Sunday, February 22, 2015

The Distribution of a Writer's Work

It would be nice if being a writer was just about writing, huh? Back when I was younger and still writing stories in my journals, that's what I thought. That authors just got to write all day long and spend their lives in their imaginations. And maybe sometimes they had to talk about their books. Maybe edit them a few times.

Lol, young me. You were so naive.

Today, here's what I've found to be the actual distribution of work.

Writing- 15%

Editing- 30%

Marketing and social media- 20%

Reading and Researching- 10%

Avoiding Writing- 15%

Getting Distracted by New Ideas- 5%

Crying and Watching Disney Movies- 5%

Maybe that last section is just me.

Whatever the case, so little of being an author involves writing the rough drafts of books. Editing takes an eternity. You have to constantly build your online presence. You clean the house to cure writer's block. You want to write anything but what you're supposed to. Sometimes you might get time to read a book. It can be tough.

But we still love it. As writers, we still put ourselves through this because, deep down, we really enjoy ourselves through the pain. Writer's block and editing are killer but the result is worth it as we push through. And that's the amazing thing about writers, isn't it?

Also...

NEWS ABOUT MARCH MYSTERY AGENT CONTEST

It is still happening but the rafflecopter might be going up a little bit late. I'll post it as soon as I can. If the schedule is a little pushed back, never fear! It will be happening! Just be on the look out if you're game for a contest soon!

1 comment:

Karen McCoy said...

Definitely not just you--Disney movies make me cry all the time. :)

Excellent post--thanks for sharing!