Hard to swallow facts about writing.

If you’re not practicing your writing on a regular basis, you’ll lose ground – Really! Really-really!

I think of writing as a muscle but it’s a fine-tuned muscle and if you’re not using it, working it, developing it every day, it becomes harder to get back into the swing of things. That’s why I’ve been trying to keep up with my Steemit Blogs even when I’ve been tired and discouraged, weary, fed-up and wanting to do nothing more than curl up and watch television and crochet blankets.

I know, I’ve failed on a few days.

Writing will suck your free time like a pool drain

Because of that, you will have to set aside a pocket of time for your writing and ONLY writing. No “I’ll just vacuum the living room before I start…” Leave it! The housework will still be there when you’ve finished writing (and probably more besides).

You WILL receive comments like, “Oh you’re writing a book? How cute…”

We all get that (I bet even Stephen King got that). Ignore those that think it’s a nice little hobby or you’ll get bored and want to do something else, like model-making. Even when you’ve finished and published a novel, they’ll still believe it’s a phase or a sweet pastime.

You DO need an Editor!

Yes, I get that you’re intelligent, clever, wise and totally brainy, but your book is your brain’s baby and your brain can see no wrong in it. Your brain looks at your writing and thinks, “I wrote that! It is perfect!” – trust me, it isn’t.

A good Editor (yeah, I’m capitalising the word) is worth their weight in paper (at least!) If you’re fortunate enough to know someone that is a professional Editor and is willing to work for free (or at least until the book makes some money) grab them, care for them and make sure you keep them!

If not, you’re best to pay for an Editor and believe me, the better they are, the more they can charge. Hire the best one you can afford – you’ll thank me in the end.

Some readers will NOT like your work

So what? Some will! (Hopefully the readers that love it will vastly outnumber those that hate it).

Grow yourself a thick skin, listen to the advice from your editor and hold your head up high!

The work is not over once you’re ready to publish your novel!

You may find that the hard work starts when it’s ready to publish. There will be querying Publishers, and even if you get picked up by a Publisher, unless it’s one of the ‘Big Six’ publishing houses, you’ll have to do a LOT of work to market and promote your own work. You’ll get hints and tips on how to do this, but at the end of the day, it’s down to you. Oh and don’t forget to start work on your second novel – strike while the iron’s hot!

I left the best ‘til last…
Writing books for a living is NOT all it’s cracked up to be!

Sorry, it’s not.

My house isn’t beautiful, clean and paid for. I don’t have staff to take care of the housework, cooking, garden, pets etc.

Right now, I’m sitting in my dressing gown, just about to take a shower before I go to my physio appointment. My curtains are still closed and the fireplace needs to be swept, the floors could use a mop and my desk is cluttered with magazines, paper, notebooks, reference books and pens (no, I’m certainly not taking a picture of it!)

What I’m saying is this:

If you love writing, you’ll find the time. If you just like the idea of writing, you’ll find time sometimes and if you just like the idea of being the next JK Rowling without all that work, go buy a lottery ticket.

It’s hard work. It’s heart-breaking work when the story will not come, the characters have stopped talking to you and the computer feels like your enemy.

It’s hard work even when the stories flow like mead, the characters sit by your side and narrate their story at a pace you can cope with and the computer is purring like a panther.

I never knew what I wanted to be when I grew up and I’m so very fortunate that my husband supports me in my ‘hobby’. I really do need a support network in my chosen career and believe me, even after almost two decades, I still not only want to write, I HAVE to write.

If you WANT to write too, come on, I think I can help you.

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