The Career-Focused Writer

The February edition of the RWA Romance Writer’s Report’s Presidential message by Terry McLaughlin stated a renewed emphasis on “focusing on the fundamentals, building the cornerstone of our organization: the career focused writer.” She went on to ask the following question: “Do your romance writing efforts qualify as a career or a hobby?” Why? Because as she emphasized, you may be asked to prove to the IRS that you are career-focused and actively seeking to make a profit from your endeavors.

That’s great if you’re already published and making an income as a published author, but how do you go about proving you’re a career-focused writer if you’re still unpublished, or PRO, or published but still haven’t earned PAN status? More importantly, how do YOU prove to YOURSELF that you are a career-focused writer?

Easy. You behave like you’re already published.

That’s right. Behave like you’re already published and making an income from your writing efforts.

How? Well, I’m not an IRS expert and I’ve only recently signed a publishing contract with an e-publisher so you can bet the only money I’m earning right now is a quarter per goal met. The quarters add up, but they really don’t constitute an income.

However, the quarters do constitute A COMMITMENT TO PROFESSIONALISM.

Yup, you read it right. LONG before I signed a contract, I made a commitment to treat myself as a professional and to treat my writing as a job. Period. Here is a list of some of the things I did BEFORE I signed the dotted line with my publisher.

1. I had a writing schedule.

2. I committed to writing 6 days a week every week except for scheduled vacations.

3. I joined the RWA, local chapters and attended RWA meetings.

4. I took online writing workshops as well as career-oriented workshops.

5. I attended regional and national writing conferences.

6. I set clear and defined goals: daily, weekly, yearly, and more.

7. I entered writing contests, which gave me clear deadlines.

8. I queried.

9. I pitched at conferences.

10. I followed up on all requested materials.

11. I kept a spreadsheet of all my queried responses, targeted agencies and publishing           houses.

12. I volunteered for my local chapters but ONLY IF THAT TIME DID NOT     INTERFERE WITH MY WRITING TIME. This is important. Writing must come first.

13. I networked with authors and agents and editors, etc.

14. I tracked my business expenses.

15. I had professional business cards and used them at all events where applicable.

This is a short list of what I did to prove to the government that I was and always will be a career-focused writer. And guess what I’m going to do now that I have a publishing contract?

All of the above with minor changes based on where I am in my career as a writer. Are you still not published, floundering on Facebook and Twitter with your writing friends, and making writing the last thing you plan for instead of the first thing you plan to do? Then I issue a challenge to you. Take your writing career seriously in 2014 and make it a priority because you are a CAREER-FOCUSED WRITER.

What are some of the things you do as an unpublished writer to remain focused on attaining your goals?

Balancing Writing with Promotion

I've had a bit of a taste about what it will be like when I become published. After entering the Mills & Boon New Voices competition with HER PRISONER OF LOVE, I learned that the rankings DO matter if there is a tie. The person with the most "votes" wins the tie. I had a feeling this would be the case because being able to promote yourself, get your name out there, is important in the publishing world. If I can't get people to come to look at my book, then I won't sell any books.

Confession: I am not the type who can sell products like home based sales for makeup, jewelry or cooking implements. I don't want people to think I am contacting them ONLY because I want to sign them up for a sale.

I had to get over that mentality rather quickly after I posted my FIRST CHAPTER. The votes will matter, might matter in the M&B contest. I had to show the people there that I could generate some interest in my entry. So I stepped out onto the ledge and leapt into the self-promotion world.

I have a large network, but not a HUGE one. First I emailed friends who aren't writers with my link. A few of them came to vote. Yay. I posted the link onto Facebook a few times. A few more votes. I finally asked if I could put my link on my writing chapter's local social online loops. They said yes. I posted the link and asked for support. A few more votes. I posted it on my GIAM loop. I posted it on this blog. I linked this blog to my Twitter account, my FB account. I direct messaged people on my FB friend list again with the link to my chapter.

Confession: All this makes me very uncomfortable, but I have to step beyond my comfort zone. When I get published, I need to utilize every tool I have at  my disposal to promote my writing.

Well, all this is well and good. But it is eating into my writing time. This is not good. I have to find the balance and spend time doing both. Instead, I am becoming obsessed with the checking the site for votes. There is a gal with over 300 votes on it. I do not have 300 votes. I don't even  have a 100 votes. I have less than 40 votes. But I am in the top 100 in the rankings. I don't know if that means anything. Probably not. But that's okay. I am trying.

But I also need to walk away from the contest, the self-promotion, and the discussion to write. This is a good lesson for me. How will I balance my days in the future. How will I juggle all the responsibilities. My good writing friend, Amy Atwell, recently went from unpubbed to pubbed with her book LYING EYES/Carina Press. She's the best and on her way to a fabulous, well-deserved and hard won publishing career. She's juggling far more than I am, yet she's managing to get it all done. I will have to sit down with her at the Moonlight and Magnolia's Conference to ask about her day and how she schedules her life.

I have determined that the best way for me to write is to write first.

Confession: This is easier said than done. I work at a computer where there is easy access to the Internet. Oh, how tempting it is to check the competition site, to post a comment, to encourage someone to continue their writing journey, to ... oh oh....

So what have I done this morning? Did I write first after my darling Dowager Feline Clancy meowed and woke me up at 4:30AM to feed her and give her love time? Nope. I sat at this computer and FB messaged all my friends and asked them to come rank me. I replied to the social loops regarding my entry. I checked the Mills & Boon website and saw I had two more votes. Thanks! I blogged about my balancing act. I couldn't get my head into the pages.

But I will. I have my set of pages printed to read through and hard copy edit. Then I am taking my computer OFF LINE for two hours and beginning my edits on the file. Today is a bit chopped up, but that's okay. I am in a new territory. I am feeling my way around and learning about this world through a fun competition.

I am learning how important it will be to find the balance BEFORE I become an AFTER when I get the CALL.