We're looking for a place to move to in another county in NC, closer to my husband's new job. Meanwhile, he's staying two and a half hours away during the week and coming home on weekends. He hates it. He claims that we have to move as soon as possible because he doesn't like being away from us all week.
Meanwhile, I'm here with four kids by myself. It actually isn't so bad, well, it would be better if school was still in but it is what it is. I discovered a lot about myself since this entire thing with hubs being away every night started.
For one thing, I can run this house alone if need be. There might be a lot of screaming and cursing going on but, shit gets done.
It's also been pretty nice being alone at night. Once the kids are all in bed. I have the TV to myself if I want. I can go get a shower without being interrupted every two minutes. I can actually go sit down at my computer and write entire chapters at a time with no interruptions. It's really kind of awesome.
In the past few months, my social anxiety has kicked it into high gear. I rarely go out anymore and never socially. If anyone wants to see me, Skype me. If anyone wants to talk to me, text me or hit me up on Facebook. It's a wonder I still have real life friends at all. Online, I have many.
This isn't some poor pitiful me post. Surprisingly, I'm kind of happy with the way things are. I see my husband on the weekends. I play with the kids during the day. At night I get more work done than ever whether it be writing, editing, beta reading for others, whatever.
I do believe that I have set a new goal in life. When my kids are grown and out of the house, I want to go live in a cabin in the mountains. Alone.
Well, not completely alone, I'll have a crapload of pets. I'll be the crazy cat/ferret/dog/rat/sugar glider lady. Kids will probably dare each other to run into my yard. I'll come running out in a loose kimono, waving a shotgun, yelling "Get the hell off my property!"
Ah, mom would be so proud.
The fact that I would love to be a hermit just shows you what kind of transformation I've gone through since my high school days. I was once a loud party girl who had lots of friends and wanted to go out every weekend. But since I've been married, I've gotten to the point where I just can't stand people in general. There are people that I like, that I don't mind seeing from time to time. In small doses. And I do like to go out and dance or see a concert. But again, small doses. Afterwards, I just want to go home, shut myself up in my room and be alone for a while. Not that I'm the best company but my books sure are.
I like to be out in nature. I like hiking, swimming, camping, fishing, all that kind of stuff. But again, I'd rather be away from other humans. It's hard to appreciate Mother Nature surrounded by people who seek to stomp her out of existence. I can't find peace in the woods with screaming, fighting kids or the sound of chainsaws in my ears.
Is this a writer thing? I know writers tend to be perceived as a little off by society. We have strange habits. We're non-conformists. We walk our own paths regardless of others' opinions.
But looking forward to being a hermit? I think I might be in my own realm of weird on that one.
Showing posts with label work. Show all posts
Showing posts with label work. Show all posts
Thursday, July 9, 2015
Sunday, April 12, 2015
Writers - Don't Be Lazy!
You know how it is. You tell someone that you're a writer and they give you an amused look. Like it's not a real job. Like it's some side project that you do for kicks. It's cross stitching for dreamers.
I don't know about you guys but writing is hard work. Yes, it is WORK. You spend hours researching, editing, perfecting your craft, pitching ideas to friends, editing some more, throwing out entire chapters, rewriting, agonizing over dialogue, some more research, on and on putting your sweat and blood and endless hours into your work.
At least, that's what you're supposed to do.
A problem I'm constantly seeing these days with everything being online is that when it comes to indie writers, some are just straight up lazy. Yeah, I said it. Self publishing has made us into lazy writers. Without the threat of an editor and publishing house looming over our shoulders, we think we can just throw any old thing out there and with enough promotion on our part, it'll become an instant gem.
The problem is, it's working.
I've read a lot more indie books in the last year than ever before and I have to say, only about 40% of them were well written. The others had problems that a little more time and effort could have easily fixed: too short, too long, too descriptive, not descriptive enough, too many grammatical errors, formatting problems, etc. Things that an editor would have caught but since a publishing house was totally bypassed, no one did. And getting your neighbor who reads a book a year to look over it for you, does not count as getting a beta reader.
The saddest thing is that those 60% that ranged from "needs some work" to "burn this bitch and start from scratch", were the ones that had over ten reviews each and were spammed all over the net. They were getting more attention than the authors who'd really put the time in. What is this nonsense? You're telling me that you have the time and money to market your book that well, that often but you can't get a serious beta reader or hire an editor to proofread it for you?
This is why, sad to say, that when I start reading a book and realize that it's self published, I can't help but cringe a little. Because these days, I honestly don't know what I'm getting. And that just isn't fair to those indie authors who do all the research and spend all the time and have the aching necks and wrists from hours spent over the damn computer screen.
The publishing world kinda sucks these days. It's uneven and unfair. If you have the cash to spend, you can get your work published, even if it's crap. The rest of us have to work our asses off and can't get half the reviews.
So, what I'm saying is, indie authors, put in the time. Don't be lazy. I still believe that anyone can write a book. Anyone. But no one can write a book in a week and think it's ready for publishing.
And if you do write a book in a week and get it published, I wouldn't suggest asking me to read and review it for you. You should have asked me to beta read for you first because notes I give you beforehand are for your personal use to help you out. A crappy review is there on the net for the entire world to see.
I don't know about you guys but writing is hard work. Yes, it is WORK. You spend hours researching, editing, perfecting your craft, pitching ideas to friends, editing some more, throwing out entire chapters, rewriting, agonizing over dialogue, some more research, on and on putting your sweat and blood and endless hours into your work.
At least, that's what you're supposed to do.
A problem I'm constantly seeing these days with everything being online is that when it comes to indie writers, some are just straight up lazy. Yeah, I said it. Self publishing has made us into lazy writers. Without the threat of an editor and publishing house looming over our shoulders, we think we can just throw any old thing out there and with enough promotion on our part, it'll become an instant gem.
The problem is, it's working.
I've read a lot more indie books in the last year than ever before and I have to say, only about 40% of them were well written. The others had problems that a little more time and effort could have easily fixed: too short, too long, too descriptive, not descriptive enough, too many grammatical errors, formatting problems, etc. Things that an editor would have caught but since a publishing house was totally bypassed, no one did. And getting your neighbor who reads a book a year to look over it for you, does not count as getting a beta reader.
The saddest thing is that those 60% that ranged from "needs some work" to "burn this bitch and start from scratch", were the ones that had over ten reviews each and were spammed all over the net. They were getting more attention than the authors who'd really put the time in. What is this nonsense? You're telling me that you have the time and money to market your book that well, that often but you can't get a serious beta reader or hire an editor to proofread it for you?
This is why, sad to say, that when I start reading a book and realize that it's self published, I can't help but cringe a little. Because these days, I honestly don't know what I'm getting. And that just isn't fair to those indie authors who do all the research and spend all the time and have the aching necks and wrists from hours spent over the damn computer screen.
The publishing world kinda sucks these days. It's uneven and unfair. If you have the cash to spend, you can get your work published, even if it's crap. The rest of us have to work our asses off and can't get half the reviews.
So, what I'm saying is, indie authors, put in the time. Don't be lazy. I still believe that anyone can write a book. Anyone. But no one can write a book in a week and think it's ready for publishing.
And if you do write a book in a week and get it published, I wouldn't suggest asking me to read and review it for you. You should have asked me to beta read for you first because notes I give you beforehand are for your personal use to help you out. A crappy review is there on the net for the entire world to see.
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