The career novelist

18

CHAPTER

Strategy Session HI:

Managing Success

CLIMBING TO THE TOP
THIS IS THE FUN PART. YOU HAVE QUIT YOUR JOB, BUT NOT TOO
soon. Your royalty earnings are healthy. Sub-rights sales are becom-
ing a regular event. Your agent returns your calls promptly. Your edi-
tor is sending you birthday cards. Even your family no longer feels
that this writing thing is a fluke.
Life is good. So what next? Is this as good as it gets? Welcome to
Strategy Session III, where we will examine some of the issues and
challenges that face midcareer writers as they come into the full-
ness of their talents and try to climb higher up the ladder of suc-
cess. There is no one right way to do this; all writers must find their
own paths. Nevertheless, there are certain common issues and con-
cerns that deserve discussion.
Chief among the problems of midcareer novelists is hitting a
plateau. That happens when sales stall out and advances reach a
ceiling. It can make some authors crazy. If they get too frustrated or
too envious of others they can be moved to ill-considered actions—
such as leaving a good and supportive publisher—all just to relieve
their anxiety. A few may leave their spouses. Some might even leave
their agents!
What can one do to get off the plateau and get back on the moun-
tain trail? That is a complex question, and the answer, naturally
enough, often leads back to one's fiction itself.