EIGHT DAYS A WEEK

Unlike a nine to five job, writing is a twenty-four/seven gig and it doesn't matter if it is your profession or your dream job.  A writer is always writing and never really takes a vacation which is why writers seldom retire.  They can't afford to.

Unless your surname is Grisham or Higgins-Clark, you simply do not have the luxury to sit back and wait for your royalty checks to roll in.  You write and you keep writing, no matter how big or small the job is.  There may not be the stability or the financial reward of a conventional job, but that's okay.  Thankfully, I have an understanding and supportive spouse.

I used to have a nine to five, well an eight to three really.  I was an elementary school teacher.  While I enjoyed my time in the classroom, I didn't love it.  I love to write which is the difference.  A teacher's school year was 185 days where I live and it's not good when you start the countdown in September.

Even though I do not take off for holidays or weekends, I thoroughly enjoy my time at the typewriter and it doesn't matter what I'm working on.  I love it whether it is putting together news posts for my first free-lance job or penning the latest chapter in my Cape May mystery.  The wonderful thing about writing is that even when you are not actually writing, you are thinking of ideas.

Recently, I saw an interview with the late Maeve Bincy, one of my favorite authors.  She was talking about how a writer's goal should be to write five pages a day and to stick to that goal everyday.  Her point was that if you follow through before you know it, you will have a book and she's right.

I also remember a piece of advice my father gave me way back when.  It was simple.  He said make sure you pick a job you enjoy because you will be doing it everyday.  Then he added that not many people get that opportunity and he's correct.  Many people toil at jobs or careers they hate because they have to.

Now that I decided to work where my heart is I intend to stick with it, eight days a week.  Publishing is like the lottery, "you have to be in it to win it."