Making a Literary Life: Cool
As the dog days of summer turn cool (at least in these parts), we'd like to reflect on what's cool about the writing life. We've kvetched about the heartache when the words won't come, the angst of getting an agent (or not), selling a manuscript (or not), but let's talk the good stuff. What's your favorite aspect of this journey?
Lisa Marnell
Lisa is away, but will catch up next week.
Amy MacKinnon
Last night, I sat in my family room surrounded by boxes and boxes of Tethered. Why, you ask. Well, rock star Random House sales rep Sherry Vritz asked if I'd be willing to sign copies for bookstores that requested them. So they were shipped to me first, I spent several hours gratefully signing them all, and will then ship to them to fabulous IndieBound book shops. Many thanks to The Mysterious Bookshop in New York City, The Poisoned Pen in Scottsdale, AZ, and Murder By the Book in Houston, TX. Very cool.
Hannah Roveto
What's cool for me is that writing was a life I used to live completely in my head. Not only the writing part, but the life part. I'd doodle, I'd lurch, and I would always let "real" life push it aside. Writing is a life I live now, and yes, there are still the job and the kids and the house and... yet... every day, I write, and now there are goals, milestones, and accomplishments.
4 comments:
What's cool about writing for this reader? Getting to know you -- the real individuals who share their feelings and thoughts in the written word.
Enjoy your worlds!
The cool thing for me this week was stumbling upon piles of university essays and realizing that in the last ten years my writing voice has matured with age!
In one of John Updike's Bech novels, the character does a book signing much like this, but the publisher sent him to a Caribbean Island for the task. You should hold out for that next time.
The feeling is mutual Larramie. This is one of the best aspects of living the writer's life! And it's true, Tara -- hadn't thought about that realization that yes, there has been real progress. It's such a great feeling to recognize it. And Amy, I think Paul is onto something. Need three people -- or more -- to carry your bags?
Hannah
Post a Comment