Your masterpiece is done. Your edit phase is done. (As done as any writer can be. It is challenging to know when to say enough is enough). You have a cover. You should be thrilled. Part of you is thrilled. Another larger part of you says, "now what?" You know you should begin looking for a publisher. Or if you have a publisher, you should begin marketing your work. You should want to market your work, right? Not necessarily. I was rather shocked about the reality of how much of the marketing falls on the author. I was under the impression that all I had to do was write incredible books, sit back and bask in the moment. Well, that is not the case in this age of publishing. Gone are the large bookstores. The large publishing houses are dwindling. At first, this bummed me out a little, but then I saw the opportunity in it. The publishing world is going through a huge transformation. I will get into that in a different publishing/marketing post.
I want to come back to the, "now what?" question. Here is my advice, celebrate. Take some time and let it sink in. Stare at your book. Pat yourself on the back. Smile. Enjoy the moment. It is a huge accomplishment. I have heard statistics that for every 200 people that want to write a book, only one person writes a book. There is plenty of work ahead for you so take a set amount of time and relax. For me, it is about 2-4 weeks where I just don't write. I think a lot about my next book, but I don't write. I want the process to stay fun. I don't want to get caught up in the, "I have to do this or that." Maybe if it was my only income, I might be harder on myself. :)
I just published my second book. It dawned on me that I may be writing books for the rest of my life. I am in no hurry to get them all done. In fact, I will likely never be done. As a writer, that is a very good thing. So, now what? Who knows!!! I sure don't and that fact makes me very happy.
Saturday, February 23, 2013
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Writing: Finding the Time
One of the most frequent questions I receive since I have become a publisher author is, "when do you have time to write?" I must admit, this question brings me several mixed emotions. At times, I feel it is an authentic question and people want to learn how to make more time in their lives to write. At other times, I feel it what they are really asking is, "what are you ignoring in your life in order to write?" So, after much thought, I have come up with two great responses:
1. When you do something you love, you make the time. I mainly write late at night. I occasionally will write during the day on the weekend between all of my other activities. I have a laptop my dad gave me and my intent was to write during lunch at my day job. Unfortunately, it is difficult for me to take a lunch at my job so this has yet to pan out. It seems like a great idea, but just doesn't happen. I don't have a writing schedule and I don't write everyday. I am in no hurry to get my books done. I just let it flow. I don't put any pressure on myself because then it wouldn't be fun.
2. I gave up reading and watching television. People don't seem to like this response as much. I didn't realize exactly how much time I spent watching television in the evenings. On average, I watched 1-2 hours a night. Instead of watching television, I usually spend that time writing or promoting my book. The reward is far greater than what I received from the television. Please don't get me wrong, I am not advocating for anyone to give up television. It just worked for me. I also stopped reading. I did this mainly so I won't be influenced by another writer's style. I want my works to reflect me 100%. This includes my jargon and own version of slang.
There you have it! There is no magical potion or extra time given to authors (wouldn't that be fabulous). We are all given the same amount of time in life. If you want to find more time, look at how you are spending your current allotment and challenge yourself to try something different. I guarantee that you will be pleased with the results!
1. When you do something you love, you make the time. I mainly write late at night. I occasionally will write during the day on the weekend between all of my other activities. I have a laptop my dad gave me and my intent was to write during lunch at my day job. Unfortunately, it is difficult for me to take a lunch at my job so this has yet to pan out. It seems like a great idea, but just doesn't happen. I don't have a writing schedule and I don't write everyday. I am in no hurry to get my books done. I just let it flow. I don't put any pressure on myself because then it wouldn't be fun.
2. I gave up reading and watching television. People don't seem to like this response as much. I didn't realize exactly how much time I spent watching television in the evenings. On average, I watched 1-2 hours a night. Instead of watching television, I usually spend that time writing or promoting my book. The reward is far greater than what I received from the television. Please don't get me wrong, I am not advocating for anyone to give up television. It just worked for me. I also stopped reading. I did this mainly so I won't be influenced by another writer's style. I want my works to reflect me 100%. This includes my jargon and own version of slang.
There you have it! There is no magical potion or extra time given to authors (wouldn't that be fabulous). We are all given the same amount of time in life. If you want to find more time, look at how you are spending your current allotment and challenge yourself to try something different. I guarantee that you will be pleased with the results!
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