I’m not sure what I thought writing was like when I started on this journey and I can’t tell you what the journey will look like six months or even a year from now. I am not the same writer I was when I did NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) in November of 2013. What I knew then was I wanted to write a book. That was it. Nothing glamourous.
I did write a book. And when I finished I said, “Now what?” I had a sinking feeling. I wrote a book. I never thought I would. But now I was faced with what comes next.
My “now what” sent me on a whirlwind of learning about what it really takes to get a book out there and how naïve I really was.
5 Things No One Tells You About Being a Writer
1. It’s HARD work
The process of writing is time consuming. Not only do you have to have the right topic, idea, or story, but you also have to be able to put all of those things together like a puzzle to say what you need. Once you write it, you must go back and edit. And sometimes editing can take 5,6,7 or even 20 revisions.
Do not be shy in joining critique groups. Many of them I am involved with are very encouraging.
2. You can get lost in all of the “learning”
And it can be overwhelming. There’s marketing, building a platform, how you’re going to launch your book, the list goes on and on. One thing to remember, and I have to remind myself of this repeatedly, you have to write. If you don’t write, none of the other stuff will matter.
3. It doesn’t have to be a solo job
When I agreed to do a collaborative project, I had no idea what I was in for. I didn’t know what to expect or what was going to happen. But collaboration was a game changer for me. I met new people, who have become my friends, and leaned many valuable lessons about writing, editing, publishing and launching a book.
4. Editing is, for most, the worst part of the process
Many writers, if you ask them the worst part of writing, will say the editing. Editing is difficult in so many ways. You are forced to remove parts you thought were really good and you find out some of it really wasn’t that good. You have to be able to look at your work objectively. This is where critique groups can come in handy. They are a fresh set of eyes. Too often we find ourselves too close to our work, which makes it hard to see what needs to be fixed.
5. It is definitely NOT a glamorous occupation
My friend James said it best: “I kept this image in my head of working along in a dimly lit room, pounding away on the keys of a terribly abused typewriter…There was a very ‘Hemingway-esque’ feel to this vision.” (Introduction in Mosaic). I saw it exactly like this, lonely and closed off, dark and sometimes scary. It’s not glamourous, but it is fulfilling, which matters most.
5 Things I love about writing
1. It allows me to follow my calling
I recently read Jeff Goins’ book The Art of Work about finding your calling in life. And while I wished I had this book ten or twelve years ago, I was thankful for the message found throughout. I am doing my calling. I am writing and working from home. I am living the dream many said I would never have a one I never believed I would be doing. I am grateful every day for the support and ability to do what I love day in and day out.
2. It’s my creative outlet
Life gets complicated and messy. Sometimes we want to throw in the towel. Writing (and scrapbooking) is my outlet for creativity, expressing myself, and winding down at the end of a very long day.
3. Even though at times I want to pull my hair out, I still love it
There are nights I can’t sleep because I am thinking about my book or blog post or whatever I am working on at the moment. There are times I am so stressed I just want to crawl in a hole. But despite all the madness, I cannot imagine myself doing anything different.
4. It’s taught me a lot about myself
I have learned a lot about myself in the past two years. The biggest being that I can embark on a hard journey and see it through to the end, no matter what. The stakes are too high for me to quit.
5. It’s challenged me in ways I never expected
Daily it challenges me to think outside the box, ask for help when I’d rather not, and put my work out there. I am still working on being comfortable with getting my work out there. I have made new friends, something I don’t do terribly well (I am a horrible introvert)!
Christy Zigweid 