theme going through my mind at the moment. No no no, I'm not in love or attached at the moment, but Valentine's Day is around the corner and my commercially-minded panicked brain is hard at work thinking up designs for products and gifts, sigh. Apologies but I can't quite help it at the moment :)

On the bright side ... I've discovered a great art store close by and have practiced surprising restraint but managed to bag myself a set of watercolour pencils and good paper, so will be back to drawing again soon. Can't wait as my fingers are itching to get sketching again.

I'm also planning to start taking lots of photos and doing some drawings of what's around me though there's so much that's charming that I'm on overkill at the moment and in quite a bit of a daze still. Thank you to everyone who has messsaged me wishing me all the best and wondering when I'd be back here. I'm amazed that anyone noticed me missing at all so truly appreciate your wishes. Huge hugs and cheers from France!

I just haven't had the time to do very much else but pack, get everything ready for the move and recover from exhaustion. Am suffering from lack of sleep! But I did manage to do a bit of text design and produced a Valentine's then Happy 16th birthday design.

Valentine Hearts card at Zazzle

Sweet Sixteen Card at Zazzle

My colored pencils are packed away and in storage till I need them to be shipped over to France, which means that it may be six months before I see them again. I have a basic minimum of twelve with me so will do with that till I can get my hands on more. Meanwhile I guess I'll do more digital text designs.

I can't believe it but tonight is my last night here In Australia! Looks like I may be offline for a while and only have access to limited internet connection which means that I will not be able to visit your blogs and check out all the wonderful art till I get a connection of my own. I can see myself suffering from all kinds of withdrawal, eek. But I shall be back as soon as I can and hope everything goes well with everyone out there. Cheers.

The matching Pink Leaf Sticker for the card received two Awards for Best Sticker of the Day (6th January) and Top Ten Sticker Views at Zazzle :D

I just haven't had the time to do very much else but pack, get everything ready for the move and recover from exhaustion. Am suffering from lack of sleep! But I did manage to do a bit of text design and produced a Valentine's then Happy 16th birthday design.

Valentine Hearts card at Zazzle

Sweet Sixteen Card at Zazzle

My colored pencils are packed away and in storage till I need them to be shipped over to France, which means that it may be six months before I see them again. I have a basic minimum of twelve with me so will do with that till I can get my hands on more. Meanwhile I guess I'll do more digital text designs.

I can't believe it but tonight is my last night here In Australia! Looks like I may be offline for a while and only have access to limited internet connection which means that I will not be able to visit your blogs and check out all the wonderful art till I get a connection of my own. I can see myself suffering from all kinds of withdrawal, eek. But I shall be back as soon as I can and hope everything goes well with everyone out there. Cheers.

The matching Pink Leaf Sticker for the card received two Awards for Best Sticker of the Day (6th January) and Top Ten Sticker Views at Zazzle :D

Lily of the Valley card at Zazzle

My first drawing for 2008! The Lily of the Valley is such a sweet flower and it's particularly special here as I'm dedicating this to my god-daughter, Lily-Rose as the first half of a belated birthday present :)

I hope everyone had a wonderful New Year and that this coming year will be fruitful for us all! Happy 2008!

E is for Eggplant card at Zazzle

I decided to get a bit looser today and just have fun with my colored pencils. I picked two eggplants from the garden this morning and took a photograph (if you want to see the photo, it's here) and had a lovely afternoon drawing them.

It's been such a pleasant day, and so relaxing. I've picked tons of beans and tomatoes and zucchini from a garden that doesn't seem to mind my having ignored it so disgracefully the past few weeks, and had cups of tea, enjoyed a drawing, cooked a roast chicken for lunch, relaxed ... what a wonderful Christmas Day! Hope everyone has had the opportunity to count their blessings too.

E is for Eggplant card at Zazzle

I decided to get a bit looser today and just have fun with my colored pencils. I picked two eggplants from the garden this morning and took a photograph (if you want to see the photo, it's here) and had a lovely afternoon drawing them.

It's been such a pleasant day, and so relaxing. I've picked tons of beans and tomatoes and zucchini from a garden that doesn't seem to mind my having ignored it so disgracefully the past few weeks, and had cups of tea, enjoyed a drawing, cooked a roast chicken for lunch, relaxed ... what a wonderful Christmas Day! Hope everyone has had the opportunity to count their blessings too.

I can't believe I'm actually managing to fit another drawing into a busy day. Have cleared some things up, moved furniture around and emptied shelves and desktops to have some things ready for pick-up by friends on Saturday, and I've even cleaned up. And then sat down and did this quick sketch :D It's now time for bed ... am exhausted!

