Inspired by Eric Beetner

 Who are the authors who have inspired you in how you conduct yourself as a professional writer? This is not so much the creative/writerly side of them (but could be) but how they navigate their career, and the publishing industry in general. What do they do that you find inspiring or interesting?

I find modeling my career after anyone terribly difficult because so much of being a successful writer happens behind the scenes.

I wish I could follow the path of many writers in finding the perfect agent, getting an early book submitted to the right editor, hitting at the right cultural moment for the subjects I want to write about, but all that is a lot of luck and often out of our control.

There are writers who I’ve seen speak on panels and I’ve been impressed with their sincerity and the shared attitude that writing should be fun and not a torturous slog up the mountain the way some writers would have you believe. Early in my career going to see readings by people like Megan Abbott, John Rector, Christa Faust were all educational in that they didn’t hesitate to engage with a newbie writer with a lot of questions.

I’ve likened the writing world to the music world often. Coming up as a punk rock kid where it was all about “the scene” and building a community, I wanted that same clubhouse feeling with other authors. When I found writers who opened the door to the clubhouse for me, I knew I wanted to model that behavior. 

I’m fairly prolific and I admire someone like Joe R Lansdale who finds a way to get a lot of work out there across multiple genres. Some more mainstream, like his Hap & Leonard novels, and some of it very odd indeed. But he puts it all out there to serve those different audiences. 

I never had a mentor or an ideal career I wanted to emulate, perhaps to my detriment. Mostly in my years writing I’ve wanted to surround myself with writers who are inclusive, helpful, funny, and a good hang. I’ve even learned a lot from writers who have stepped away. Allan Guthrie, the Scottish writer who I adore, hasn’t written a book in many years. He knew when the joy was gone from writing for him. More and more I look to those examples and wonder if my time is up. (It’s been a week of bad news on the writing front so forgive me a little wallowing) 

Seeing the example of when to hang it up has been on my radar more and more. I think I’ll model my exit, if and when it does come, on the good ol’ slow fade away. I wouldn’t want to write a scathing Op-Ed about how the business has forsaken me. I’ll just know when its my time and vanish into the ether. 

Perhaps my trouble has been that the writers I most want to emulate are pulp writers from the 40s and 50s like Gil Brewer, Lionel White, Charles Williams, Cornell Woolrich. Guys who banged out short novels fast and didn’t look back. Prolific writers who worked to a deadline and weren’t going for a Pulitzer.

It might have served me better to note how many of these writers ended up broke, bitter, and virtually unknown by the end of their careers. 

There are dozens of writers who I admire for their friendship, their conduct and their writing style. Rachel Howzell Hall, Lou Berney, Duane Swierczynski, Laura McHugh, Stephen Mack Jones, Brett Battles, SA Cosby, Steve Hockensmith. I wouldn’t say I model myself after them, but I’m inspired by them for sure. 

I also try hard to be someone that other writers would look to as a good example. I try to be kind to people, to help other writers when I can. It’s a very small thing, but I like to dress and present myself professionally when I attend conferences and appear at book events. I treat the job with respect. I’ve gotten a hand up from so many writers that I feel I owe it the community to offer my hand to anyone else who needs it.

There’s no template or blueprint for a successful writing career, but we can all take inspiration from those we admire.