A couple weeks ago I completed my first paid writing job. The amount of anxiety, excitement, terror, and pride it filled me with was overwhelming. When I turned the first draft in, I fully expected the editor to hate it. "Why did I hire a blogger to do a writer's job?!!", I was sure he would say. Instead, he had nothing but kind words for me, and it made me feel like a million bucks.
The money, although much needed and appreciated, was really just icing on the cake. It felt so good to turn in something I was proud of...something that made me, for the first time, seriously believe that writing was a possibility, if not to make a living off of, then at least as more than a means to explore my psyche.
When the job was completed, the editor (who was beyond awesome) thanked me in a nice email. In the "P.S." he wrote "Have you ever thought of writing for young adults? Just a hunch, but I bet you'd be very good at it. " Hmmm...no, I hadn't thought about that, but once he mentioned it, I couldn't get it out of my head. He gave me the names of a couple books along those lines, so I'm going to check them out at the library.
I have this job that could be either really boring, or a really great way to use my time creatively, but still have the security of a steady paycheck. I can read, write, research all day...or I can spend eight hours reading other people's blogs, gossip, checking my email, and feeling like I'm wasting my time.
I have no idea how to get published, or if anything I write would be worth publishing. In the mean time, while I figure this stuff out, it doesn't hurt to just start writing...right? So that's what I'm going to do. I've even made a chain.
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8 comments:
Ahem, not to toot my own horn, but why do you think I've been trying to get you out to dinner for months now!? So now that you actually think writing long-form is a good idea, can we make this happen already?
Dorian - Haha! Why the hell have you been so vague??? Yes, lets do it.
i know a young adult librarian AND a young adult novelist. i must introduce!
Because like a good poker player, I never show my hand until the last second :). But now that the cat is out of the bag, email or IM me and we'll set it up.
I'd recommend committing to writing a certain number of pages or for a certain amount of time everyday. Mark committed to 30 minutes a day and it worked out well from him (30 minutes would usually turn into an hour.) He finished his script. Thinking of things in weekly terms sets yourself up for procrastination. Also, two short stories a week is insanely ambitious. You should read The War of Art, I'll loan it to you.
Kathy - Oooh! Very interesting!
Dorian - Totes!
Micah - Hmmm...very good points. I tend to think of a subject, and just start writing, instead of making any sort of first draft, or even changing much after I get it all down, which is why I think it would take me less time to write...but I like the "30 minutes a day" better. And yes, lemme borrow that book.
Also, sure is!
... you go girl!!!!!!
(Whose Dorian and where's the poker game?)
Congrats Georgia! :)
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