Expectations vs Reality of a Romance Author

 

Hands up if you thought being a romance author would be more romantic.

Visions of reclining on a chaise longue, sipping champagne and eating chocolates while the words flow out of me and onto the page may not have been quite accurate.

Misconception Number One: I’m a writer. I’m gonna be rich!

It’s hard to type when I’m laughing so hard at the hilarity of that thought. Rich…? Good one.

Hours at the laptop, hours on social media sharing posts and making connections, hours writing blogs and researching book marketing, and still no guarantee that the books will sell. You can do all the right things, and still be lucky to earn sixty pence a month.

There’s always the dream to be the lucky one. To be the one who will be discovered, the one who defies the odds of being a self-published author and makes millions, but the reality is – that more than likely – you will probably work a day job and write in the spare moments you scramble together between the responsibilities of your normal life.

Misconception Number Two: I’m a writer. I must be smart.

No.

What I am is a person who daydreams a lot. Sure, some of the things I write require research, but what that means is I google a lot of stuff and then promptly forget it as soon as the book or story is finished.

Any visions I had of swanning around with my hair in a chignon, smart-lady glasses and a pencil behind the ear, while I spout facts and answer any question asked has been replaced with a scruffy ponytail, finger-smudged lenses, and a confused expression on my face.

Misconception Number Three: I’m a writer. Nothing else matters.

Hmm… I like to eat food and have a roof over my head, so the day job is a little higher on my priority list. As is my family, my dog, my friends. I love writing, but I personally need time with all the people I love, and so I do give writing as much time as I can, but not at the cost of relationships.

I’m an introvert by nature. I’m mostly happy in my own company, and I’m lucky that pairs well with being a writer, but other things are important to my mental and physical health, and they definitely matter.

 Misconception Number Four: I’m a writer. I write every day.

As much time as I do spend writing, it’s not necessarily every single day. There are days where I work long shifts, or I go out, or I have other tasks of equal importance that need to be done. There are times where I just don’t want to, and though I can push through it, I don’t always do it, because if I make writing an ordeal, I won’t want to do it, and right now it’s an important part of my life.

I write often, but that doesn’t mean daily. I’m finding the balance important.

Misconception Number Five: I’m a writer. I don’t need to read.

Every book I read helps me develop as a writer. Whether I like the way it’s written, and the story told, or I don’t, there’s usually something to be taken from it. I feel like it seeps into my brain and lives there.

I’ve always been a reader. From my first book, I was hooked. Sometimes they’re rereads, sometimes they’re new, but I always have a shelf full of books, and I think I’m a better writer for every word I read.

 

Misconception Number Six: I’m a writer with rejections. I suck at this.

Or maybe not.

Every failed attempt at writing success doesn’t mean it wasn’t well written or a good story. What it means is that it’s hard to stand out in a mass of other works by equally ambitious writers.

I’ve been rejected a lot, because I’ve tried a lot. I remember a famous actor saying that for every success he gets six rejections. Sure, for me the ratio is tilted heavier toward the rejection side – one book I’ve written was rejected nearly thirty times before there was even a hint of someone showing interest – but rejection is a part of being a writer, and as I’m told often in rejections, writing is subjective. Just because one says no, doesn’t mean the next will. Keep trying. Your next attempt might be the yes you need.