Word Business

The last two years haven't been about ups and downs. Life has been a series of downs and deeper, darker, downs. For months, I could not write. Ideas were there. Plots took shape. I looked at a blank screen and could not put the words on the page. Thankfully, Sarah did not give up on me, even when I was ready to quit. The dark days are less frequent. Words escape my twisted little brain and land on the page most days.

In an ideal world I would spend every day writing. The writing would be effortless and brilliant. Everyone would be envious of how the words flowed onto the page. Publishers would snap up my stories and beg for more. I don't live in that world. Nobody does.

The world I live in is one where life revolves around books. That's pretty good.

These days I spend so much time on the publishing side of the writing industry that my writing takes a back seat. That's not a complaint. Part of each day is set aside for my writing. Besides, I am finding publishing interesting, educational, and sometimes fun. FUN? I haven't used that word in a while. Who would have thought a job so demanding, time consuming, and difficult would put laughter back in my life?

Anyone who has ever thought of starting a press needs to take a hard look at their reasons. It is a business, not a hobby. Running a tiny press means that every decision is going to impact the bottom line. Those of you who saw our first set of royalty statements know that bottom line was pretty small. Every book, every cover, every author, every artist, every story matters. Work doesn't end.

Since one of us has to have a day job, weekends are about getting stuff done that involves Sarah. She spends most of her time at home reading and editing short stories. Longer work lands on my desktop. I spent Saturday night emailing authors. Here it is Sunday morning and I'm happily back at my computer. No one could have convinced me that I would willingly get up at six the morning to see if a new book cover was in my inbox. Now I am trying to let Sarah sleep in instead of running into the bedroom to tell her about the cover. The fact that she would kill me has me blogging instead.