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Anybody else remember Leonard H. "Bones" McCoy complaining to Kirk about what he was ("I'm a doctor, not a ____!") and trying to blow off anything that didn't fit his label in his own sort of way? Perhaps I've just outed myself as a total nerd (like you couldn't guess--I mean, Russian werewolves and Cold War conspiracies ;-).
I'm feeling a deep kinship with Bones right now. I'm an author. A writer. My taxes officially proclaim it. And yet... The time I currently spend writing stories feels minimal.
This week already has included heavy farm work as I constructed a new pen for a newborn ram lamb and his mother and began sugaring off maple sap for syrup, and there's been plenty of promotional stuff: an exclusive 3000 word prequel story for St. Martin's Press, helping get authors together for a special Spring Break post over at The Daily Dose, organizing photos and pieces of things for my series website (supposed to launch on the 15th); planning my son's 6th b-day party (Saturday!); helping out at a great forum that asked for me to do a Writing 101 with them (*very* flattering and it's only growing...); planning my travel to several events; catching up with blog posts; catching up with obligations related to a great event I was asked to help host (squeee!); filling out interviews, interviews, interviews!
Promotional stuff's cool, and I'm glad to help other authors with it right now (it's kind of like holding hands when facing a firing squad) but I want to be writing. I'm no longer naive enough (if I ever was) to think I could simply write a book and not need to do anything else.
But I'm also trying to keep Orson Scott Card's advice in mind. Card suggested limiting promo stuff (conventions and conferences and other events) because writers need time to write. Huh. Imagine that. So, I'm pushing through as much promo as I can now because I hope it snowballs in May, June and July (right around the book's release). But who knows what'll happen by then?
And yes, I'm still writing. My prequel story only made me more desperate to get back into it. And with my brother and husband pushing me to pursue my next project (we're all brainstorming together and I *LOVE* it) and my agent loving what I recently put ibn front of him... Well, it appears I'll keep the label of writer for a while at least. :-)
So, how much time writing are you writers getting?
~Shannon
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2 years ago
4 comments:
I have a feeling your stuck with the author title! I'm trying hard to learn how to balance my networking and writing time so when I get to the point of balancing publicity and writing time I'll have it down. It's tough though! I bought myself a timer and I'm setting a semi-strict schedule. I feel for you, it can't be easy with all the excitement of pre-release! Good luck!
Thanks, Heather! :-) Good idea trying to find the balance now. I could cut my obligations down to increase my writing time but I wouldn't be doing some of the necessary networking as a result. *shrug* Plus, some of my fellow authors are being tremendously thankful about the promo stuff I'm helping us all with and my ego likes to be stroked, darn it! ;-)
~Shannon
That is second only to "My God, Jim we're all gonna die!" So you're in good nerdish company ;-)
I have trouble with that too, and I'm usually outhouse rat crazy when a week has gone by and I look at my word count and sigh.
Unfinished projects as far as the eye can see. We have to make time for the writing and back burner everything else sometimes.
Writing time? Ummm....working on it. I'm so glad you're finding some time to get down with your muse...speaking of muses....I seem to have lost mine. :)
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