The Realities of Writing

“You have a dream job, you know.”

A friend told me that the other day, and it made me smile, partly because she’s right, and partly because, five years into this crazy ride, it’s an easy thing to forget.  I never thought that my job would have anything in common with my husband’s…he was a fighter pilot for the first ten years of our marriage.  But as it turns out, being a writer and being a fighter pilot do share something: they are both jobs that are very cool and also not as cool as they look.  After all, an awesome job is still, at its heart, a job.

That’s one thing I didn’t know back when I began.  As it turns out, I could title a book “Stuff I Didn’t Know About Being A Professional Writer” and probably spin it into an encyclopedic set based entirely on my personal experiences.  It would also be an unfinished work, since I’m still learning.  But since people are often curious about how this job looks from the inside, and because I’m feeling nostalgic on the five year anniversary of being picked up by my lovely agent (aka She Who Frequently Pulls Me Off the Ceiling), I thought I’d share the top three Big Revelations I’ve had along the winding path of my writing career thus far.

It’s a job:

Like I said, I may have kinda sorta underestimated the sheer, um, jobbiness (I know that isn’t a word, but it should be) of all this.  Back in ’07, with my shining masterpiece of a manuscript out on submission and stars in my eyes, I was absolutely positive that published writer-dom would be continuously full of sparkly wonder.  And possibly unicorns.  Sometimes, when my butt is parked on the couch at 1 am, my word count refusing to inch past five hundred for the day and my coffee cooling beside me, I miss those days of ignorant bliss.  I did realize, vaguely, that there was “business stuff” I would need to learn.  I knew that signing a contract would change everything.  Now, with deadlines, edits, promo, proposals, and more edits, I am awash in both the business stuff and the changed everything.  I still write for myself, of course.  Storytelling is something I’m compelled to do.  But I no longer write only for myself.  And whether the spirit is moving me or not (as a mother of three, the spirit often seems to be out partying, leaving me half-awake on the couch), I have a daily word count to meet.

 

It’s hard:

I know.  Duh, right?  Except I thought I’d gotten past the really hard stuff once I’d run the gauntlet and sold that first book.  No more rejections to cry over!  The gates had opened!  I was golden!  *sigh*  Well, getting published is very hard, yes.  Staying published is also hard.  It requires a degree of pigheaded stubbornness that is sort of shocking in its breadth and depth.  Rejection?  Still happens.  Reviews?  You will get ugly ones for every book, no matter how many people love them.  And the business itself is a roller coaster.  Back in ’07, I would never have imagined all the experience I’ve gotten in five years.  I…may not have wanted toJ  I have written for three different publishers, all quite different.  I have worked with three different editors, all quite different.  I’ve developed a thicker skin than I ever thought I’d manage to, because it’s that or run off screaming/dig a hole and pull it in after yourself/curl up in a corner rocking and drooling at some point.  Back when I started, I remember the seasoned authors on loops or at conference talking about their “rough patches”.  I, of course, was going to be sort of an authorial version of She-Ra and skip right to the super powerful awesome part.  Um…no.  I will not detail the many things that have kicked my butt on the road thus far, but suffice it to say that writing is a job you have to really, really want.  And at some point, probably more than one point, you will discover whether and how much you really want it.       

It’s amazing:

No, really.  There is nothing like this career.  It’s different than I’d imagined (isn’t everything?), but in some ways, even better than the, er, sparkly unicorn fantasy.  My friends and colleagues are clever, articulate, imaginative people, some of whom I am still a total fangirl about.  I get to work with and for people who love romance, who excel at making each book the very best it can be.  I meet the most amazing readers, who both keep me humble and keep me going.  Hey, I even get to work in my pajamas!  This is a job of “moments”, and I’ve learned to tuck away and treasure them for the times when things are flat-out hard.  Getting my agent.  Making a sale.  Holding each book for the first time.  Getting the call to tell me I’d finaled for the RITA last year.  Starting the Dark Dynasties series, which I am incredibly proud of and which marks the fulfillment of a lot of the dreams I had as an aspiring author.  Even just getting my very first royalty checks this past year, and feeling like I’m really “on my way”.  And I treasure every email I get from readers who’ve had one of my stories resonate with them.  For every difficult thing, there is a wonderful thing that far outweighs it.  As Jimmy says in A League of Their Own (one of my favorites), “It’s the hard that makes it great.”  So it is with writing.  And five years in, I wouldn’t change a thing.

Thanks very much to Lee for having me here today.  I’d love to take any questions you might have about writing as a career, whether it’s business or process or just how messy my desk is (you may not want to know the answer to that one).  And if you’re a writer…what’s been the biggest thing that’s surprised you about the job so far?  Say hello!  I’m chatty!  I’m also giving away a signed copy of my new book, Midnight Reckoning, which is the second in my Dark Dynasties series and came out yesterday.  If you enjoy paranormal romance, and are interested in what happens when a cat-shifting vampire and a strong-willed she-wolf get together (much against their better judgment, I might add), comment for a chance to win, and the winner will be announced on Wednesday.

Happy New Year, everyone!

Kendra Leigh Castle writes paranormal romance and is the author of the Dark Dynasties series (Forever).  She lives in Southern Maryland with her husband, three children, and menagerie of pets.  She loves to hear from readers, and can be found on facebook (www.facebook.com/kendraleighcastle), twitter (@KendraLCastle), and at www.kendraleighcastle.com.


***Helyce is the winner of MIDNIGHT RECKONING! Congratulations! Please send an email with your full name and mailing address to totebag@authorsoundrelations.com!***