I suppose it’s actually 1/3 and some change, since my last day of work was March 10th. Ah well, summer has been busy and time seems to be inconsistently flowing lately: some days are gone in a sip of Starbucks, some run in long and lazy hammock time. Not sure which I prefer.
I’m querying and creating a self-publishing plan for the cancer book. The first revision is taking some time, but I’m ok with that since the editor I’d prefer isn’t available until this fall anyway. It’s coming along. I feel good about that project getting published or in the publication process (if it gets picked up by an agent) before I’m done with my time off.
The novel is progressing in fits and starts, as I noodle on and note revisions that will make it more streamlined in the long run while getting my characters to their endgame. I’m on track to be done with the first draft by 6 months into this year off, which is an exciting milestone. I have a couple of agents I intend to query, but the manuscript needs to be complete and edited before I do that, so right now I’m just collating my list of dream agents and fussing through many drafts of a query letters.
If you weren’t aware (and because I’ve been asked a few times if I’m going back to a day job after this sabbatical or if writing full time is my goal), writers are in essentially the same boat as actors and screenwriters. I saw a statistic today from an actor on a really popular TV show who made $33k in 2022, and that put him in the top 13% of actors’ pay. Most actors, screenwriters, writers, and other artists have day jobs to pay the bills, because hitting that Nora Roberts or Stephen King level of success takes time, talent/skills, grind, and luck. While you may be able to hone your effort and talent/skill, that luck part is arguably out of an artist’s control. Yes, I intend to go back to my day job next spring because even if I get picked up by an agent and traditionally publish, that process takes a couple of years and advances aren’t what people think they are. That’s not pessimism, it’s just reality. And bills.
Writers write because we have to: my mental health suffers if I’m away from writing too long, simple as that. If I hit the jackpot of commercial success and can quit being a BA and be ridiculously wealthy (or, more likely, make about the same as I do in IT so I can pay the mortgage), awesome. If not, I’ll still be writing and submitting and self-publishing in my free time. So far the past four months out of corporate America have taught me to pay closer attention to my energy levels (resting is part of what gives creativity room to thrive, which is a HARD lesson for that Minnesotan work ethic), to protect my writing time from all the distractions, and to be flexible about when that writing time happens. Also, I am not an 8 hour a day writer (I suspect most writers aren’t, because that might be creatively exhausting), but I am easily an 8 hour a day author (writing, editing, formatting, submitting, researching, reading, etc.). I’m just not that 8 hour a day author every day. It’s nice to have that flexibility without the 40+ hour per week expectation, too.
Maybe except for marching-band days where I schlep kids around. Ha.
No Pithy Phrase 