The other day as I stood in line at the post office, carrying a heavy box which I had packed, taped and addressed myself, I thought, wow, big-time writer standing here in her old blue jeans mailing her own books. I should have been writing, but I wanted to get the books to California in time for me to sell them after my talk at Portuguese Ancestry Day. Traveling, speaking and book-selling are not writing either, unless you count autographing copies of your books. But these are all part of the business of being a writer.
Most people imagine that writers sit at their desks in their plush offices writing all day while the world goes on around them. That's pretty much what happens in the movies, but not in real life. Maybe Stephen King or Danielle Steel can do that. But you and I? Forget about it.
Unless we plan to hide our works in a trunk like Emily Dickinson, once we commit words to paper or PC, we have more work to do, and it is isn't necessarily writing.
As self-employed writers, whether we do it full-time or send out an occasional article, short story, or poem, we are in business for ourselves. We are entitled to file a Schedule C on our tax returns as sole proprietor of our own company. And we are usually the sole employee. That means we are responsible for all the tasks, big and small, that somebody else would do if we were working for a corporation. We are the receptionists, researchers, secretaries, accountants, publicists, sales staff, computer technicians, shipping clerks, janitors, and more. And oh yes, we write, too.
Writing is our number one priority. If you remember nothing else from this column, remember this: Write first. Without the writing, the rest of it means nothing. However, all of these other jobs are also important. In order to be published and read, writers must send out their work and keep track of their submissions. They must correspond with editors, agents and readers. They may also do research, design and maintain web sites, teach workshops, organize critique groups, and more.
This column will be about all those things related to the writing business that are not actually writing. Don't think of them as drudgery. That writer closed up in her office all day will run out of material and stiffen up from lack of exercise, but those of us who are out among the masses will never run dry. Even a trip to the post office can bring home a story. While waiting in line, I overhear two neighbors talking about the bear that visited their yards during the night. I watch a boy mail a package addressed to Iraq. Driving into town, I see a man with a gray beard down to his waist shuffling down the street in mismatched rags. I pass him again on the way home. Who is he? Where is he going? Where does he sleep?
In like manner, if I sit all day at a table in Sacramento selling my books, I will meet many people, some of whom will give me fresh ideas, refer me to other places I might sell my books, or become new friends. A writer needs to be out in the world gathering material so that when she sits down at her desk, she is ready. All those jobs that are not writing help make the writing happen.
If the words are flowing, if you get so involved in your writing that you don't get around to filing or researching the next story or sending that rejected manuscript back out, don't worry about it. Just write. The day will come when the flow of words is slow and stingy, and you'll be glad to have something else to do. The trick is to find a balance between writing and the necessary tasks related to writing, as well as the other necessities in life, since most of us come with families, homes, pets and other real-life distractions.
In forthcoming columns, we will look at everything but writing and find ways to streamline and organize each task so that you can do it well without giving up precious writing time. Meanwhile, I have to run to the post office.
Copyright 2005 Sue Fagalde Lick
About the Author: SUE FAGALDE LICK is a former newspaper editor turned full-time freelance writer. She has published four books, countless articles and many poems and stories. She teaches writing workshops online and at Oregon Coast Community College. Visit her web site at http://www.suelick.com.
All You Have to Do is Write? Wrong!
