Getting the business!

I have come to the realization that being a writer is not all a comfortable sweater, a warm drink, a computer, and you alone with your thoughts gleefully creating the best work ever written.

Being a writer means you are a business.  The CEO, the boss, the manager, the middle manager, the managees, the workers, the scut workers, the publicity firm,and most assuredly the custodial staff.  And there is so much more that you have ever imagined that will take your time a way from the actual writing. 

A writing career is the perfect example of the old cartooned balancing act.  Picture the balancing act photo of a person standing on a long board atop a rolling cylinder. I would have thought that keeping your balance among your writer's duties was the main goal of a career.  I now know it is simply getting both ends of the board into the air, because there is so much more weight on the business and publication end (ISBN's, Blogs, Betas, Copyrights, Facebook, Twitter, Blog tours, conferences, contests, writing groups, appearances, agents, retreats, formatting...) that your writing literally is left up in the air sometimes.  This past weekend at a writers retreat, the published authors explained that seventy-five percent of their professional time is spent on activities that don't include writing.

Daunting to someone who is still trying to get craft down and their writing in good enough shape to send out.  I can see why some writers just give up or refuse to acknowledge business concerns.  The temptation would be strong to go all Thoreau and spend your time in the cabin by the pond.

Still, even with all of the requirements of the a successful writing career many writers do find a way to balance their demands and enjoy what they do.

As a beginner, I have been spending a great deal of time analyzing what is my best use of time.  Right now, I am going to the garage to look for a long board and a sturdy cylinder.  That way I can get some exercise and improve my balance while I do all of this learning.

Or I can use the board to as a club to help me get motivated.