One of the disadvantages of not been a full-time writer is the inevitability that interruptions and distractions will ultimately come up. Things like work obligations (you know the job that actually pays the bills while you strive as a starving writer), household obligations (actually paying those bills, filing taxes, keeping the toilets flushing), family obligations (attending your children’s sporting events, helping out around the house, being there when someone you love is dealing with physical maladies), have a tendency, and rightfully so, to delay the arrival to your latest writing goal.
But the wait is almost over. On Friday, I released my third book to the printers and I should be receiving my proof copy in the next few days. Even though this is technically my eighth book, I am just as excited to receive that proof copy as I was the very first book.
For those of you that I’ve talked to still on your writing journey through your first book, I have just three words to share: Stay With It! The interruptions and distractions will come and go, but you have to stay with it. Manuscripts do not write themselves. Editors can provide all of the guidance and recommendations, but the ultimate decision to accept or reject that guidance falls on the author. In the Indie Publishing Space, final cover design and marketing material all falls on the author to create, design and approve. Stay with it!
Since I first started writing, this project has been beset with more interruptions and distractions than any other, it seems. I started the manuscript in November of 2015, finished it in October 2016 and it is now, finally, on its way to the printer. Don’t get me wrong, there are still projects that I’ve started and shelved that have been sitting around for years. Will I come back to those? Maybe, maybe not. Most of those projects were shelved for different reasons, and sometimes that happens. But once I’ve committed to a project, outlined it, and started down that road, I intend to finish it . . . eventually.
Everyone that takes this journey needs someone to be a sounding board and a cheerleader. Writing can be a lonely profession, but it doesn’t have to be. Recruit, draft, or coerce someone to be that constant pillar of support. Get them excited about your work. Tip #325: If you cannot find anyone that can get excited about what you are writing, chances are you’re not writing. What do I mean by that? Writing requires a passion about the subject whether it be fantasy, children, history etc. If you have a passion for it, someone in your circle of influence will also share that passion enough to support and encourage you on your journey. That is if you start putting it down on paper (digital paper works too). Conversations are great to spark interest, but people really get engaged once they see your efforts materialize on paper.
So, while book four has been delayed since December, I intend to getting right back into it. It may take me a few weeks to get back into a pattern of writing again — those unfortunate distractions are everywhere — but expect to see more frequent updates.
Until next time, keep reading and writing!
