Pen. Paper. Cup of coffee. A quiet corner with a view. 

When I fantasized about becoming a writer, that’s all I thought I needed. A writer writes (right)? What else could there possibly be to it? Each day I would dedicate a full eight productive hours to let my characters speak and spring into action, fully realized, their fates ready to be told in perfectly plotted prose from hooky introduction to satisfying resolution. I would type “The End” as my adorable glasses slid down my nose. I would press “Send” and deliver my word-perfect first draft to my magically-summoned literary agent, my instant classic of a manuscript needing no proofreading or revisions before being rushed into publication, debuting at the top of all bestseller lists. Fame ensues.

Also, I would be wearing a pink tutu (Thank you, Carrie Bradshaw).

Yeah….not so much. 

This past year, the first year in which I actively dedicated myself to writing as a career, not simply a hobby, I have been overwhelmed by the amount of things I did not know about being a writer. Here are my top takeaways for other aspiring authors-in-waiting, the things I wish someone would have told me before I embarrassed myself by ever thinking this might be easy.

1)Pen, paper and some characters doing stuff. That’s writing a book. Being a writer in today’s world is a whole lot more complicated. 

For instance, there’s:
Writing. Revising. Developmental editing. Writing, revising, line editing, revising, beta readers, revising, proofreading, revising…. You get the picture. Rinse and repeat as necessary.

There’s researching literary agencies and building a list of agents you’d like to work with. There’s writing a kick-ass query letter, synopsis, and pitch and tailoring your submission to each agent on your list. There’s the audacious hope and relentless agony of waiting for a reply.

There’s building your social media presence, which is similar to walking into an already past-capacity bar on New Year’s Eve where the music’s blaring and everyone is shouting, and you’re just trying to find your friends and order a drink.

There’s creating and launching a website and learning how to manipulate and layout content.
There’s writing content to lay out.

Head shots and haircuts and Photoshop, oh my…

I know there’s a ton more to it than that. This is just how much I know about now, because this is where I am in the process right now, in January 2021. I can only handle knowing enough for today. I can’t get bogged down worrying about what I don’t know about tomorrow. I’ll find out when I get there.

2) The next thing I learned was that my definition of “writer” was waaaaay too narrow. A writer doesn’t just write books. Being a writer means just that:
You.
Are.
Writing.

Always.

Every day you’ll create a new bit of writing. Whether it is a 240-character tweet, or prizing out the emotional arc of a pivotal scene in your latest manuscript, or posting a comment to a member of the writing community, each day presents a fresh opportunity to put words together in new and interesting ways.

Sometimes all the writing you’ll do in a day is in planning what you’re going to write about tomorrow. Taking time off is good, and often necessary, but the fact is, there’s no one else to do the work for you. There’s no one else available to pull those words from your brain and arrange them into stories, or tweets, or comments.

So, go ahead and write. Make word count breakdowns and content calendars and to-do lists. Make outlines and emotional arcs and mind maps. Use prompts and timers and sticky notes and voice-to-text. It’s words on a page. It’s building the muscles. It’s showing up.

It’s all writing. And you and I are writers.

3) Putting yourself '‘out there” is scary.

Growing up, I thought I wanted to be an actress. I even majored in theater for a year before realizing that I was uncomfortable with that level of scrutiny. But writing seemed different, a safe, solitary endeavor. I could write the words, and my book would do all the talking.

But being a writer is a business, one in which you are both the CEO and the product. To be successful means needing support, and that means doing the uncomfortable work of going public with your dreams, and risking that any failures will also be visible.

So here I am.

I balked for a long time before joining Twitter and Instagram. I still giggle nervously when I use the word “blog” or “newsletter.” In sharing the process of my journey to publication I alternate between fear of rejection (both of my manuscript and myself) and brazen self-confidence. I robustly platform, even as I struggle with the dreaded impostor syndrome (Who am I to tell anyone how to do anything? I wrote much of my first book in the car waiting to pick up my kids, for goodness sake). I’ll review something I wrote last week and marvel at the way the words flow. Then I’ll read the next sentence and realize I’ve spelled my own name wrong (true story).

It’s scary to let people in. Happily, the writing community is full of people who sincerely want other authors to succeed, and are gracious with their advice and encouragement. I’ve learned it is a safe space to speak up for myself. I also have the support of my family and friends, who have been cheering me on since I started talking about writing a book more than twenty years ago.

Which brings us to the last thing I’ve learned about writing:

4) There is no way out but through.

This is something my mother used to tell me when I faced something difficult (She also told me to eat my vegetables, which, no. Ugh. However, on this topic, she was correct). The only way through the hard part is to Get. Through. It.

So how do you get through? How do you follow this complicated, amorphous dream across an ever-changing landscape toward its as-yet-unseen finish line?

Write: A word. A sentence. A comment. An email asking for help. A review of a debut author making their own dreams a reality.

Read: How-tos and memoirs and craft books. Debuts and classics and everything in between. Reviews, TBR lists, websites, tweets, posts, and pins.

Talk: To friends, family, community members, other authors, readers, neighbors, anyone who isn’t yet sick of hearing about your “process.”

Listen: To friends, family, community members, experts who know how to do what you cannot, to your own inner voice. Everyone has something to teach.

Keep moving forward. Going through. 

Deciding to become a writer was an act of pulling back the curtain and realizing that this thing that I love is so much more complicated than I ever dreamed. It’s a final exam I didn’t study for. It’s a country where I don’t speak the language. Every step forward uncovers a new wealth of things I didn’t know I did not know.

So despite being late to the game, I’ll keep going. Despite the Grand Canyon-sized gaps in my knowledge about the craft of writing, and the T-Rex arm length of my social media outreach, and the New Year’s Eve social media parties, and the three-dogs-in-an-overcoat reveal of what being a writer really is, I will keep on writing and reading and learning and listening. 

And believing. 

I hope to meet my goals this year - find an agent, land a book deal. That’s what I choose to believe and the intention I’m working toward. But who knows? Perhaps this year will be about character building and adding exposition to my origin story. Maybe this time next year I’ll still be at the back of the pack. That’s okay. I will still be there- in that race and on that road.

So if you’re there too, wave and say hi when you see me. I’ll smile and wave back.

You’ll know me by my pink tutu.