I’ve been meaning to write this post for a while, and putting it off so so long that re-writing the task every day in my planner finally annoyed me enough to make a start.
The long and short of it is: I am not currently working on a historical romance. I’m not currently writing for publication at all.
My ‘break’ started a while ago, which means I’ve had a lot of time to think about the decision. Does it feel right, do I regret it, what are my plans. How can I explain it to readers?
I could write here all day, but in the interest of brevity there are two main reasons why I’m stepping back from historicals. One is that I don’t read them anymore. I used to read historicals all the time. I started writing them because—partly because—when you’re reading in a genre, it starts to feel like a conversation. A book stands on its own but you can always see how it’s picking up a theme that someone else tackled, twisting a trope that’s been popular lately. As a writer you start to think, “I have something to say, I have something to contribute,” and a whole plot will spin out from that desire to communicate, to join the conversation.
By the same token, when you’re not reading in a genre you lose that sense of urgency. The conversation is going on but, these days, I’m not listening. That’s a problem.
The second main reason is that my books aren’t making enough money. I can’t even explain how great it feels to do work and then get paid for it. I’ve gotten so used to believing that the satisfaction of a job well done is enough—or pushing myself to improve and knowing that I’m getting results—that getting an actual paycheck is… overwhelming.
I have some readers. I could be doing a lot worse. But I’m not making a living. It’s my own fault—I don’t write fast enough—but that’s the cycle. I’m not engaged with the genre so my words-per-day slow to a crawl, so I don’t make money, so the motivation wanes even more…
There are other incidental causes, but the truth is that if either one of those factors were different, I’d still be writing historicals. I tried so many different tactics to keep my writing on track and keep myself engaged and it wasn’t happening.
I’m still writing. In fact, I’ve probably been writing more and with more enjoyment than in years. I’m rediscovering what I’m good at, what I like, and I’m sure it’ll eventually add up to a new book... though probably not a historical. I won’t close the door on finishing my Sweetness & Light series, because I had it planned out with an endpoint in mind and I’d like to get there. But I can’t see that happening any time soon.
I hate admitting that I’m giving up, I hate admitting that I’ve failed. I’d rather be saying something different. Unfortunately, I am and I have.