Greetings! Today’s topic is citizenship.
No! Promise you won’t tell them about the Unsatisfactory in citizenship Miss Barton gave me in kindergarten!
I think you just spilled those particular beans yourself, 9. The charge was alleged shoving at the water fountain.
I’d say we were framed.
It wouldn’t surprise me, Lily, even though it occurred in the relatively innocent years of 1964 to 1965.
Classroom citizenship, thankfully, is not what we’ll examine today. Nor is today’s broader issue of United States citizenship, recently transformed into a Byzantine maze by the current presidential administration.
Huh?
Making the definition and enforcement of citizenship complicated and full of hidden traps. But I digress.
Oh please don’t keep us in suspense a moment longer! What on earth are you talking about today?
Thank you for the grounding dose of teenage snark, Lily. Today’s exploration deals with the concept of literary citizenship.
What’s that?
It has to do with being a writer, 9. Literary citizenship means being active in the writing and publishing community. Building relationships with agents, editors, readers and other writers. According to the current edition of Writers Digest, it’s a critical ingredient to being not just a writer, but an author.
What’s the distinction?
Writers write, often in isolation. For many, the goal is to create work that is accepted for publication. That’s where being an author, as well as a writer, comes in.
Literary Citizenship: Writer’s Digest is a great place to start!
In both Why this Book, Why Me? by Amy Collins (agent, Talcott Notch), and Platform v. Presence: What Agents Actually want Writers to Build, Jessica Berg (agent, Rosecliff Literary), the concept of being a literary citizen is key to authorial success. It is, in short, the business end of being a writer. Collins compares a query letter to sending out your resume; Berg emphasizes that, in a world obsessed with platform and branding, the enduring strength a literary citizen needs to cultivate is connection to the writing and publishing community, especially for writers of fiction.
Why “especially”?
I infer it’s because fiction writers create their own worlds, whereas nonfiction writers draw from the real world where it’s easier to address the evergreen question in an agent’s mind: Collins’s “Why this Book, Why Me?” Here’s an example. A medic who has served in a combat zone has real life experience and hands-on expertise that they can shine a light on to promote their work. For whatever reason, nonfiction is an easier sell, both to agents and to readers, than fiction. I think part of this is that lots of readers aren’t all that comfortable with imagined worlds. Platform, as simply put by everyone’s friend AI Overview is: “. . . your public visibility, professional reputation, and the built-in audience you have access to that helps sell your work.”
So people know you’re an expert and that makes them buy your book?
More or less, 9. Part of that equation is literary citizenship- -knowing who your readers are, and where you fit in relation the topic you’re writing about.
To me, Platform seems like a quantitative concept: How many are following you, and what are your experiences, education and/or certifications that gain their trust?
Literary Citizenship: Does my BA in business administration count as Platform?
Presence, on the other hand, has a more qualitative feel. It’s not so much about persuading readers and people in the publishing world to buy your writing as it is about creating a network of relationships that build support for you as a writer, and your support of other writers, from what I’d describe as a grassroots approach.
Jessica Berg’s article presents the thesis that Presence is really what agents and editors are looking for when they talk about Platform. In her analysis, “Platform is like a megaphone, broadcasting about your book as far as you can reach.” In contrast, “Presence is a chair you pull up at a table, a conversation you are having with your community.” Showing up consistently where books and readers and writers are. . .Meeting writers, attending their events, buying their books, reviewing their books, subscribing to journals you’d like to publish in, boosting the success of others, saying the kind things you are thinking. In short, sincerely and genuinely establish yourself as a member of the writing community to find your fellow writers, your readers and the agents who are looking for the kind of work you do.
Literary Citizenship: Support local authors!
The takeaway from these articles is actionable items. What specific things can I do that will improve my literary citizenship, and in that process help me find readers, other writers and agents and/or publishers who are interested in me not only as a writer, but also as an author? I’ve outlined Berg’s practical advice, above. Paraphrasing from Collins:
Spend time in bookstores and libraries to see who gets shelf space. Read and study their work, particularly if they have published in the last year or two. Figure out where your work would fit on your genre’s shelf given the current market. This is where you find the illusive “comps,” comparative titles to include in an agent query as proof that you have studied and understand the market for your work.
Likewise, familiarize yourself with best seller lists each week.
Find authors in your genre and follow them online, participate in discussions with their readers.
Join writing organizations in your genre.
Build your reputation as a trusted resource online for other readers and authors.
The goal of all this:
“Over time, standing in front of the bookshelves at the store/library that houses your genre, you are going to see who else is standing with you. They are your readers.” Also, “You will get to know people online who love the same books you do. They are your readers.”
That sounds like a lot of work.
It is, 9, but as with any big project, the key is to break it down into smaller tasks and work on it gradually and regularly. Last weekend I visited both the local library and the local book store that sells current releases (as contrasted to the wonderful local used book store). At each location, one author clearly dominated shelf space. At Walla Walla Public Library:
Literary Citizenship: Do I belong on the same shelf as James J. Butcher?
James J. Butcher’s “Unorthodox Chronicles” series (dark, humorous urban fantasy).
At Book and Game:
Literary Citizenship: Or does my writing read more like Sarah J. Maas?
Sarah J. Maas, author of three internationally best-selling fantasy series (romantasy, a mash-up of fantasy and romance).
I borrowed book one of Butcher and purchased book one in Maas’s second series (Court of Thorns and Roses). I am now in the reading and analyzing phase. The Butcher is particularly fun to read out loud to housemate cat Hoosegow (our near-nightly ritual).
This weekend I need to scoot down to Book and Game for at least one author signing event. I always learn something from talking to other writers- -their journey, their writing process, and simply who they are. Details here: https://www.bookandgame.com/events
When perusing the Book and Game shelves I was also reminded that B & G employees sometimes post book reviews on shelf cards. One employee in particular is heavily interested in fantasy, and though their taste seems to run more toward the dragon end of the spectrum, I will summon up the nerve to ask her if she’d consider reading book one in my contemporary fantasy/mythology “G” series.
Because if I don’t ask, I’ll never know.
There is some urgency to becoming a better, more visible literary citizen. Book five, Justice in Big-G City, is due for release in 2027. If I don’t make a concerted effort now to develop not only as a writer but as an author, I’ll never know what impact literary citizenship could have on interest = sales. It’s not that I write for money: if that were the case, I would have starved to death long ago. But I also can’t afford to give all my books away. What I seek on this journey is people who will read, enjoy, and share my stories.
Because we all want to be heard.
