This week I continued to reflect fondly on my trip to the northeast I recently took with my girlfriend. I’m going through all the photos we took and merging them together with comments in a text file. It’s a good way to preserve the memories of the trip. After all, history doesn’t write itself. Ten years from now I’ll still have a bunch of photos named DSCN0240 and the like, but I can open up the text file and see the details about each photo.
I’ve also been excited about attending my first retreat with my publisher, Oghma Creative Media. This is the second retreat the publisher has held. It’s in Winslow, Arkansas at the tranquil Sky Vue lodge. I’ve had an amazing time here talking with my fellow authors, my editor, and publisher. It’s a great family-orientated company that strives to do everything possible to make the author a success. I was able to write several pages of my second novel and create a schedule so I can write more. I’m still looking for someone who wants to pay my bills so I can have all day to write, instead of a few hours in the evening.
Becoming an author is a long term endeavor. I wrote the first few pages of Bill’s Cajun House of Pleasure in 2011. It’ll be seven years before the book is published next summer. During this time, I’ve attended workshops, critique groups, and conferences. I’ve paid for my domain name, website and hosting services. I’ve printed business cards and one poster. And I still haven’t made any money for all my work. That comes next summer. I can’t think of any other profession that works like this. I believe many aspiring authors need to understand that becoming an author is a marathon, not a sprint. You have to do a lot of work, and spend money long before your book ever comes out. I hope this helps one of my readers.
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What I’m Reading – Many readers I know like to inquire what their favorite author is reading. At the end of each blog post, I’ll let you know what book I have my nose in. I may not be a published author yet, but I hope my choice of reading material inspires you to read. I finished reading The Palace Job by Patrick Weeks. My review is on Goodreads. Next up is the second book in the trilogy, The Prophecy Con. I encourage you to read a variety of topics.