Funny thing about goldfish. They only grow to the size of their bowl. At least, that's what I've heard. I'm not a fish person.
You can feed them Ben & Jerry's Double Chocolate Gummy Worm ice cream, and they still won't outgrow their bowl. Why? I don't know. This isn't an article about fish.
It's an article about writing. And more specifically, your writing, and your place in the writing world.
Are you content to call your writing a hobby? If so, then that's fine. You will be very happy in your bowl with plenty of room to swim. But if you want to bust out of that bowl, there are steps to take, and they don't involve eating Ben & Jerry's ice cream, with or without worms.
First, you must start calling yourself an author. Seems a pretty simple step, but you'd be surprised at how hard that is for some people. Do you write? Anything? For publication, hopefully, someday? Then you're an author.
Second, treat it as a job. No, you can't write only when the muse hits you if you are an author. Set a time and place to do your job. If you can only manage an hour on Saturdays at the local McDonalds while your kids are in McPlayland, that's fine. But stick to it. That's your part-time writing job. I suggest clocking in and out as you would any job. You can do that in a notebook or you can create a spreadsheet. I have directions on how to set up your own on my blog.
Third, network. No, this doesn't mean spending all your time on Facebook. Um. . .don't go looking at my profile. By network, I mean meet people who can further your career. Go to conferences to talk to editors and agents. Join ACFW and other writing organizations. Talk to successful authors to see how they got as far as they did.
Hobbies are fine. And if you're content with writing an article here, a devotion there, playing with your novel, no one is saying that's wrong. But if you feel deep down into your soul that this could be a career for you, start calling yourself an author.
Learn. Grow. Leap out of that bowl!
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Kathleen E. Kovach is the ACFW Rocky Mountain Zone Director and has published four books with two more contracted. For tips on organization, go to http://www.kathleenekovach.blogspot.com/ and find "Organize Yourself as a Writer" in the label section.
Picture above is attributed to
http://www.flickr.com/photos/anothersarah/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
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4 comments:
Kathy,
Great story about the fish and his bowl.
One of the best things I have done to grow as an author is joining a writers guild. Words for the Journey, meeting in Parker, Colorado, is filled with encouraging, knowledgeable authors. It has taught me and stretched me. We meet weekly so the opportunity to grow is constant.
Diane
You know writing is not a hobby when you realize you haven't watched TV in the evening in MONTHS and don't miss it. When you dream your storyline and wish you didn't have to work (clean house, laudrey, etc) so you could spend all day writing. And the only thing you want for Christmas is an Alphasmart/Neo.
But the real test? Going to your child's school to talk about being an author. And having them ask the tough accountability questions.
Diane, WFTJ is a very good group. I try to go to the evening talks, but can't always make it that far. I live waaaay north of Denver. Their weekly meetings and Write-Outs are great for keeping writers focused.
Candee, Love that "real test". My gdaughter told me the other day that in kindergarten last year, her teacher had my books on display in the classroom to teach the kids about writing as a profession. I had connected with the teacher and gave her the books, but had no idea she'd gone that far with it. Yes, it made me feel like a real author...I mean, it confirmed to me I'm a real author. :)
Oh...so we can call ourselves authors even if we're not published yet? I thought there was a distinction of some kind that got made professionally. If there isn't, well then, hey! I'm an author!
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