I guess I’ve lived long enough to learn a few lessons. One of them has come to light this week—that when one thing changes many things change.
As you know, we are in the midst of a big transition here at SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network). We are getting a new website and new officers all at the same time. And you might be surprised at the things that are changing as a result. Nothing seems to fit where it was before. Practically every detail of policy and process is changing before our eyes.
If you’ve recently started pursuing a writing career or you have decided to write a book, you are probably experiencing something quite similar. You’re making lifestyle changes. You may be hanging out with different people (your former friends don’t understand a writer’s passion and challenges). Your paycheck may have diminished—hopefully temporarily.
You’re on a different plane. You find yourself living inside your characters part of the time or you see the whole world through a researcher’s eyes. Some might consider you to be obsessed with the subject or time-period of your book, or simply the process of writing.
Your schedule has changed, your thought processes have changed and so have your sleeping and eating habits. You’re losing your tan and developing repetitive stress syndrome. You’re discovering that writing can be all encompassing. And, if you’re like most writers, you are loving it!
I’m off to conduct a workshop on publishing today. So that’s where my head is. I’ll report my experience in tomorrow’s blog post.