Side Effect

For a long time now -- five years, to be exact -- I've been a writing contractor. After Publishing kicked me to the curb I went freelance and picked up basically any ghost writing job I could get. I was lucky; one of my first clients turned out to be a long-term gig with steady work that paid the bills. I dabbled in other writing work by becoming a copy writer, short serial writer and working for overseas publishers both as a ghost and under my own byline. Then I met my partner, and we went into business together full-time. I was able to stop freelancing and focus on one job.

Giving up everything I wanted to write in order to have a regular income wasn't a problem. The challenges I faced as a freelancer and ghost writer kept me interested and engaged in my work. I also made sure to only take jobs that had some appeal for me, because there is nothing worse for a writer than working on something you dislike. I think I did well, considering, and I'm happy with the decisions I've made. They're putting my kid through college without her having to take out student loans which, let's face it, is every parent's dream.

That said, there was a price for staying employed. While I often contributed my opinions when asked for them, I didn't make the decisions any more. Just like at any job I was told what to do, and often how to do it. You really have to check your ego at the door to handle contracted writing work. My focus shifted from being creative and writing basically what I wanted to dealing with assignments and producing quality work as quickly as possible. I tend to thrive under pressure, but at times it became pretty daunting.

When you go off the grid as I have, the people in your writing life quickly lose interest in you. I basically lost all but three of my writer friends. That startled me, really, because I'm still working as a pro writer. I guess the only attraction I had for them was because I worked for NY and/or I was writing Paperback Writer. So much for my sparkling personality.

Now I'm approaching another one of those of the crossroads in my writing life, which I think was sparked by doing NaNoWriMo this year. Until this past month I haven't done any significant work on my own writing since I went freelance. I actually forgot how much I love my own universes, and writing what I want. I had so much fun, and it's been a long time since I felt that way. That side effect of working on Twenty-One has given me a lot to think about in the months ahead.

I'm not going to quit my job -- my kid is still in college -- but by next summer the financial need for me to work will be over, and I'll be at a point when I can make a change if I want to. Ideally I'd like to keep working with my partner and try something on the side that will allow me to write what I want part-time. There are definitely more options now with digital self-publishing.

Anyway, 2020 should be very interesting. Stayed tuned to find out how you can be involved in what I do next year, too -- beginning December 13th I'm going to count down twelve ideas that I think I should write, and then we'll have a vote to see which one I tackle first.