Wired Writer

The Odds Of Making It As A Writer

Wadding n.
1.) A small mass of soft material, often folded or rolled, used for padding, stuffing, or packing.
2.)A compressed ball, roll, or lump, as of tobacco or chewing gum.

Writing Wadding
Thanks to the Writers.com Writer's Blog, I found an interesting article on making it big in the publishing business. Greg Slominski, the interviewee of the article, sums up the odds of such success this way:"I think what's really clear," he said, "is that writing the book is the easy part. Selling it is another story altogether."

The odds of paying your mortgage and having a nice savings account from your literary vein-lettings are 1 in 380, conservatively speaking. This analysis does not deter Mr. Slominski, however. "Here's how I figure it, we're all born stark raving naked. Some of us don't advance much past that, but look at the fun we have and the STORIES we tell. That's why we don't give up. Charge!"

Mr. Slominski touches, in a sideways manner, the underlying strings in all writers' universes: no matter the successes related to the day job; no matter the love we reciprocate with our families and friends; no matter the quantity of conversation, news, and politics we ingest; something niggling deep in our gut drives us back to the keyboard and paper to tell, to explain, to extract.

Cosmologists decipher the underpinnings of the universe; priests and rabbis elucidate the elements of our souls; and writers corral the collective conscience to discern the meaning of it all. To quote Maxine Hong Kingston: "Writing orders thought. It gives meaning to life. And I create beauty and help change the atmosphere of the world."

Today's Official Writer's Word Count: 537 and still counting. Day ain't over yet...

Today's writing related issues, projects, and baggage:
Issues:
I am having technical difficulties getting my novel's template up and running. Will continue to work on it this evening.

Projects:
1.) Dragged out some old research on finding the 'sweet spot' on a baseball bat. Will run my editor comb through it and see if produces a nice pompadour of an article for Highlights For Children magazine or just a bad haircut of random words.
2.)Finish up submission for Angels on Earth 'Only Human?' section.
3.)Ideas for Guideposts For Kids Online:
------Paws, Claws, and Popcorn? Meet the Binturong!
------Cool Kids! excerpt from our local newspaper.
4.)Write 1000 words on GhostSeeker today -- and, ideally, every day until I hit the words THE END. I really want to get this baby fully birthed and out of diapers when I start on the next GhostSeeker book, part 2 of the 3 book series. Anticipated due date: October 15.

Baggage:
Let's just pull a sock out of the usual Sampsonite suitcase full of writer's angst, instead of a formal dress suit of anxiety: how will I ever make writing a full-time gig just writing the stuff I love? Paying well enough for me to quit my job, support my family, and pay into my own and my husband's retirement? Hmmm. Maybe that's a pair of socks and one underwear's worth of angst.

Non-Writing Wadding
None today. I hope to split out non-writing and writing entries more evenly in the future. Stories percolating at this time include:
Lamb drenching scandal hits my home town county fair; Cranky Old Lady Encounter #4; and finally, The Customer Who Showed Me Her Abdominal Scar.

Pressed for time and more caffeine,
Wired Writer

P.S. Note to husband: I REALLY, REALLY love you and your left brain computer skills. You have the job that brings home the bacon and allows me to work parttime and write in between.

P.P.S. Note to kids: I TOTALLY and ABSOLUTELY love and adore you both. Thank you for your patience while I write on my days off. [VISUAL: a 9 and 10 year old, standing around a cluttered desk, shifting their weight from one foot to the other and playing with the shredder while mom furiously types on the computer. "Are you done yet, Mom? Why are you still wearing your PJ's? Does that mean we're not going anywhere today? We're hungry. I can't find any socks in my drawer...."]

posted by A.M.Adams @ 8/09/2005 09:09:00 AM