This month we are blogging on: What Do You Enjoy Most About Being A Writer? (Or if you prefer, what do you like the least. or both.) 

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AKA The glamorous life of an author…..

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     There are moments when being a published author brings intense joy or a sense of achievement. Like the day a new book is released. Or when a total stranger realizes I am an author and immediately wants to know what I’ve written, where they can buy the books etc. Or the day when an idea that has been incubating at the back of my brain and suddenly all the vague thoughts come together and I know it’s a story I want to write.

     Then there is the daily satisfaction of seeing the story come to life. Watching the characters I’ve created grow and learn and find a way to make things happen. And when all the loose ends find solutions to make a happy resolution.

     And of course, there’s the row of books on my shelf attesting to my accomplishment. It’s even nicer when I see that row of books on someone else’s shelves.

     I also enjoy the research. Although there are authors who either hate it or skip it and write things that have minimal research requirements. I take my research seriously. If there is history involved, I study the time period – the clothing, the language, the habits, the expectations, the world around them and so forth. While they say write what you know, eventually what you know has been used and you need fresh stuff. New careers, new experiences, new places. Here I either join groups like the Citizens Law Enforcement Academy like I did when writing my first Police procedural mystery, or I interview someone who has the career I’m giving my character. It’s been a long time since I was a young woman and had growing kids about, so I talk to my kids or my grandkids to get current jargon down for the dialog, or to find out what TV shows they watch and who their favorite characters are.

     I also enjoy the field trips that come into my research. If you are writing about an Emergency Room, or a school, or any place you personally have not worked, it pays to visit one and just observe what it’s like to be there. I love visiting historic sites as well as current day places that come into my stories. I get a whole new feel for a place just standing there. I could google Boston, or San Antonio, or wherever, but actually walking across Boston Common and through the city’s streets or touring the Alamo or walking along the river by eateries and shops in San Antonio gives a very different “feel” for the place. I get to experience the sounds, the smells and the feeling – the whole ambiance of the place that googling will never give me. It’s all well and good to check MapQuest for where streets intersect and how the layout works, but getting a feel for the place is very much enhanced by just being there physically. Thankfully for me, I love this part of creating my stories and their settings.

     That’s the better side of being an author, but like any job, there is always the other side of the coin. Top for me on this is the marketing. I am NOT and never will be a salesman and the whole thing is like a slog through a marsh for me. And even after someone has purchased the book, there is the begging for reviews. Amazon is the elephant in the room and without reviews, your book sinks like a rock to the bottom of the list. 

     Next up, but not nearly as bothersome as marketing is the editing. While I was once a traditional published author, although even then the book needs polishing before it goes to your editor, but now that my publisher closed their doors, I am an Indie author. So, I have a whole lot more editing to see to. There are both content editors and copy editors for hire. I have my critique/brainstorming group to help me with the whole content part, but I still need a copy editor. By the time you get to this point in your book, you have seen every sentence so many times your eyes tend to glide right over the typos and other issued and never see them. A fresh set of eyes is a must.

     For me, the plusses of being an author outweigh the promotion and editing. I guess, if it didn’t I’d decide I was done and become a totally retired senior citizen. But I have so many story ideas, I’m sure that the day I pass several of them will still remain to be told.

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Now you should hop on over and find out about the glamorous life of my fellow Round Robin Blog Hoppers…..

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Diane Bator  

Connie Vines  

Anne Stenhouse  

Sally Odgers  

Dr. Bob