Wednesday, April 7, 2010

hard work

i've always thought this path to publishing would end when it stopped being fun or started feeling like work. there's no guarantee of a payday at the end, so you better at least be having fun along the way.

and writing is still fun. but revisions? that's hard work.

the shocking thing is - it's enjoyable work. it's difficult, frustrating, stressful, satisfying, fulfilling, entertaining WORK. and i love it. who knew?

don't get me wrong. i've always loved marking up my manuscripts with red pen:



but revising for an agent? there are high stakes involved, and i can't red-line my way through it. it requires organization and my full attention. it also requires a dedicated work space:



for me, revisions that could make or break my chance of getting an agent can't be done on my couch while watching Lost.
(also, you should never be doing ANYTHING else while watching Lost. focus people! only 5 episodes left! every second, every frame of video is critical in the countdown to the end!)

okay, back to our regularly scheduled programming.

the point is, this whole writing/revising process is still fun. but it's evolving into something better than "fun." the fact that there's "work" involved makes me feel like something i used to call a dream could actually be a reality.

so...
fun? great.
hard work? now we're getting somewhere.

5 comments:

Rebecca A. Rogers said...

It's definitely hard work, but, in the end, it's great to see the hard work pay off. :)

Susanne Winnacker said...

It's fun and work. I can't wait for the day I can call writing my work. :)

K. H. Carson said...

Love your workspace. And yes, I agree, it's hard work. I'm not doing revisions for an agent yet, (still hacking away at betas) but I totally can understand how it feels. It is work. It's hard. But that's what makes it so rewarding.

Emmychka said...

Beautiful. Now is that tea or coffee we are drinking over there? Or is soda cleverly disguised in a mug?

erinjade said...

haha! coffee. black. ;)