Tough times ahead? :(

'The worst recession ever...' Those were the words spoken by one of the leaders of the area in live in. The worst ever, was she right? I don't know - I really don't, but it got me thinking about the economic slowdown and what that means for us writers.

I have to fess up straight away that in my normal day to day life it seems difficult to believe there is a full blown recession on. People are still parked in front if their flat screens, with their sky dishes, their high speed broadband and their two cars out front. The supermarkets at least seem as busy as ever and none of my friends or colleagues are tightening up in any way. A recession always brings images, to my mind at least; of bread and dripping and grey smocks and hand woven wollen clothing and SPAM - winding queues from the job centre, strikers out in force, awful haircuts etc and I'm not seeing any of that. I'm seeing people still in their designer togs, still splashing out on pricey meals and buying extravagant valentine gifts.

So from my perspective, where is this recession... is there even one? Well yes, it seems that the headlines are difficult to ignore. Woolworths, Adams, store after store shutting their doors, mass unemployment - shares tumbling. I don't even want to consider what my pension looks like. It is happening, it's not just media scare-mongering. The greedy bankers (trying to build an economy on credit?!?!) and our ineffective government (selling our gold shares when the market was at an all time low... need I say more) have put our country in one of the most worrying positions in more years than I have been alive.

So rant over, what does this mean for us writers?

Worst case scenario: Book stores will be more cautious about the amount they order, they'll want better deals - buy one get one half price etc - they'll ask for bigger percentage discounts. This will be passed on to the publishers who will be squeezed and less likely to take a risk on an unknown unproven author. They'll be looking for the next 'big thing' - though how they'll know what that is I have no idea. Authors may get smaller advances, may have to accept lower royalties. And then the agents, they'll have to work even harder to promote the authors they do have so may be less inclined to take on new authors. Slush piles will get even bigger as authors battle to capture the attention of agents/publishers. More people will try their hand at writing - thinking it's a get rich scheme (boy they're sooo wrong) making the slush piles even huger and wearying the agents/publishers to the point of exhaustion and then in all that there's us. The writers who work so hard, the writers who are hunched over their computers for hours on end - editing and worrying and re-writing the query letter for the hundreth time and fiddling with the synopsis in the very early hours and putting their very heart and soul into every single word that drips onto their page... where are we in all of this, do we even have a chance...

Best case scenario: If you write something that is special, something that is different, new and refreshing. Something that tugs at the heart strings or brings a smile to the face of a tired agent then there is still a chance. When all is said and done if you have the talent, if you believe in yourself then the recession will matter very little. There is always room in the world for someone who belongs - someone who is doing what they were born to do. If you are meant to be a writer then a writer you will be. So stick at it, make sure you query letter is as polished as it ever can be. DO worry and fiddle with that synopsis, read it back to yourself aloud - make it perfect! Check your grammar, your spelling, check everything. Agents/publishers will be looking for a reason to reject - do not let yourself fall at the first hurdle - make your pitch as fabulous as possible and then sit back eat some spam, itch away at those wollen pants and remember the hard times wont last forever.

Emma x

The Roaring Fire

Sometimes in life when you have a million and one things to do you have to prioritise. The more important things get moved to the front (in my case moving house, settling my children in to their new home, a huge workload in my paying job etc etc) whilst other things get moved to the back.

It's easy to imagine that writing could be one of those things that could shift easily to the back. It's just a hobby, it's not that important etc are some of the comments I have heard. But this is so far from true.

In my case at least the act of writing, putting my thoughts and ideas into a story is like a little fire in my brain. When I'm writing regularly the fire burns merrily in the corner. It's a constant burn, almost like I'm feeding it a steady supply of fuel. When I am not writing something every day you would expect almost that the fire would stutter and begin to dim, but no that is not what happens. The fire turns into a blaze, it roars and screams at me to feed it. The thoughts and ideas explode around in my head begging to get out. The fire is like their mental manifestation consuming my brain and seeking release. Writing will not let me put it on the back burner, it will not let me de-prioritise it.

Is this a good thing..?

I think it must be - the things that consume us in life are surely the things that are the most important. The fire has to be fed and so feed it I will.