What Am I Doing?

I’ve been writing since the 4^th grade. Back then, it was for my own amusement. Nobody got to see it, because I never finished anything. I never rewrote anything, either. I wasn’t ready.

During my first marriage, I gave up writing for a couple years after an uncomplimentary opinion of my style was expressed by my then-husband. He had an over-inflated opinion of his own writing skills, but after a couple argumentative essays in college, he no longer wrote. After NOT writing for a couple years, my stories demanded to be let out, and I was beginning to see the real person I had married. I was learning, but not yet ready.

Time marched on. I continued to write stories. I took classes and read books and even participated in critique sessions. Still learning.

In 2000, it dawned on me that I had about 5 years to go before I was eligible for early retirement. What did I want to do as my next career? Silly question. Only one answer.

It was time to get serious about my writing. It took longer than I hoped, but I kept working at it, and now I have 2 stories e-published, and another in the final days before it is e-published. I’ve made it!

Well, no. The next step is for me to master the Art of Marketing. People won’t buy my stories if they don’t know about them. I’ve been working on that, too, these past 10-12 years, but when you compare that to how long it took me to learn the Craft of Writing (and I’m still learning), I’ve got a long way to go.

I’m wondering, once I get reasonably good at the Art of Marketing, will there be some other skill I’ll need to learn? Well, if there is, I’ll roll up my sleeves again and get to it. It’s the only way to figure out what I’m doing.