Writing Wrongs

March 13, 2007

It didn�t hit us Sunday; it didn�t hit us yesterday, but man, did the time change hit us this morning. The kids were so droopy. Andrew sat there on his bed, shoes in his lap, and stared. I hope they both have a reasonable day. Makes me wish I were four and could pull out my little cot after lunch and take a nap like the Marvelous Miss B. gets to do.


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A post over on Marianne�s blog inspired these somewhat sleepy thoughts about writing and publishing:

Many people (even terrific people we love) dismiss the idea of a writing apprenticeship. Because, you know, anyone can write. Right? The process of writing and rewriting doesn�t make sense to them. They see the finished product on bookstore shelves, but nothing that went into turning that book into a finished product. Certainly, those words flowed from the author�s fingertips and onto the page.

What�s that saying? Good writing looks effortless. But it isn�t. Often, I think when someone witnesses that effort and doesn�t see recompense they start to wonder. Why does the writer bother? Certainly if she were any good, she�d be published by now, making more money by now, famous by now.

And so on.

Sometimes explaining how publishing works to someone unfamiliar with it doesn�t work--it only makes them think you�re crazy for trying. The odds aren�t very good. Neither is the pay. And even when you make it, it�s not a sure thing.

They point to some �wunderkind� who took the publishing world by storm. More often than not, there are several years behind all those overnight successes. Again, that�s the part most people don�t see. It isn�t flaunted because it�s far sexier to be an overnight success.

The profession of book writing makes horse racing seem like a solid, stable business.

Or so said John Steinbeck. And that was back in the �good old days� of publishing.

So why do it?

That�s a topic for a whole other blog entry.

Charity Tahmaseb wrote at 11:18 a.m.

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