Writers: A Different Breed
The other day I had a neighbor call me asking about writing advice. Apparently she's been keeping a series of picture books to herself and wondering how on earth to get them published. I proceeded to explain to her about agents, small presses, self-publishing, and Query letters.
When we hung up, I laughed to myself thinking about what a strange breed we writers are. I'm sure my neighbor's head was spinning. The next day I sent her 20 billion websites to look up in hopes of helping her further. It hit me then how much work this writing thing really is.
It's not like I haven't had this revelation before, but this time it really stuck with me. I wrote a picture book once (ages ago) thinking it would be no big thing. I let one person read it before I realized that it was a big thing.
A lot of you reading this have pushed on even though you know what it takes to get a book published. I spend time every single day doing something writing related. My husband once related it to a high powered corporate position with no pay, and I couldn't help but agree.
Does this mean I'm going to let the dream die? Never! Writing is about so much more than just getting published, it's about improving myself as a person and living my life knowing I tried to make something of it.
There's a power to following your dreams, whether or not you succeed.
When we hung up, I laughed to myself thinking about what a strange breed we writers are. I'm sure my neighbor's head was spinning. The next day I sent her 20 billion websites to look up in hopes of helping her further. It hit me then how much work this writing thing really is.
It's not like I haven't had this revelation before, but this time it really stuck with me. I wrote a picture book once (ages ago) thinking it would be no big thing. I let one person read it before I realized that it was a big thing.
A lot of you reading this have pushed on even though you know what it takes to get a book published. I spend time every single day doing something writing related. My husband once related it to a high powered corporate position with no pay, and I couldn't help but agree.
Does this mean I'm going to let the dream die? Never! Writing is about so much more than just getting published, it's about improving myself as a person and living my life knowing I tried to make something of it.
There's a power to following your dreams, whether or not you succeed.
Comments
http://weavingataleortwo.blogspot.com/2011/01/this-writing-thing-is-it-waste-of-time.html
yeah, never used to throw books.
My ex-"fiancé" doesn't understand that writing needs focus and concentration, and it takes so much momentum away if someone calls you or hits you up for Facebook chat. That's not very constructive or conducive to the writing process.
I should be above the clouds after the actual publishing!
Poor newbie writer. I hope she sticks with it. It really is fun once you wrap your head around how big it is.
It's true how different writing sounds to people on the outside. We writers are kinda crazy to keep doing this, but publication is the dream we all won't give up. :)