Most of the time, I try not to think about how my career is, to a large extent, a popularity contest.
It shouldn’t be, really, since there market for stories is enormous, and it’s not a zero-sum market (ie: you buying a book from John Scalzi doesn’t mean that you won’t buy a book from me, or vice-versa). Books are inexpensive relative to most media, and I think that people who love them are always looking for more.
Also looking for more time, granted, but that’s true of most things these days.
But the fact is that many people only read a few stories a year, if that. So it is possible that by buying an Ann Leckie or a Robyn Bennis you no longer have the desire to own the newest MH Questus. Such is life, but it’s not an aspect of my work that I like.
Especially if it ever involves bad-mouthing other authors in order to draw attention to my own work. There are a lot of authors I don’t particularly care for, most for political or social reasons rather than for reasons of craft. But other than refusing to read their work and certainly never advocating for others to read their work, that’s about as far as I will go… and I will happily mention authors I like (let’s add Becky Chambers to that list currently, since I just ordered 3 or 4 of her novels, hopefully to arrive in the next week or two). But since this here website only gets about, oh, 50-60 visitors a month, it’s not like I’m exactly dragging in views from anyone else. But that’s okay! Again, I’m not trying to dislodge anyone’s favourite author out there… just trying to have enough of an audience that I can live a humble, simple life.
Not there yet. At current projections I’m probably about 10 novels away (or about 2.5 years, at the rate I’m going). But anyway.
On that note, I’m going to go back and start editing “The Hunt for the Wind’s Howling Rage”! Whee!
Hope everyone out there is staying safe and healthy!