A lot has happened since the last time I blogged here, and I don't even know where to start. So I'll just keep on going from the middle. I wouldn't recommend this when writing a story or an article, mind, but this is my blog and I can do whatever the hell I want to do.
For a long time I thought writing for a living just wasn't going to happen for me. I've been attempting it for years now -- I didn't think it would take so long. I made the mistake most rookie writers make when starting out. I call it the "Kevin Costner School Of Thinking". You know, build it and they will come? Not so much.
Of course, at the time I was trying to find some way to sustain my lifestyle by writing, I was also working full-time. And raising three kids. Then said kids moved out, and I moved on to a different type of job. Still fitting writing in between the cracks.
Then, my mother passed away and the world literally imploded for me.
Instead of a well-planned transition to writing as a career, I threw myself into it without a safety net of any kind. Hand to mouth survival, kiddies. That's how I roll. Not recommended.
That being said, everyone has their own path, right? Mine just happened to be the hard way.
Today, three years later, I have a good client base in non-fiction, a gig as an editor for Etopia Press, my first collection of flash fiction and several short stories and mini-collections published, a novel finished and two more planned in the series, an opportunity to have that published by a stellar indie press, and freelance editor options.
It's a lot of work, make no mistake. Oh, the perks are good. I only take projects I want to work on, I work from home and pajamas are my uniform of choice, and I don't have to answer to anyone.
But I also put in long hours, no days off, no vacations, no health insurance and no regular paycheck. Sometimes I have so much work I don't know how I'm going to pull it all off, and other times it's a famine and I'm dodging disconnect notices. There always seems to be yet another learning curve I need to master from formatting to book covers to new and improved software but the truth is, I never want to do anything else.
Writing for a living is not like digging ditches, but it is hard work if you want to be successful. If you want it bad enough, you'll make it happen.
I'll try to be better about updating here. If you have any questions, leave a comment and I'll try to answer the best I can. In the meantime, I have stuff to do, because there is no rest for the wicked :)
