When Authors Don’t Write
Edith/Maddie here on a cold and rainy writing day north of Boston.
Wait, you say. This post’s title says when authors DON’T write. So what gives?
Well, that’s the thing. Authors do so many things that don’t include the creative writing of books or short stories. Don’t get me wrong. I spent the morning yesterday writing a new scene in Poisonous Pour, the 3rd Cece Barton novel, and I’m doing the same thing today, as is my practice every day (unless I’m on Grammy duty, in which case my entire focus is rightly on the most adorable toddler in the known universe).
So, what else do authors do besides write new words or fix the ones they’ve written? Here are a few of the things on my list lately:
Pull together a silent auction basket for Left Coast Crime.
My foodie grab bag is pretty much done. All I have to figure out is a basket or something to hold all the items, a holder I can easily fit in my suitcase.
2. Scone Cold Dead releases April 1, and I still have three or four guest blog posts to write in the next two weeks. Gulp. I need to start chipping away at those. I’ll be on Writers Who Kill on March 23, on Criminal Minds on March 27, on Jungle Red Writers on release day, and over at Drus Book Musings on April 7.
Also a release event is a quick Facebook party on March 30 that I’ll share with great author pal Leslie Karst, because we share the April 1 book birthday! But setting up the party event is another item on my to-do list. Gulp #2.
3. I also have a short story I want to submit to Snakeberry: Best New England Short Stories, which has a deadline of March 31. I have a tale drafted but I know it needs polishing. Gulp #3. I haven’t promised anyone a story, but it’s a premier annual anthology I always at least try to place a short story in. My first published short crime fiction was in the second year of the collection, published by the original Level Best Books back in 2004. You can grab a $.99 ebook of “Yatsuhashi for Lance” here or on Amazon.
4. And then I have the dreaded taxes to pull together. I hire a CPA to actually figure out the numbers, but I need to pull together all my business expenditures and figure out which category it goes in. Tomorrow afternoon my kitchen table will be littered with credit card statements, W-9 forms, trip and mileage records, charitable contribution acknowledgements, and receipts. I am not a person who stays organized during the year other than stuffing receipts in a folder. Gulp #4.
This is very much an author task. If I weren’t self-employed as an author with a home office, my taxes would be simple and straightforward — but I am, and they’re not. And because I’m driving to New Jersey for two Kensington author events next weekend (see my Appearances tab for details), and I’m flying to Denver for Left Coast Crime two days after I get home, I need to submit all my tax info before I leave town. I hope to see you at one or more of those events!
5. Finally (well, probably not finally, but it is for this post), I do try to stay healthy despite a job that has me pinned to my screen for hours on end. I use a standing desk, which helps me stay upright and mildly active and is much better for my back. I also schedule in time to walk at least 11,000 steps, and I take a gentle balance class online twice a week. I consider being that active a requirement of the job.
Those are a few of the things that go into being an author. Some bring me joy, some don’t, but they’re part of the job. I try to make plenty of lists and set myself calendar reminders so nothing slips off the cliff into oblivion.
Also, we Wicked Authors know we’ve been rather AWOL lately. We’re all going through a lot personally and are finding our way gingerly to new ways to continue this blog. We apologize for our absence and thank our regular readers for your loyalty. Sending hugs!
Readers: What are some tangential tasks you have to do as part of your main occupation or retirement? Are they hard to pull off, and if so, how do you manage?
