For those of you who were worried that my last post was symptomatic of some kind of self-confidence crisis, it really wasn’t. I’m just well aware of the various realities of book marketing/publishing and am pretty sure that The Novel is problematic.

It’s not a typical YA. Not in story or prose style. But it’s a coming-of-age story about a two teenage girls so it can’t be marketed to adults (without going into some very weird territory). So, it will probably stay in limbo forever. Then again, I could be completely wrong. I happen to think that teens can read prose that is more complex than what they’re given (I read the Alexandria Quartet when I was 14), but I’m poor and bitter so what do I know?

It would be nice to have it published, but it’s so different from the way I write now (which is the way I want to write), that I’m not going to be demolished if it never sells. It’s my problem child and I’ll just have to love it unconditionally and tell myself that no one else really understands it. It’s special. And I could change it to be more marketable, but…meh. I’d rather work on the stories I’m currently working on. Besides, I wouldn’t want to ruin its specialness.