Write like you mean it

I started writing like most writers do – I had an urge, a need to tell a story that had been brewing inside me. I wrote it, finished it and . . . hmmm, I had no idea what to do next. I went online and googled romance writing and discovered Romance Writers of America, a great organization that pointed me in the direction of a local chapter in Idaho.

From there I was able to attend meetings and workshops. I discovered all the weak spots in my manuscript and improved them. I searched out contests to enter. And I continued to write.

I thought my first manuscript was amazing. It wasn’t. But I got better with each story that I wrote.

At first, I wrote when I could, then as I progressed in my writerly journey, I began to set aside a time to write. Because along the way it hit me: as much as I love writing and as passionate as I am about it, I also plan to become a published author. Seems elementary doesn’t it? But being a published author means that my writing is a business. Which in turn means that I have to view it that way.

I have to network, promote myself, and spend the time necessary to write. On top of all the usual day to day living stuff we all have to deal with.

I love writing. I love seeing my stories on paper. But I also plan to make this my career, so I write like I am a published author. I have my time set aside and I write. I don’t answer the phone or check my emails. I write. I put my love, my humor and my passion into my stories and I write.

This is what I do. It’s who I am. I mean it.