So...
Imagine you're about to write your first novel. You've got an idea for a plot. You've devised a location. Your characters are beginning to grow and come to life.
But, what about the physical act of writing the book? Pen and paper or computer? Pre-plan or just let it flow?
Many readers "assume" that every author is a professional writer, that they have a clean orderly office and desk to work at, that their environment is silent and conducive to the literary arts.
Is this true? Is it even close to reality?
I am sure that there are some authors who have the luxury of such a place to work, I am also sure that many work better in a busy bustling environment, maybe sat in a coffee shop, watching the world go by for inspiration.
But how about me? Do I have an office, a den, a quiet tidy place to write? Do I have unlimited time to concentrate on my books?
I pause to catch my breath as my ribs "pop" from a bout of hysterics...
I have a laptop computer - tick that box. I have notebooks, pens and paper - tick that box. But that is as far as my "facilities" go. As I write this blog, I am sat at the dining table (not in a separate dining room with a door that could shut out the noise of family chaos, but in a living/dining room with the TV blaring away and everybody using it as a walk-through). The table is cluttered with Lego toys, the kids' homework, model unicorns and jewellery boxes (Yes - I have young children). I have to restrict myself to the farthest corner of the table - no spreading my notes into the "family zone."
Is writing my full-time job? Is it a career?
I can only wish...
My writing fits in around family life. My time is restricted severely. Weekends are a no-go-zone, as are school holidays. Evenings are "family time" so no writing there. That leaves the daylight hours, "normal" working hours. But does that mean I get 8 or 9 hours a day, 5 days a week, in order to write?
Sorry, I had to pause again to control my laughing...
No - My writing fits in around everything else. Afternoons are getting shorter by the day. I find that I have the school run to do 4 out of 5 days (for this half term), followed by babysitting, kids' homework, spellings etc. The weekly shopping needs doing. The house needs cleaning. There's the washing, ironing, assemblies... The list goes on and on, and yet it seems that these essential tasks are forgotten. They happen "out-of-sight" by the "housework fairies" (ie: me). According to my eldest, I sit at home all day watching telly...! I wish... lol.
In the FEW hours that I can scrape together a bit of free time, I try to work on my novels. But is it that simple? I think not...
Before I can even think about writing, I have to catch-up on the marketing of my already published novels. This is a never-ending task. Facebook, Twitter, Websites - everything needs updating, and new articles or comments added. Just to give an idea of the enormity, for my last novel (released only a few weeks ago), there are over 30 Facebook groups that need adverts created for on a regular basis. Add to that about 20 websites, my own website, a blog, and my own social media posts, and you begin to see that writing the book is the easy bit. Marketing is a huge consumer of time.
Once that chore is complete, then I can settle down to writing my WIP (work in progress). Having got "in-the-zone" and re-read the previous section to maintain continuity and a steady flow, I begin writing, researching, editing, proofreading (depending on the stage that the WIP has reached).
Before I know it, a quick glance at the watch screams, "school run time" and off I go, packing everything away as if I had never even started work.
Is it any wonder that books can take months, or often years, to get completed? Are we paid by the hour like any other "normal" job? Of course not. All of this is done unpaid, for the love of it. Only once the book is bought do we receive a small proportion of the purchase price (always assuming that our marketing skills are good, and that people actually know about the book in the first place).
So why do we write? Why spend all that time underappreciated, undervalued and underpaid? Well, the simple answer is that it is done not for the money, not for the fame (I'm still waiting for that to arrive), but for the love of the craft. We strive to improve with each successive book. We have stories to tell and this is our medium.
Is our effort appreciated? By some, certainly. Others might not realise the hard work and effort required (after all, books are part of the throw-away-society that we live in). If it costs less than the price of a Costa coffee to buy an E-Book, then surely there can't be much effort involved in producing it...! Or so they might think.
Does that put me off writing? NO. If one person reads, and enjoys my books, then the effort has been worth it. If that person lets me know that they have enjoyed it (by email, review, or in person etc), then better still.
Thank you to ALL who have read my books, and who (hopefully) will continue to read them in the future.
Andrew Heasman is the author of:-
THE MEMOIR SERIES consisting of three books - "Beyond the Waves: My Royal Navy Adventures"
"Single-Crewed: My Life as a Police Officer" and "Gone Diving: My Adventures Above and Below the Waves."
He is also the writer of a fictional crime thriller, "Reflex Action: A Thrilling Crime Novel."
All books are available from Amazon Worldwide (check your local Amazon store), or via his website https://ajheasman.wixsite.com/author
All are available in print and Kindle formats, and all are currently FREE to read if you are a Kindle Unlimited or Amazon Prime member.
UK readers click HERE.
US readers click HERE.