Today is a great day. I get to fly off into the sunset…scratch that, I’ll actually be heading east and will have a better chance of watching the moon materialize in the night sky. Regardless, it is still a great day.
DH and I are going on a much needed trip. I have my Kindle, a few swimsuits and my DH. What else does a good vacation need?
Right. Peace of mind.
Thankfully I have that as well. My in-laws (two of the most amazing grandparents ever) are coming down to stay with the kids while we frolick on the beach. The emergency phone numbers are written down. Schedules are printed. Dates and times of events are laid out in an orderly fashion. Closets have been organized, the house cleaned and the cupboards full. My check list is done.
Ever wonder why we put so much effort into vacation plans and barely any into our writing careers? I used to write simply to appease my muse. However, the writing community has encouraged me to take a much more proacrive approach. My career path is no longer as distant as the Carribean is from Minnesota.
With our crunched economy and the down-sizing of the publishing industry, I have started considering my writing as a whole and the impact of everything I do on my futre career. Due to technology, writers have to weigh their words today to keep them from nipping us in the butt like a swarm of sand fleas five years from now.
Gone are the days of simply prepping our manuscripts. Now e have to prep ourselves. We have to set out on a journey with clear destinations in mind (picture book, non-fiction, horror, romance, big house, little house), all the while hammering planks into our platforms to support our choices. In short, we have to come to agents and editors prepped and ready to go.
One can no longer book a flight out of country on a whim. Without the forethought of securing a passport, we will never board the plane. Likewise, without some sort of plan in place, we will never succeed in seeing our work on book store shelves.
Prepare, oh writer friends, prepare. Research your destination and lay the ground work for a smooth and worry free vacation. Let your writing journey be a pleasure cruise…
Do you have clear cut goals beyond “getting published”? Have you written a marketing plan or anything else concrete? What have you done to build your platform and give yourself agent appeal?
I will miss you all while I’m gone, but will return to catch up on my blog and yours on February 8th. Until then, keep writing!
Words from the Woods 