Comments on: Guest Post: Monster In the Laundry Basket — Part III: What is Literary Success? http://www.sfwa.org/2012/12/guest-post-monster-in-the-laundry-basket-part-iii-what-is-literary-success/ Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Sun, 19 May 2013 20:02:58 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 By: Elizabeth Moon http://www.sfwa.org/2012/12/guest-post-monster-in-the-laundry-basket-part-iii-what-is-literary-success/#comment-143485 Elizabeth Moon Tue, 11 Dec 2012 21:11:20 +0000 http://www.sfwa.org/?p=29505#comment-143485 I want what I’ve always wanted–to write the stories I want to write (there’s wiggle room there) and make a living at it. “Stories I want to write” covers a wide range, and I’m willing to work with one or more publishers in choosing what’s next (unless it hits me over the head with a hammer and drags me home, a captive writer, locked in its spell until I’ve written it, as some books do.)

Would I like vast sums of money? Sure. Would I like rows and rows of awards? Sure. I treasure the one award I’ve got (thank you, SFWA!) But that’s not the core of it for me. The core of it is writing the stories I want to write…and not going hungry, cold, or raggedy. In the service of those primary goals, I want the books to reach the people who will a) like them a lot and b) pay enough for them that the lights stay on, the propane tank stays full, we eat well, and I can afford the gas to go sing in the city. So far traditional publishing has worked its traditional magic for me (yes, I’ve been lucky.) But I’m watching everyone else’s strategies and trying to think ahead, because I’m getting older…and I’m not Asimov. Much as I love to write–need to write–I don’t want to spend every remaining hour of my life writing.

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