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.
