The book industry is one of the slowest businesses I know. In fact, if you know a slower industry, please tell me what it is.
If you want to be a writer, one of these days you'll have to face the facts:
*it takes a long time to write a book
*it takes a lot of work and time to edit the book properly before you send it to professionals
*it takes a lot of time for agents/publishers to get to your query
*it could take a while to get a contract
*it takes even more time for a professional edit
*it takes time- usually a year or two- for your contracted book to become a book
If you're looking for a quick way to get rich, don't become a writer. In fact, if you are looking to get rich, keep your job and take a good look at your education.
If you want to be a writer, be prepared to dedicate years of your life to it. Even if you're a one-book-wonder, it's going to take years.
So why write? Because you love it. Because you have a story to tell. Because when you tell yourself you're going to give up, it follows you around, nagging you with it's story.
You write because it is part of who you are.
Whether your story is coming together slowly, or hitting the pages like fire, it's a story. Sometimes it feels like it's worth it, and now and then you may be passing time before a better story ticks into your head.
But there's one thing I can tell you for sure- there will be times when it all seems worth it. They may be fleeting moments, or monumental experiences, but sometimes you will come across validation that helps you know you are doing the right thing.
And if you're a writer at heart, no amount of rejection or waiting will ever stop you from shedding more words into a story.
Being a writer is a decision, but it's also part of who you are. Make goals. Work toward them. Write whether you can see the success happening yet or not.
The best thing a writer can do is write. So, taking a page from Nike, "just do it".
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3 comments:
Hopefully you're thinking of starting a mahogany farm in the Phillipines. Mahogany grows 8-10 times faster in the tropics.
But writing can feel a lot like growing trees. You only see a tiny bit of progress at a time, but at the end of the road, there's an actual tree (or book) looking back at you, proof that all of it was worth it in the end.
Writing is definitely not for the faint of heart. Even those with a great passion for it, who love it dearly, can be bowled over by the seeming despair of it all.
Ahhh, the despair of it all. Isn't that what we feel 90% if the time? Don't we know it!
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