creative maverick

I first met novelist Matt Whyman when he gave a talk at London Writers’ Club on what he calls Sustainable Writing. He very kindly agreed to write this guest blog post on the topic.

Sustainable Writing

When it comes to filling in forms, I never enter ‘novelist’ under my profession. Nor do I say that’s what I do for a living when people ask.  It just sounds a bit poncey, I think. Also, if I’m being honest, I do more than write novels. I have several works of non-fiction to my name, plus I write for magazines, newspapers and blogs such as this. Over the years I’ve even spun copy for the back of cereal packets. Hell, some of my best work has been featured in recruitment literature for the Girl Guides.

I consider myself to be a writer, pure and simple. That’s what I do to put food on the family table, and what it says on my children’s birth certificates. Wi

thout a doubt, my first love is telling stories. I can happily lose myself in a plotline, and there’s no prouder moment than seeing the first copy of a novel I’ve written to the best of my abilities. It’s a creative endeavour, but it isn’t a privilege. A book can become a runaway success or a crashing failure for countless reasons that often have little to do with the words on the page. Whatever the reason, the devil is in the sales figures. Sure enough, there have been times that had I sat around expecting a contract renewal to materialise then frankly I would’ve gone bust.  To avoid living in skips, all but the well-branded, best-selling writers need to watch out for trouble - and be prepared to reinvent.

Sustainable writing means being flexible in how you fill the page. This might mean a change of style, subject or genre, or it could just be a willingness to take on other writing work to keep you afloat. There is money to be made at the typeface. Maybe only a minority make a fortune, but if your aim is to simply enjoy earning a living from crafting words together then it can be a realistic career. The key is to write with your eyes wide open.

More about Matt

Matt Whyman is a distinctive, contemporary voice in children’s writing. After graduating from the University of East Anglia’s MA in Creative Writing, Matt’s career has taken him from advice columns (as the agony uncle for Bliss magazine and AOL) and teen self-help guides, to the cutting edge of both adult (Man or Mouse and Columbia Road) and teen fiction (The Wild, Inside the Cage and Goldstrike).

His acclaimed young adult novel, Boy Kills Man, was short-listed for several awards, including the 2004 Teenage Book Prize and is currently in development as a feature film. In addition he was the author of Eve magazine’s regular Him Indoors column, and is currently a monthly contributor to Marie Claire. Matt is married with four children and lives in West Sussex, England.

Read Matt’s blog here, check out his books on Amazon, or follow his very amusing updates on twitter.