I am a working writer, and I thought you might be interested in what I do in any given week. What is a working writer? Put the most simple way, I write to pay my bills. I write as a profession. I am a professional writer. Yikes. That sounds serious doesn’t it? But I have to tell you I absolutely love it. So here’s a typical week spelled out in hours. Of course weeks vary, depending on what’s going on. Last week I spent:
15 hours (approx.) writing and revising short stories and a nonfiction project. (I typically write from 9:00 – 12:00.)
20+ hrs. (1:00- 5:00) researching and querying literary agents about Temple Secrets, a new novel I completed last winter. Then I spent time marketing my current book, Seeking Sara Summers, through various forms of social networking and blogs.
I queried 34 agents for Temple Secrets (The Help meets Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil.) So far, of those 34 agents, two have requested to see the complete manuscript. Any time a literary agent requests sample chapters or a complete manuscript it’s really good news. So fingers crossed on those. (Here is the database I use to find agents.)
Please note: my former agent, Mary Grey James, who I wrote about in an earlier post, retired last month. This was upsetting to me, as she was representing three of my manuscripts. (a humorous middle grade novel, a YA and she had just begun to represent Temple Secrets.) I really liked her. Plus she believed in me. This is worth gold to a writer. And you know how expensive gold is right now!)
In addition to my usual week, I also put together a two page synopsis for Temple Secrets (it took hours to create a really good one) and attended my writers group (a great group of wonderful writers who meet at our local coffee shop).
As you can see, I take writing very seriously. Since I don’t often share about what goes on in my day-to-day life as a writer, I’d love to hear what you think about this post. Do you like to hear what I’m up to? As always, I’d love to hear from you!
P.S. I am an ex-shrink who writes novels. Check out my books here.
From one of our lovely email subscribers:
“Hi Susan, I loved hearing about your very interesting daily life. I am so glad you spend a lot of time doing what you do. We, your fans, appreciate your effort and devotion to your craft. I will be looking forward to reading your new book. Much good luck on getting it published. As always, Mary”
Interesting how you block everything out. I’m more impulsive. I write when it feels right, and that’s never in the morning by the way. I’m a night person. I generally spend mornings catching up on email and reading the news and waking my brain up in general. Although today I think I’ll start writing early. So I don’t have a routine at all.
It may be interesting to talk about where you write. I’ve been thinking about a post on this. Sometimes I like the peace and quiet of home, and sometimes that same silence can drive me crazy, and I seek some bustle. Again, every day is different.
Hi John,
I guess I come from a family of worker bees. I treat writing like a 9-5 job, though the most satisfying and enriching 9-5 job I’ve ever had. I also have the flexibility to go with the flow when I need to. I know plenty of writers who go about it like you do and I think that’s great, too.
from another email subscriber: “Yes, I enjoy hearing about your daily life and routine. I like it when people share their thoughts and lives with me. I feel trusted by them. Trelys”
Most of the blogs I read feature bloggers writing about their lives. It might be about a specific part of their lives, like being a writer or a parent or a med student or whatever, but it’s about their lives. And yes, I like that. 🙂
Congrats on getting the full manuscript requests! I’m sure that you’ll miss your former agent, but maybe a change is just what you need to place your book(s).
Hi Sonje. I’ve been getting feedback from a bunch of folks that they like hearing about what I’m up to as a writer, so it looks like I’ll be doing more of that in future posts. As an introvert and fairly private person, this will be a challenge. But hey, give the people what they want, right?
Thanks, as always, for commenting. I hope your writing is going well!
It’s really cool hearing about your daily life as a writer. Treat your passion as a 9-5 job, an interesting approach. It’s cool you do that, a lot of what I’ve learned about creativity and inspiration is that it’s often very random and or dare I say chaotic at times (I took a class on the psychology of creativity, very interesting) many authors or creative people we read about desribed their work process almost as if they we’re bumping into it or it was creating itself but your consistancy and hard work and structure really, are admirable. I also wish you well on your latest work! I know you shouldn’t judge a book by it’s title (or cover) but it sounds cool. Thanks for wishing me well, I also wish you and yours well! 😀
Hi Jen,
Great to hear from you. That psychology of creativity class you mentioned sounds fascinating.
My vote goes to whatever gets people in the chair to write and I think there are as many ways to do that as there are writers. I follow a routine that fits my personality, which in turn helps me take myself seriously. I don’t think it would work for everybody, though. To each her own, as they say….:)