Seems like there's been a bit of a dry spell where westerns are concerned. It's a good news / bad news sort of thing, though. The bad news is that there really aren't any good western movies or TV shows out right now (reruns don't count). Publishers are getting reluctant to start up anything new and the western sections in a lot of bookstores are dwindling down to the ol' reliables like tried and true series, L'Amour and such. The good news is that this just happens every now and then in this business. Westerns rise and fall in popularity, much like other genres such as horror and private eye fiction. It's a cycle, which means it'll be on the upswing before too long.
Of course I don't mean that westerns are drying up or dead. They're just in a lull. Personally, I think it's funny when anyone says that westerns or any of those other genres are dead (especially funny when they say horror is dead, but that's just irony...or a pun). I've heard this stuff from readers, writers, editors and publishers. Some time goes by, then those same people say the genres are being revitalized by some new movie or something else. Now, it could be that movie or just the mood of readers in general that brings a genre up or lets it fall. Whatever causes it, those peaks and valleys happen. I've written in a good number of other genres and they're all affected by these things to some degree.
There's still work to be done and stories to be written. When readers get tired of a genre, maybe writers should try to put another twist on it or do something a little different. If something's stagnating, shake it up! It doesn't have to be revolutionary, but get out of the rut. Otherwise, you just need to stockpile some stories and wait for the mood to change on its own. Then again, the publishers don't help matters when they are reluctant to buy anything too far outside of their lines. It's the old story of trying something new vs. going with something that's more likely to sell.
Eh, this is why I don't like talking about the business part of what I do. Writers write and publishers do the business end. Some writers are real good at the business angle, but I hate it. I just want to write and write some more. Dry spells come along and sometimes they cause writers to hang up their pens. It's the stuff that drives a lot of writers to the ol' whiskey bottle. Then again, if we tough it through the valleys and make it to another peak, we get paid to do what we love. It's not an easy job, but it's a rewarding one.
Fortunately, I've still got work to do so I'd better get back to it. I've settled on a new title for that Compton book: Outlaw's Reckoning. I like the sound of it.
