Is it a good day?

A Chapter on Writing-Pleasure, Pain, and What it Takes

Will it be a good day? I won’t know for a while after I wake up, but I always intend it to be.

On a good day, maybe I’ve chewed on a piece for long enough for it to unravel and roll off my fingers from that awkward interface of the keyboard. A thousand words? No problem. It could be a new chapter, or a section that needed editing. It could be a newsletter that I’ve been putting off for a few weeks.

A good day might be one that starts with a cheerful letter from a reader saying how much they enjoyed reading my first book. Or even an invitation to do a book launch, or give a presentation to a writing class or group. Maybe there was a phone call with my marketing guru who fed me full of ideas and hope for getting to the next level with my sales, and helped me get my creative juices going again.

When it’s a good day, I get up early, light a fire, have my coffee, and can hardly wait to re-open the documents I need to in order to get down to work. I’ll postpone my breakfast indefinitely and let the writing take me. Not that it always flows onto the page like melted butter, but when there’s lumps, they smooth out.

An hour passes, maybe two, and my stomach says it’s past time to eat. With luck, the sun is streaming in, and puffs of smoke are rising from the bay as if they come from cauldrons just below the surface. The lake is full of magic as the wisps dance and swirl and drift together in ways that make my heart glad. The writing for the day is done, and the day is fine enough to walk out, maybe connect with a friend or two, play some music, cook, and eat good food.

And then, there are days that aren’t so good. A chapter I sent off to my editor comes back with stern comments. She knows I am a better writer. Why am I rushing through the details? I sigh, and prepare to get back to something that I thought might be finished. Maybe I can’t wrap my head around the newsletter that must be done so I can try to sell more copies of my first book. I am a long way from breaking even and making back my investment, and I wonder if I will ever sell more than a few hundred books. Food tastes bad and I eat anyway. The day is grey, cold, and windy, and no one calls or sends me any messages. I don’t feel in the slightest bit creative. I spend the afternoon watching bad movies until I can make dinner, watch more movies, and go to bed. There’s always tomorrow, right?

But that’s the thing. I never know if it’s going to be a good day, or a so-so day, or a downright lousy day. And each day holds at least some promise of goodness, so I go to bed with hope, and some determination to get enough sleep to give the next morning my best shot. My characters are waiting in the wings until I write them on and off stage. And once they are there, on my very best days, they take charge and write their own parts. It’s pure magic, and I’m in love with the magic.

How do others do it? My process will be different from yours, and from all the others, though you may recognize some parts of it. Me? I sent off forty submissions of “Light in the Harbour” to prospective publishers and got turned down by all. Sometimes it was more than a year before I even got the response. By then, I’d decided to self-publish, something I had sworn I wouldn’t do. But I wanted to see the thing in print, and so I pursued it until it landed in my hot little hands. It feels good. It looks and smells just like a book. That was, and is, a thrill.

Were there setbacks? Oh my, yes. I chose not to use a proof-reader, since I’d already paid so much to my editor, and I knew that layout and printing costs were going to be substantial. Proof-readers seemed to want a king’s ransom to do their work. Sure, I knew they would find things that needed to be fixed, but I thought I could do it.

I was wrong. Once it was published and out there, a kind reader took the time to send me, line by line, all the mistakes. (Thanks, Ada, that was important, and humbling.) There were four typewritten pages of errors. And now, I’ve spent the time and the money to make them right in the upcoming 2^nd edition, which will be in my hands soon. I learned a lesson. Some people find the mistakes, they are uniquely suited to the work, and, if you can possibly afford it, use them. Save yourself the embarrassment, and make it as perfect as you can.

Now I am selling books, wearing a hat that fits somewhat awkwardly on my curly grey-haired head. I try to make it look easy, but to tell the truth, I’d rather be writing. So, I am also writing, and editing. It’s part of the process. We write, we sell, and we write some more. Sometimes it’s enough.

On a good day, the sun shines, and then, there’s that phone call that brings a tidbit of news that keeps me buoyed, hopeful for the miracle, the success, and the sales. And the words come, leaking out from my fingers, and flow smoothly across the page. I am making my beloved characters available to you, to enjoy in your time, when you are ready for them. And I love it.

Thanks for reading!