writing ideas
The Business of Writing
Now that people are starting to get to know me, I get questions that come my way. Questions that make me reflect on things that have taken me from a hobby writer to someone close to getting published. Mind you, "close" is the operative word her since I can't yet claim to be published. However, I know that, in time, it will come to pass.
Counting Days
This is the hard part. To be more accurate, this is the most difficult of all the hard parts of the journey called "getting published."
Taking the next step
So you've written the next, great American novel. You've labored for months--hell, years--to get it just the way you want it. Your best friends, your sister and even your mother have read it and swear that you've written a masterpiece.
Building a Base
I can't believe how many thousands of writers there are in the world and how few are actually getting published. Why is that? Are they REALLY that good and everyone else that poor at the art? Do they know something we don't know? Or maybe they know someONE we don't know.
Inspirations
I used to wonder where writers got their inspirations for the stories they told. I loved the way they seemed to bring even the mundane to life. Once I started writing seriously, I realized that ideas could actually come from anywhere.
In the beginning
Up to this point, I've written about my topics generically. After a few tries, I think I can conclude that what I've written to date isn't what blogging is all about. I was trying to give advice, when the truth is, most of you have done as much or more writing than I have. My exception is that somehow, amazingly, I managed to get signed by an agent.
My work day
If you are unpublished like me, but want to make writing a career, how do you balance both worlds? In my situation, my wife tells me what to do so I don't have much choice. Other than that, when I'm not fighting with her world's largest "honeydo" list, I find that setting an hour or two aside every day does wonders when it comes to writing a novel. I need to write anywhere from 2 -3 pages everyday to feel like I've accomplished something good. The pages are generally un-edited but at the end of my time, I go back and see if it made any sense. It may not seem like much, but at that pace, I can finish a book in about 6-8 months.
What are you writing about?
I read somewhere that everybody has a story to tell. I believe the statement is true, but incomplete. The question I would ask, as it's related to getting published, is your story worth reading by someone other than a friend or family member?
