I won’t claim to know what makes a successful writer. I do know what it takes to be a working one. Let me start this post by dropping a little knowledge: A working writer is a writer who works. I know, right? Who knew? A working write writes. They often write a lot.
I’m a working writer.
I don’t write every day.
I don’t outline.
I don’t do many booksignings or other promotions.
I get sick of writing.
I get even more sick of publishing.
I am a bad working writer.
I still write.
This past weekend me and about 400 of my new closest friends spent three days revealing in A) workshops and B) the fact we aren’t alone. No, dear writer, you are not a freak of nature…okay, you might be, but the rest of us surely aren’t.
There were so many fantastic workshops. I learned lots of things. I pitched to an editor. I met my agent in person for the first time since 2007 when I signed with her. I hung out with people I don’t spend enough time with. Met so many more who I now adore.
And in the midst of the madness, it came to me. THIS IS WHAT PUBLISHING IS ABOUT. Being part of a tribe. Being a part of something bigger than my writing cave, bigger than my isolation. If I sold a million books tomorrow, I’d know, while the money and fame are nice, it’s about the people I consider my tribe.
Don’t believe me? Fine, buy 10 copies of my latest book, and then tell 10 friends. —–>
You never know when that person you meet today, turns out to be the very reason you become rich and famous. Thank you to all those I met this conference. To those I hold dear until next year, when you forget to buy me a whiskey.
Hope you had a lovely conference too. Tell me what you enjoyed most–Who you met? What you learned?
I had a fabulous time, and yes, I forgot to buy you a whiskey, but I DID bring the cucumber vodka – we just never go to it. Gold was a great learning experience, as always, and I felt even more a member of that growing incredible tribe. We should do it more often (but don’t tell Corrine I said that).
I missed smashies? WTF? I loved, loved, loved seeing you. Wish we could spend much more time hanging out.
This was my second time attending, and I found it just as enjoyable and educational as the first time. I was lucky enough to run into the two authors that helped me out with my book last time around and say “Thanks!” I also felt that I learned enough on the session about taxes to pay for the price of admission.
I hope to make it out there again in either 2017 or 2018.
I missed the tax sessions. I really wanted to go to. Care to share what you learned, at least one thing? Thanks for coming and I’m glad you had a good time.
The biggest thing to come out of that session was that there are two ways writers can file their taxes. The first is a hobby (which is what the IRS prefers) and the second is as a business. The session talked about why it’s better to file as a business, and gave some tips on how to make sure you are able to.
Not everyone can just file as a business, so even if you’re not turning a profit writing, you have to be able to show that you are actively working toward a career in writing. There are definitely benefits to filing as a business, for example, you can write off “startup costs” such as your computer, and you can report a loss for the year, where if you file as a hobby, you can not report negative earnings.
Lot’s of good info, and I doubt I did it any justice with my brief summary, but you should definitely download the handouts to the session. She has plenty of info there.