EDM Challenge 149: Draw a Broom

I finally get to do a challenge! I'm still busy but am taking a break (procrastinating? Of course not!) before I tackle the issue of going through my wardrobes and sorting out what clutter/clothes to take and what not to ...

Needed a bit of therapy and though this was a quick and a bit of a wonky sketch, it has done me good. I may actually consider drawing something else as well ... I'm an expert where "later" is concerned, it's a shame no one hires professional procrastinators, I'd make millions:D

Fantastic at 50 Card at Zazzle

My Fabulous at 40 products were so well received that I decided to do one for the 50s ... something I'll be needing myself soon enough! So I spent what little free time I had, in between the multiple phone calls and bookings and confirmations that occupied my day yesterday (am so sick of 'Hold' music!), drawing the above design.

Today I shall pick the pencil up again and set it to paper though I have as yet no idea of what to draw. First I have a huge load of clearing up to do, sigh.

And I'll eventually draw something for the 60s. I've been toying with a few ideas: Sexy at 60, Seductive at 60, Serene at 60, Stupendous at 60 .... ack, am at sea. Which would you prefer? Any contributions would be very much appreciated ...

Angel Card at zazzle

I drew this yesterday but by the time I'd finished it I was so tired I didn't have any energy left to scan it in! SO here I am, bright and early this morning, posting it finally.

I bought a gorgeous angel ornament two days ago and liked it so much that it was the inspiration for this drawing although I changed the colours and the expression on her face, and added the heart and the star :). She was still the model who posed for it, so I must give her the credit due for inspiring me. It was also wonderful to be able to pick up a pencil and draw again -- am going to have to fit as much drawing as I can into my upcoming very busy schedule.

Cheers!

I was asked to draw a rooster ... and thought it would be fun to try one, so here's my first attempt!

Meanwhile, am preparing for a 10 day trip so I'm not sure if I'll have the time to post anything, even if I have the time to draw in the first place! Will take my sketchbook with me but we'll see how things go as far as actually getting anything done. If there's an internet connection I'll definitely be posting something!

Rooster Card at Zazzle

I was asked to draw a rooster ... and thought it would be fun to try one, so here's my first attempt!

Meanwhile, am preparing for a 10 day trip so I'm not sure if I'll have the time to post anything, even if I have the time to draw in the first place! Will take my sketchbook with me but we'll see how things go as far as actually getting anything done. If there's an internet connection I'll definitely be posting something!

I thought I'd show a bit of the progress steps from drawing to finished product! I started this ATC last night. It's 2.5 by 3.5 inches in size and it took me about a couple of hours to draw, nice and quick which is why I call them my "doodles"!

Once I'd completed it, I scanned it in and then cleaned up the edges a bit and this was the result, all ready to turn into a card:

All the digital work is done on my tablet pc in Photoshop CS2. I then played around with a design to frame it in. And some text (which is where my tablet pc comes into 'proper' play and is invaluable!), and finally created two cards out of it:

Ta-da! :D It takes me a whole day to actually complete the whole process from start to end, including creating products and uploading designs onto my online stores, but I have to admit that it's so delightful seeing my designs on the products. I always make matching stamps and stickers for the cards as I love things that fit together well ... Highly motivating and fun too! Cheers!

Carrying on with the text design theme plus my decision to be positive about life and the future ... here's my latest attempt!

I have a tablet pc ... the screen can be twisted so that it folds down flat on the keyboard. If you want to see it, it's here: toshiba tablet pc. It's absolutely wonderful as you can write and draw directly on the screen. So I begin with a rough sketch of the type onto the background (on photoshop) to make sure that everything fits where it should, then I just keep on refining and smoothing it till I get the final result, then decide on whether I want it in colour or not.

There's quite a soothing, therapeutic effect in using the pen on the screen, it's smooth (unlike paper) and quite different but still enjoyable, so I've had fun doing text designs and they seem quite popular on my products which is really nice :)

It does not replace drawing in any way ... so I'll be back sketching madly pretty soon ... probably doodling more Christmas related fun stuff, as I'm still busy planning and preparing for a trip and then a huge move -- both pretty stressful, but I remind myself to breathe and to Love Life!

Well, what with planning and stressing out over what I'm about to do (will let you know once the decision has been made!), I haven't had much time for anything but doodles recently. And as Christmas is coming and I'm trying to get some products up at my online stores, I'm afraid that it's going to be a festive theme for the near future -- hope you're all feeling merry already!

I turned her into this card:

Am quite enjoying the festive theme, it's bringing a bit of much-needed positive air into my life. Cheers!