In September of 2007, I started this blog
with a bit of writing advice. A little over a year later, I discovered how
little I knew about writing after hearing children’s writer, Lin Oliver speak
at a convention hosted by the Minnesota Society of Children’s Book Writers and
Illustrators. Since then, I have shared (with their permission) and applied the
writing wisdom of Lin Oliver, Jack McDevitt, Nathan Bransford, Mike Duran,
Kristine Kathryn Rusch, SL Veihl, Bruce Bethke, and Julie Czerneda. Together
they write in genres broad and deep, and have acted as agents, editors, publishers,
columnists, and teachers. Since then, I figured I’ve got enough publications
now that I can share some of the things I did “right” and I’m busy sharing that
with you.
While I don’t write full-time, nor do I make
enough money with my writing to live off of it...neither do all of the
professional writers above...someone pays for and publishes ten percent of what
I write. When I started this blog, that was NOT true, so I may have reached a
point where my own advice is reasonably good. We shall see! Hemingway’s quote
above will now remain unchanged as I work to increase my writing output and
sales! As always, your comments are welcome!
I am not “happy”
with my writing “career”…
Hmmm. Two sets of
quote marks in one short sentence – both of them not saying exactly what I
mean. That IS why we do air quotes, right? We use them when we’re not using the
words we should be using. Typically we’re using milder euphemisms when we want
to tell someone something unpleasant but we still have to live with them or be
friends with them afterward.
I’m supposed to be a
writer…OK, rephrase that, I am a writer. I have work published in three of the
best markets a writer can be in: ANALOG, CRICKET, and THE WRITER. I am
published internationally: my ebooks are put out by a Canadian publisher, I
have had two podcasts performed for a British publisher, I have a short story
coming out in an Irish SF magazine, and I’m published in the US.
So let me parse that
first sentence. “I am not happy”. What I mean is that I am frustrated that I
can’t consistently write stories and articles that are published. A quick look
at my publication list in the right column will attest to that. Roughly ten
percent of what I write is published. So “I am really frustrated” is what I
actually mean.
How about “with my
writing career”?
While “writing” is
self-explanatory – at least to anyone who reads my blog – the definition of
career is less so. Google says that a career is “an occupation undertaken for a
significant period of a person's life and with opportunities for progress. Synonyms
include: profession, occupation, job, vocation, calling, employment, line, line
of work, walk of life, métier .”
I never looked up
the definition before today. I would have said that my career is my job as a
teacher and guidance counselor. Job, though, is only one of the definitions and
not the most significant at that. The first sentence is the one that grabbed my
attention, and by that definition, I can remove the quotes in my opening
sentence.
While the prosaic
definitions are obvious to me, I never thought of writing as a calling or a
walk of life. Clearly the first sentence of the definition fits me. I’ve been
writing since I was twelve and seriously pursuing publication since…well, I DID
write as a teenager and send out my stories. My first paid publication was in a
local slick magazine called LITTLE BIT in 1974. But I’ve been consistently
sending out stories since 1990 and my current submission list stands at 983
sent out as either paper or electronic stories or queries out of which 93 were
accepted for publication. So let’s say that I’ve been writing for twenty-six
years.
That would be a “significant
period of a person’s life”. It’s certainly allowed me to progress, from a local
slick magazine to major paper, online, and podcast publishers.
I’ve defined terms
and clarified definitions, so now I should be able to write the following:
I am frustrated with
my writing career.
Except, after this
exercise, I find that I’m a whole lot LESS frustrated…comments anyone?
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