Writing From The Heart, Not For The Market
When I was in my early twenties, I started writing vignettes and short stories as a creative conduit for emotion, situations and affairs of the heart that I could not understand as I lived them in the moment. Writing them down helped me reflect on what I saw and allowed me to distance myself from the chaos and upheaval of my working life in war-torn countries. I never stopped to analyse my motivation, only knowing that I needed to write – I had to write.
Then, I watched a close cousin settle down with a man fresh out of his own war. He did not speak; he felt deeply but could not articulate himself creatively. As a result, he suffered the usual diseases of a repressed, stressed spirit; high blood pressure, anxiety and depression, stomach problems and other issues.
He eventually learned to release the tap, balance his energy and speak his heart, becoming a fine musician and discovering a hidden talent. When I compare our experiences, I am thankful that I always had the ability to let it out, to free the energy that threatened to rip me apart.
As I grew older, the habit to write stayed with me, and though I wrote long reports and proposals in at work, I needed to continue to express feelings before they took over in the form of creative writing at home. In 2008, I stopped working and started a novel. Published last year, it won a debut book prize in 2014 with Cinnamon Press, an independent, innovative publisher in the UK.
Cinnamon Press published the book because their judge saw something of my heart in the writing. I am thankful, as several agents had already picked it up, then dropped it, telling me, ‘It is not ‘marketable’, it has no niche, we can’t see how to sell it, though we love the book‘.
A work of literary fiction, it is about a country that few have heard of (The Republic of Tajikistan, a State of the former Soviet Union). It delves into the prickly subjects of women’s rights, domestic violence and cultural tradition as a tool of repression. A hard sell, I admit, even to those rare fiction readers interested in new literary locales and women’s issues.
Luckily, Cinnamon Press were not motivated by the bottom line; they print literature based on merit, not the market. They publish books that they believe deserve a chance in the limelight, a moment to shine in bookstores. For my part, I have no idea whether I have sold one book or several thousand; my aim in writing has never been to become famous or feather my bank account.
If anything, I simply hope to touch others with my stories. To raise awareness about the beautiful, ugly place that is modern-day Tajikistan. To remind readers that there are still women struggling for their basic rights. To spend my time engaged in creating imaginary worlds, researching real-life events and weaving them into novels.
My second book will doubtless have a similar issue, if lack of ‘marketability’ is to be viewed as a problem. It is set in Central and Eastern Africa. Again, it is about a courageous, vulnerable refugee woman who is forced to grow up too early. As with my first book, it is about tolerance, identity, faith, love and survival. Those subjects may not be marketable, but I stand behind my books and I am proud of my work. I would not have it any other way; I write from the heart, not for the market.
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Annika Milisic-Stanley was born in 1975 in the USA to Swedish and Anglo-German parents, but grew up in Britain. After graduating from the School of Oriental and African Studies, she worked with humanitarian projects in Nepal, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, India, Burundi and Egypt as well as living in Tajikistan for several years. Annika now lives in Rome. In addition to writing and painting, she works as a campaigner to raise awareness on the plight of refugees in Southern Europe.
Find out more about her on her blog www.thedisobedientauthor.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/
Twitter: @MilisicStanley
Category: On Writing
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Hi Annika ~ Your article was very reassuring to me. I’ve written ‘notes’ all my life but in the 70’s began to stash them in books etc. When I became ill and couldn’t work, I gathered all the notes and began to put them in piles (stories). My apartment looked like a large confetti bomb had blown up everywhere!
Your article gives me faith that someday I will find a home for my writing and be able to share my life adventures with others.
Thank you for the much needed encouragement!
A great article which gives hope to those (Like Me) who have not yet published and feel that they have a rather random style of writing, but have to get things out of their system. Thank you!
I said OMG, several times as I read your post. I, too have written a yet unpublished book (am querying) about four island women who have suffered abuse in their native countries only to come to America and marry abusive men with sinister agendas…My goal was never to get rich as an author but to present readers with other cultures/places in the world they many not otherwise be exposed to.
Thank you, Annika. I’m hopeful that someone may also see not the marketability of my work but its societal value.
Sounds like a very original and interesting plot! I’m sure you’ll find a publisher soon. Good luck!
Thankyou so much for this! I am writing now just for me to express myself..not one word for the money…..😂 I can so relate to this post.
Hi Michelle,
Thanks, I am so glad you relate to my article. We can always hope that the truth conveyed by writing from the heart eventually leads to a little money too. I am, however, unwilling to sacrifice my ideas for the sake of my bank balance 🙂