I have a day job. I have also written two books in the course of two years. One is complete and the other is being edited. Which is what this is about.
Book writing for the first book was 6 months of casual writing, then another 6 months of constant revising, revising, editing, layouts, pictures, more editing, and finally self-publishing an almost complete product. To date, I’ve only found 2 errors in my self-published TLP book, but both are minor.
The second is a 2009 National Novel Writing Month project in 11/2009. Started and completed in November. It’s still not published, and now it’s April. The editing? Casual, or none at all for weeks on end. Still, 5 months! Unacceptable, but why has it taken longer? Why haven’t I done more until now?
Every time I sit and seriously decide to write or even edit, it’s enjoyable and creative. But beforehand, there is a perception that it won’t be.
I’ve come to realize, and this is just my case, is that my viewpoint is only that of someone who has a normal job during the day. Now, recent stats have 750,000 self-published/indie titles being produced in 2009, while traditional publishing was only 1/3 of that. I imagine quite a few of those were published by normal folk who write after their day job. The more I meet, read about, and know about people who are actually making a living at writing, the more I discover that many write all day long as their day job. They approach writing as their job. They love their job.
I like my day job. But when I get home, it’s tough to think of writing as a job I need to do now. “I’ve worked my portion, made my living for the day.” Or it seems like writing when not on a day off of work will somehow be less productive.
These are all perceptions. And as we should all be learning, there is no reality, only perception. The reality is, this is something I enjoy, I love. That’s the truth. Which means that whether or not there is a “real job”, the true issue is making sure our perceptions match what we truly like.
“Do I like (this)?” If yes, then it can be enjoyed, whether or not the constraints of outside life try to distract you.
394 words I could have used to write a novel.
