Writing Myths: Work and Writing

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

I once heard a writer say that it was a danger sign when you start calling your writing “work”. That writing should be fun and something we look forward to each day.

I get where the writer was coming from. And I think most writers do start with a true love of writing. The creative process can be fun. It’s often fun. But it’s definitely not always fun, at least for me, and I think for most of us.

But the thing that troubles me the most is that statement discounts the fact that writing, at least for those of us who are doing it either part-time or full-time, is also a business. And that business is work.

Most of my day is spent on the business of writing. That might be formatting translations, placing orders for covers, communicating with my editorial team, updating my website, running ads, or reading industry articles to make sure I’ve got the latest information on best practices for selling books.

If we don’t treat what we do as a job, if we don’t call it work, if we speak of it to others as a hobby or minimize it in some ways, we’re opening the door for others not to take it seriously.

My family and friends always ask me when they call if I’m in the middle of anything and if they should call me back. They respect my time and what I do because I respect it, myself.

That being said, I do try to remember to put the fun in writing. If days go by and I’m not having fun (feeling delight over a bit of dialogue, enjoying tweaking a draft), it’s a sign that I might be burning out. That’s when I make sure to take time to fill my writing well.

I’m curious to hear how writing feels to you most of the time? Work? Fun? A balance? How do you refer to your writing when you talk about it with non-writers?

Is Writing Work? Should It Be?
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Image by Karolina Grabowska from Pixabay

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