What should writers do when they hit a writing slump?Utsudo once fell into a gap where her manuscripts weren’t being accepted and new ones weren’t written yet; even with dozens of books published, she felt she had no standing. Her benefactor suggested entering awards to earn a title, and told her, “Your hard work will be seen. You are not alone.” That low period also gave birth to this column, 《嘿！聽說妳在鬼島當作家》.

Translated from Utsudo’s original Chinese column.

Stuck in a writing slump between accepted manuscripts

　　I’m not entirely sure three parts will be enough to write down all my feelings, but let’s split it this way for now.​​​​​​​

　　Honestly, not long after I met this person, I fell into another slump — the year before, something had happened that seriously affected my mood, and I spent many months healing.

　　I did write during that period, but because I was so down, my writing was incredibly slow — and maybe my manuscripts were too full of resentment to be accepted (covers face). I faced a gap: manuscripts not being accepted, and new ones not yet written.

　　I was a bit desperate and once again wondered whether I really wasn’t cut out for this. The manuscript I sent out as a last hope was eventually accepted, but I was stuck in that fearful state for about a month.

　　In this line of work, you really have to keep producing to have a chance of staying… That’s right — you never know when you’ll hit a gap, and there’s the risk of running out of money… If you don’t have a full-time or part-time job, I think you should aim to be a “slasher” with multiple careers; otherwise at times like these you can only live off your savings QQ

　　Back to the story: I was anxiously waiting for the review results, and happened to be chatting with him (we often talked about the publishing ecosystem and the differences between literary and commercial fiction XD)

　　That day, I told him about my predicament and how it felt to be waiting.

Dozens of books published, but still missing a title

　　I’d published dozens of books and still had no real standing. One of my books did make a bestseller list, but it was a standalone, unlike a series that can build popularity, and the books I published afterward didn’t do especially well — and it’s been that way ever since.

　　I’d always just kept my head down and written like mad, thinking that if I kept at it I’d eventually carve out my own path. Butthese days, keeping your head down and working hard isn’t enough to succeed— there are more and more people writing and fewer and fewer reading. Add the severe contraction of publishing and how resources are allocated, and I’ve been stuck in the middle, neither up nor down.

　　He felt I was missing a title, and that having an award behind me would make a big difference, so he suggested I try entering awards. But the manuscripts I had were basically all meant for publishers, so I’d need to write new ones — and most existing contests have nothing to do with light novels, while my work doesn’t really fit literary contests QQ… Switching to a literary track would also take time.

　　Still, I’ve been preparing. I’ve finished a book ready for a light novel contest, but… it seems Taiwan hasn’t opened any light-novel-focused contests yet this year XDDD 

　　In any case, it’s not something that can change in a short time. I knew going into this business that I’d have to endure, so this outcome doesn’t surprise me.

The birth of this column

　　Later I thought: I’m always writing novels — this time I want to try something different.

　　That’s right: this memoir, 《嘿！聽說妳在鬼島當作家》, is one of the ideas that came to me then (though the form is a bit different). I thought it would let me express myself while bringing everyone a bit of value — and I have fun writing it.

“Your hard work will be seen. You are not alone.”

　　Once, when I was feeling helpless and said some defeatist things, he said the words I’d longed to hear from someone ever since my lowest period — words I’d never heard until then —“Your hard work will be seen. You are not alone.”。

　　When I heard it, my eyes filled with tears.

　　And his voice was so gentle and lovely that for a moment I thought an angel had descended XD

　　After all these years of stubbornly hanging on out of sheer foolishness, it turns out what I feared most was loneliness — even though loneliness has always been my companion. 

　　How contradictory — aren’t writers people who enjoy their own company? How did I go from enjoying solitude to fearing it? 

　　Is this what they call human nature — never satisfied with the status quo, always wanting to break free or change something, yet feeling powerless to do it? Or wondering whether you’ve truly given your all for your dream? And even if you have, who knows whether a cliff awaits?

　　I may always look bright and optimistic, but deep down I’m a thorough pessimist —always giving my all while expecting the worst. If I can accept the worst case, then everything’s fine, right XD

FAQ

Further reading (in Chinese)

• Previous: #15 (in Chinese)
• Next: #17 (in Chinese)
• Start from the beginning: #01 — Utsudo’s debut
• Column introduction
• Utsudo’s books

About the author

Utsudo is a Taiwanese light novelist and novelist VTuber with more than ten years in the industry and 40 commercially published print books. Her novel 《遺失的情書》 received a 2022 Ministry of Culture youth creative award. The 《嘿！聽說妳在鬼島當作家》 series records her experiences as a novelist in Taiwan.

📚 More on this topic: Submissions, Publishing & Editors: Ghost Island Column Guide