In the Business of Fun


Photo by wiangya
What better day to talk about fun than on a Free, er, I mean, Friday? Recently, I've been dealing with both the creative and business parts of writing. While I'm doing the right brain thing of getting crafty with the story, I'm also turning on my left brain to handle things like proposals and future ideas for book promotion. I'm a researcher. I love to collect information, but sometimes the process can be, well, just not as fun as writing the actual story.

As anyone who's ever written a query letter or proposal knows, they are hard work! You have to give it a lot of thought because you don't get a second chance to make a first impression. As I read published authors' blogs telling of their launch parties and signings, I applaud their hard work. Then I wonder, would the business side of writing be easier to handle if I thought of it as fun?


Photo by Michelle Meiklejohn

Yes, you read it right. I'm not kidding. This is not reverse pyschology, but just a change of perspective. The business side of writing can be fun for me when I consider it as part of my dream happening. I write historical romance that I want to share with others. The business part allows me to get it there. The same creativity I use in plotting, I can use to show an editor why I think my novel is interesting. And while that's being done, who's to say I can't spark my imagination with cool ideas for promotions? 

If this writing journey has taught me anything, it's to have fun and take joy in the process. All of it. The writing, revision, querying, waiting. It means something. And on those days when I need more of my left brain for the business side, it helps to tell myself, "I don't have to do this. I don't have to spend an afternoon writing a chapter-by-chapter synopsis or gathering statistics on the industry. I get to."

Don't think you have to reach a certain stage in your writing before you can enjoy yourself. Celebrate it now! Have a great weekend and Happy Mother's Day!

On dull days, how do you inject some fun into the mix?