A writer walks into a bar … then orders a drink and hides in a
booth because they have to write. That’s the life of a writer,
right? Who are we if not people hiding in quiet corners of
coffee shops, cottages, book nooks and corners of our homes just
to steal a moment of peace to write down our next big idea. It’s
those moments that feed our soul.
As a teenager I had a myriad of ridiculous jobs (as most
teenagers do). It wasn’t my career job. It was my gas money job,
and, let’s face it, my beer (or in my case) wine money job. I
did everything from cleaning rooms at a B&B to bussing tables at
the local Supper Club (Midwestern thing). At each and every one
of those jobs, I was often busted for taking time out to
‘daydream.’ (I remember I was once busted for writing in the
cooler while working at a flower shop).
What people (and when I say people I mean my parents) called
daydreaming, I insisted was something I couldn’t help. It was
that moment a character would be screaming at me to let them
move forward in their story. Often I would scribble a note down
on the pad of paper in the room I was cleaning or on a napkin on
the bussers station and then go home and continue the story. To
me those jobs were a distraction. I wondered when, if ever, I
could simply do the one thing I knew I wanted to do for a living
– write (and hopefully one day find a publisher.)
Trying to make a living as a writer is easy. It’s as easy as
juggling fire sticks after 7 shots of Tequila at your niece’s
graduation party because “the magician made it look easy,” or
enjoying a cappuccino with Big Foot or finding friendly aliens
who will help you hatch a plan to solve global warming. You get
the idea.
I know a select few people have had a different path. Some
people out there may be reading this thinking about how easy it
was for them to make a living as a writer (If that’s you, I
applaud you and want you to know that you’re an inspiration to
us all but make sure to ask Big Foot if he would like some extra
foam on his cappuccino), but for the most part, I find, when I
speak to writers, I hear the same things over and over,
“How come I can’t get anyone to read my work?”
“How come I need an agent?”
“Why does it feel so impossible to get published?”
And then there is the whole world now of publishing and self-
publishing. How do we as writers navigate that?
I hope to shed some light on that through this blog as well as
the classes I offer through Pen Bird Press, but the best advice
I can offer (which I learned through having my first book
published) is that as writers, we have to be our best advocates.
Research any publisher you think may be a good fit for your
book. Hire an editor before you send your manuscript to a
publisher, and by all means, hire a lawyer to look over your
contract when you finally get one. This is just the tip of the
proverbial iceberg for what we as writers need to know in the
process of seeking a publisher. I know I wanted to start this
publishing company to make the process easier for writers, but
more than that, to give them more creative control over their
work. We are storytellers, and while, we may hide in flower
store coolers crafting our work, we also want nothing more than
to share that work with the world one day.
I hope Pen Bird Press will be a safe haven for writers to come
and share their thoughts, ask questions, but more than that,
know that what they have to offer the world is worthy – and
maybe then juggling fire sticks won’t seem so impossible.
Perhaps skip the shots of Tequila beforehand.
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