This is a question people ask me all the time. My response used to be quick and easy—“I’m writing a book for authors,” or “I’m working on a book on youth mentoring,” or “I’m spending most of my time writing articles for magazines—just finished one on office politics…” Today, however, I have to think before I respond to this question.
I’m not currently working on a book. I don’t write nearly as many articles as I used to. So what am I writing? Well, I write a daily blog post. I write a lot of emails to associates, colleagues, SPAWN members, conference directors, writers/authors with questions, etc. I write an occasional speech, press release and book review. I rewrite blog posts, articles, speeches, information for the SPAWN website and my online course material. I keep up the SPAWN member list and the online Member Directory. But days and weeks sometimes go by that I don’t do any meaningful writing.
I am actually working on another book for authors. But it has been a few months since it has seen the light of day from under my “to-do” pile.
What has happened to the writing career I established so many years ago? How did my career, which was driven by my passion for writing, evolve into practically total promotion? That’s what my blog is all about, those press releases, the speeches, the articles and a lot of the SPAWN work. It all pretty much boils down to promotion.
Sure, many of these projects fulfill my passion for helping others through the crazy publishing process. And thankfully, I do get to work with other writers/authors on their projects. While I am not doing any ghostwriting right now, I do edit promising manuscripts and derive pleasure from the process.
But I’m realizing more and more that I must break free from some of the day-to-day tasks and “do as I say”—devote time to my writing. Stay posted–I’ll let you know how that goes.
Patricia Gets Published
A Google Alert came in this morning letting me know that my article on PiggyBack Book Promotion appears in the Oct 1, 2009 edition of Self Published Authors. Check it out at http://selfpublishedauthors.com/01Oct09
I Can Help You With Your Fabulous Manuscript
Do you need help with your manuscript? Let me take a look at it and determine if/how I can help you to make it more readable, give it more clarity and create a better flow through more realistic transitions, for example. I’ll check for grammatical, spelling and punctuation problems. Is your nonfiction book well organized? Does your story ring true? Does it move along at a good pace or are there places where it drags?
There’s a LOT to consider when writing either fiction or nonfiction. And it is important to have a professional look your manuscript over before publishing it or before approaching publishers or agents. While your manuscript may be as clean as a whistle (and even cliché-free), most are far from it. Many writers have some bad writing habits and a good editor/book coach, can help break them. I meet muddy writers, for example, writers who are too wordy, writers who misuse words as well as those who have trouble explaining things in simple terms. I see manuscripts where the author does way too much telling when he should be doing more showing.
If you’d like a free manuscript evaluation for either an article or fiction or nonfiction book, contact me at PLFry620@yahoo.com
Note: I will be out of town and have limited Internet access from October 8 through 18, 2009.