Day to Day in the Life of a Writer
When people find out that I'm a writer, the response is always the same. It's always some variation of "I wish I could just sit at home all the time."
Yea, so do I.
First of all, I do have a regular job. It's only seasonal, but something has to pay the bills while I'm waiting to sell books! I have been a tax professional for 10 years now. I love it. The freedom I get from only having to work January thru mid-April. I can chaperon kids' field trips. I don't have to worry about putting my children in day care.
However, I still only have that seasonal income. The rest of the year, it's strictly the minimal income I receive from unemployment. Of course, since I got married this past year, the person processing my claim earlier this year, forgot to change my name (even though I sent in a copy of my NEW license and SS card AND marriage certificate). So today, I got to spend over an hour on hold waiting to talk to someone that could fix it in their computer system in less than 5 minutes.
Thankfully, that has been taken care of.
Just because I don't have a "regular" job, doesn't mean I get to sit around the house and write all day, every day. Today, I attended my daughter's track meet. Next week, I will tag along on my step-daughter's field trip to the zoo. Last month, I assisted with my son's school musical. I chaperoned a trip for his school band at a competition and then an at amusement park.
I'm lucky to have one solid day that I can actually sit and write. The other days, I'm lucky to write a single page. Those days are filled with chasing my 2 year old around the house while the other children are in school. Grocery shopping. Cleaning. The endless dishes and laundry that piles up from our family of seven. That in itself should be a full-time job!
Writing is not as glamorous as it sounds! Yes, I love it, and I wouldn't give it up for the world, but it's more than just writing. I also edit and format all of my work. I design my own covers. I am responsible for marketing. If a book doesn't sell well, I can only blame myself. Somewhere along the process of writing, formatting, editing, and marketing, something falls through the cracks.
I forced myself to make a calendar each week filled with tasks I NEED to get done throughout the week. Will they all be done on the day they are supposed to be? Probably not, but they do all have to get done each week.
In that calendar, I have ONE day set aside to write. The one day that I am at home alone from the hours of 8 am to 2:30 pm. And of course, it seems school trips and track meets always like to fall on that day...
The rest of the week is filled with other parts of the life of a writer. I read a lot. I read a lot of books on marketing and how-to sell books. I read about the best ways to design an eye catching book cover. I read about managing a band (which is another "job" of mine). I also try to read at least 3 chapters of some sort of fiction book each day. That's my "fun" reading, but it is also research. Once those books are complete, I jump online and give the author a review of the book. I blog. I post on my Facebook and Twitter. I edit. I type. I clean.
It is definitely not the glamorous job I expected when I first started writing, but I wouldn't give it up for the world. Even as I sit here writing this blog, I can think of a million things around the house that need to get done before I start picking children up from school. I have to figure out what we are having for dinner and have that going before my husband gets home from work.
I definitely wish I could just sit home all the time...but that would get boring after a while.
Yea, so do I.
First of all, I do have a regular job. It's only seasonal, but something has to pay the bills while I'm waiting to sell books! I have been a tax professional for 10 years now. I love it. The freedom I get from only having to work January thru mid-April. I can chaperon kids' field trips. I don't have to worry about putting my children in day care.
However, I still only have that seasonal income. The rest of the year, it's strictly the minimal income I receive from unemployment. Of course, since I got married this past year, the person processing my claim earlier this year, forgot to change my name (even though I sent in a copy of my NEW license and SS card AND marriage certificate). So today, I got to spend over an hour on hold waiting to talk to someone that could fix it in their computer system in less than 5 minutes.
Thankfully, that has been taken care of.
Just because I don't have a "regular" job, doesn't mean I get to sit around the house and write all day, every day. Today, I attended my daughter's track meet. Next week, I will tag along on my step-daughter's field trip to the zoo. Last month, I assisted with my son's school musical. I chaperoned a trip for his school band at a competition and then an at amusement park.
I'm lucky to have one solid day that I can actually sit and write. The other days, I'm lucky to write a single page. Those days are filled with chasing my 2 year old around the house while the other children are in school. Grocery shopping. Cleaning. The endless dishes and laundry that piles up from our family of seven. That in itself should be a full-time job!
Writing is not as glamorous as it sounds! Yes, I love it, and I wouldn't give it up for the world, but it's more than just writing. I also edit and format all of my work. I design my own covers. I am responsible for marketing. If a book doesn't sell well, I can only blame myself. Somewhere along the process of writing, formatting, editing, and marketing, something falls through the cracks.
I forced myself to make a calendar each week filled with tasks I NEED to get done throughout the week. Will they all be done on the day they are supposed to be? Probably not, but they do all have to get done each week.
In that calendar, I have ONE day set aside to write. The one day that I am at home alone from the hours of 8 am to 2:30 pm. And of course, it seems school trips and track meets always like to fall on that day...
The rest of the week is filled with other parts of the life of a writer. I read a lot. I read a lot of books on marketing and how-to sell books. I read about the best ways to design an eye catching book cover. I read about managing a band (which is another "job" of mine). I also try to read at least 3 chapters of some sort of fiction book each day. That's my "fun" reading, but it is also research. Once those books are complete, I jump online and give the author a review of the book. I blog. I post on my Facebook and Twitter. I edit. I type. I clean.
It is definitely not the glamorous job I expected when I first started writing, but I wouldn't give it up for the world. Even as I sit here writing this blog, I can think of a million things around the house that need to get done before I start picking children up from school. I have to figure out what we are having for dinner and have that going before my husband gets home from work.
I definitely wish I could just sit home all the time...but that would get boring after a while.
Comments
Post a Comment