As I'm a sucker for quotes about the craft that has provided me with an ultimate array of contradicting emotions--fulfillment, disappointment, anger, vindication, happiness, and depression--today's quotes are a little less inspirational and more applicable to my own personal journey.
"If writers were good businessmen, they'd have too much sense to be writers."--Irvin S. Cobb
Writers today are expected to campaign (yes, I said campaign) for their books well before they hit the desks of agents let alone publication (which makes me wonder what the heck agents are for). When I first began writing, I naively thought the mere act of putting fingers to keyboard was all you had to do (I know, I know, silly newb). Now, it's become brutally apparent that, when one becomes a writer, they also must put on the hat of an editor, entrepreneur, publicist, globetrotter, researcher, marketing analyst, negotiator and, in some cases, pariah. In fact, there is very little time left to actually write which makes me ponder how much the craft has changed since the age of Jules Verne--before there was such a thing as social networking sites. The beautiful age when an author could just write and not have to go through all the unnecessary rigmarole.
What it boils down to is that writers have a lot of balls to juggle, but for those of us whose passion and very being is contained within the written word, it's worth keeping those balls up in the air (that's what she said).
"Writing is not a profession but a vocation of unhappiness."--Georges Simonen
Like those quotes of my previous blog, this quote should have a link for Zoloft provided after it. Unfortuately, I do have to admit there is a grain of truth to it. As a writer, I bear my soul in my work (which is the way it should be). This means everything I'm afraid to show in public is exposed in the most vulnerable means possible and then sent for ridicule by agents, editors, publishing companies and, of course, readers. So far, I've only been to the agent stage and, believe me, that rejection felt personal. Even though they tell you not to feel that way, it's almost impossible not to. I liken it to getting your heart broken for the first time. It's unpleasant and blindsides you enough that it causes you to completely re-evaluate yourself, your work and whether you're in over your head in life itself. So, yes, writing can be a vocation of unhappiness, but like dating, if you stick with it long enough, you'll eventually find your happy ending.
"If writers were good businessmen, they'd have too much sense to be writers."--Irvin S. Cobb
Writers today are expected to campaign (yes, I said campaign) for their books well before they hit the desks of agents let alone publication (which makes me wonder what the heck agents are for). When I first began writing, I naively thought the mere act of putting fingers to keyboard was all you had to do (I know, I know, silly newb). Now, it's become brutally apparent that, when one becomes a writer, they also must put on the hat of an editor, entrepreneur, publicist, globetrotter, researcher, marketing analyst, negotiator and, in some cases, pariah. In fact, there is very little time left to actually write which makes me ponder how much the craft has changed since the age of Jules Verne--before there was such a thing as social networking sites. The beautiful age when an author could just write and not have to go through all the unnecessary rigmarole.
What it boils down to is that writers have a lot of balls to juggle, but for those of us whose passion and very being is contained within the written word, it's worth keeping those balls up in the air (that's what she said).
"Writing is not a profession but a vocation of unhappiness."--Georges Simonen
Like those quotes of my previous blog, this quote should have a link for Zoloft provided after it. Unfortuately, I do have to admit there is a grain of truth to it. As a writer, I bear my soul in my work (which is the way it should be). This means everything I'm afraid to show in public is exposed in the most vulnerable means possible and then sent for ridicule by agents, editors, publishing companies and, of course, readers. So far, I've only been to the agent stage and, believe me, that rejection felt personal. Even though they tell you not to feel that way, it's almost impossible not to. I liken it to getting your heart broken for the first time. It's unpleasant and blindsides you enough that it causes you to completely re-evaluate yourself, your work and whether you're in over your head in life itself. So, yes, writing can be a vocation of unhappiness, but like dating, if you stick with it long enough, you'll eventually find your happy ending.
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