As writers, you’re armed with the skill, blessed with the gift to use your words for positive measures. On this very day, when Americans want more than anything to remain healthy and return to work, your words hold the gems of hope. Words encourage us during times when we feel helpless. Words uplift us when we are devastated. Words allow us to find humor in dire situations. Words calm the storm that threatens each of us. Words are more important now than ever when it’s challenging to remain objective and optimistic during COVID-19’s threat.
It’s a lot to keep writing and trust that the publishing industry won’t implode before you’re finished and ready to share with others. But everyone’s handling a lot. Do you fear your project is now irrelevant as thousands struggle against a life-threatening disease? Or cope with the loss of loved ones? Perhaps it’s more important than ever to finish what you’ve started and get published. There’s a growing hunger for more stories, more books, and more novelists than ever before. Why? Suddenly, people are in receipt of time. Time to read and reflect. And their appetites are voracious.
The trade organization that promotes independent bookstores (ABA) recently reported an unprecedented 250% boost in sales during the last 30 days. In a world where both e-books and audiobooks have threatened to replace leather-bounds and paperbacks, this is exciting news. Indie owners, still required to keep their shop doors latched, are struggling to keep current with new shipping demands. No one appears to offer an adequate explanation for this bizarre turn of events. Be grateful, writers, for a book renaissance is underway.
Could the treasure of reading a solid book – complete with pages to turn down at the corners and a glossy jacket to serve as a place holder – be finally unlocked? Now, there’s no excuse to stop spinning tales. More than ever, readers yearn to disappear beneath a trap door and tumble into a fantasy world. They want to fall in love with a dastardly character and cheer his redemption in time to win the heroine’s heart. Their quick-witted minds beg for clues in a well-spun mystery, so they can solve it before the MC does. And smile in the end when it’s obvious the butler didn’t do the deed.
As you write today, you may sense a desperate form of storytelling take over. Perhaps there’s a struggle to control the flow of ideas, perhaps your words demand an upstream swim. Follow your muse, steady your words. When you review what you’ve written, there’s always an option to press delete. But there’s also a chance you’ll write a spectacular scene, a gripping chapter, or outline an engaging new novel. Your words are relevant to someone, somewhere. When the world is crumbling around us, we crave reassurance that love is real, and hope is viable. It’s imperative that we believe in something and continue a belief in ourselves.
If you work diligently through the crisis, there’s a good chance that your WIP, your novel, short-story series, or essay collection will be ready for publication very soon. It’s time to fiercely hold onto the image of entering an indie bookstore to discover your book displayed on a table. You’ll notice a fancy-lettered placard propped up nearby. It reads, “Our entire staff recommends this new release.” I’m keeping the faith. Are you?
