The Business of Writing ~ Week One
Week One: Changing Mindset
When I was a little girl, I had a romantic notion of what writers did. I imagined a little snowy cottage up in Maine, where the author sat in front of a vintage typewriter, in her wooly sweater and fuzzy socks, with a cup of hot cocoa and a fire going in a stone fireplace in the corner. She’d be clicking keys on a draft that she’d tie with a ribbon and send off to her editor to be gloriously bound and sold, making her millions.
Then, I became an author and reality set in.
While I still wear the wooly sweaters and fuzzy socks at times, and I will often sip a hot beverage, that’s about as close as I get to my original perception. Being a published author is quite a change from being a writer. When someone publishes his or her novel, they have opted to go public with that novel. In doing so, they’ve invited an entire team of professionals into their book.
In order to make a career out of being an author, the first thing I had to do was change my mindset. As I’d mentioned, teams of people—publishers, editors, typesetters, cover designers, media professionals, agents, and the like—were working their 9 to 5s, and my novel had become part of their day. I had deadlines and expectations to meet, and I had to change my perspective about what I was doing.
My book was no longer a hobby; under contract, being an author was now a job (albeit, a unique and exciting job). I had to assume my duties as a part-time worker: while editing and learning about publishing, I built my social media platforms, I learned how to navigate my website, I began to tell people about the book I’d written, doing Q&As and interviews. I dabbled in research, learning how to best promote my novels as an author. And—oh yeah—I had people asking about my second book, and the one after that… I had to learn how to write consistently and within a timeframe.
But once I’d changed my thought process, rolled up my sleeves, let in the professionals, and got to work, a brand-new world unfolded around me. I eventually quit my day job, jumped into the creative world with both feet, and twenty-two books later, found myself at the helm of my own full-time career. And I’ve never looked back.
Key Questions to ask yourself in this lesson:
1. What are your career goals? You might want to take a step back and think about what, exactly, you want specifically from this endeavor of publishing.
2. Describe your writing schedule. As an example, I write 1,000 words every single day, including holidays and vacations. (On holidays and vacations, I squeeze it in from about 6am to 8am and then go about my day.) If I’m in editing, instead of writing 1,000 words, I edit 4,000. Everyone’s process is different. What does your writing schedule look like? You’ll want to think about it. Pay attention to how many words/pages you write in a day consistently. See how much is reasonable for you and how long it will take you to write another book.
3. What are your future projects? I worked a full-time job as a teacher, all day, and then wrote at night and on weekends until I could leave my day job and write full-time. But then, I found that I needed a schedule to keep focused and to get my writing and promotion done. What do you have planned and how will you fit it in? Then, what will your next writing steps be once the first book is published?
Throughout this series, you’ll learn the steps I took to answer these questions and build my career. We’ll talk about managing your product, the operations of your business, your career goals, and how to keep a work/life balance. Join us next week for lesson two and come along for the ride!
© Jenny Hale