Writing

I just finished publishing my third historical fiction.  Deception is a continuation of the story that began with Desperado and continued through Durango.  All three books are self-published.

I have another book that is under review for publication.  It is a historical fiction telling the story of the Mormon Battalion.  I previously submitted it to two different publishers (not at the same time).  Both publishers rejected it; however, the second publisher gave me encouragement by telling me that they would publish it except for the fact that it did not fit what they believe is their reader audience.  So, I found another publisher that has done books of a similar nature.  I would have approached this particular publisher first except I know they are inundated with manuscripts and they have their own authors under contract with them already.  While hopeful, I feel the odds of this publisher picking up the book is pretty slim.  I should find out in another two to four months if it will be accepted for publication.  If they reject it I don’t know what I’ll do.  I may just self-publish it as well.  We’ll see.

Anyone who thinks that writing is easy should try it out first before making a judgment call.  In a nutshell, it is work.  It is hard work.  I can only write a few hours at a time before I have to move away from the page.  Life tends to get in the way, too.  Even in retirement I find that the demands of life get in the way.  There is always something clamoring for attention.

Each of the three books has taken about a year to write from the time the first words hit the page until the completed words showed up in print.  Even then I’m not sure that those words were entirely ready for public view.  There are mistakes, typos, and misspellings that my friends haven’t caught and spell check certainly has missed.  Readers find them.  And they sometimes tell me.  And the ego is immediately deflated.

I said that writing is work.  Thank goodness that it isn’t my job.  I think that between the two books that have been available in print I have cleared $200 at the most.  If you count the 100 copies that I gave away to family and close friends, I’ve lost a ton of money.  But, as Susan says, I’m not doing it to make money.  I’m doing it as a hobby.  It has turned into an expensive hobby.

I am tempted to stick with short stories and essays like Friday Friends, Tender Mercies Tuesday, and Defining Moments Monday that I put up on Facebook.  People tell me privately that they like my writing, but it is so disappointing to see that they don’t take the time to hit the Like button on Facebook.  And I can tell how many people check out my blog.  There aren’t many, which makes me think that I should simply discontinue writing anything here.  But, here again, Susan says I do it as a hobby.