The Non-Writing Part of Being an Author

October 5, 2006

Being an author requires more than just writing. I have to actually sell my book because if it doesn’t sell, no publisher will want to print my second book. Selling books means making phone calls to bookstores, radio stations, book reviewers, libraries—the list is infinite. It means planning book signings, attending trade shows, and giving author talks. Unfortunately no master list of these things exists, which forces us authors to spend our writing time tracking down media resources and book fairs. It’s all part of getting published, and we authors should be glad to do it.

But I’m exhausted. I don’t just write. I’m also a wife. I cook. I’m supposed to clean, but that’s kind of slipped away recently. I wash the clothes, and every time that stupid dryer bell rings, whatever dialogue or prose that’s in my head disappears into nothingness, and I have to recreate it after I fold all the shirts and pants. I’m a friend, which means I meet my friends for coffee on occasion, because that’s what friends do, and I want to do it. I’m a daughter and an aunt, and my family lives in town, which means I spend time with them because that’s what families who love each other do, and I want to do it. I’m actively involved with youth, which I love doing. I also have two part time jobs that help make ends meet.

So not only am I developing a website, gathering names of all the outlets that will help me sell my book, planning future author events that will help me sell my book, trying to keep my friends and family close, and doing accounting work, I’m also trying to finish the second draft to the sequel of my novel by the end of this month. How do other writers do it?

Anyway, I’ve been stressing out about everything that I have to do before A Prophecy Forgotten comes out in December. Today, I sat down with my calendar and planned everything out from now to December. Now, instead of worrying about all 32,000 things that I’ll have to do, I just have to worry about finishing the Elysian mythology section of this website, gathering information on local events across Florida that I can attend to sell my book, and gathering the names of local schools and universities that might want an author to speak. I can do that in a week, and I won’t be flipping out about anything. And I can watch the playoffs while I do accounting.

For more information on my debut novel, A Prophecy Forgotten, check out my website at http://www.elysianchronicles.com