You have to keep plugging away. We are all growing. There is no shortcut. You have to put time into it to build an audience
~ John Gruber
How much time have you put into the dream of getting published?
Need I say more? Happy Monday!
How much time have you put into the dream of getting published?
I was just thinking about this, wondering how much time I'd spent on this book, querying, and writing the second book. It's a good thing I haven't kept track- the number would be totally scary. I guess I'm so invested there's no turning back now!
ReplyDeleteI was thinking about how to build an audience this weekend and decided that it's just going to take time and work. Nice to see I'm on the right track :)
ReplyDeleteI have no idea how much time I've spent over the last couple of years working on my writing. I think I'd probably be terrified to know the truth!
Every possible sane and insane moment! :) Need some new spark plugs.
ReplyDeletePlug, plug, plug! And every so often, I need a recharge. Big time.
ReplyDeleteSuper post. I have missed you so much. I love you Shannon. *hugs*
Let's just say that the pot is on the stove simmering. When my kids are in school full time, I'll be able to put more of myself into the effort. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm making as much time as I can, while I can :) Thanks for the great quote!
ReplyDeleteTons... and tons...and tons...
ReplyDeleteIt will happen one day. =)
With the current wip? Two years thinking, six months writing, two years (!) redrafting. Speedy is not my middle name. :)
ReplyDeleteAbout as much time as I spend breathing.
ReplyDeleteEvery moment possible. Even if I spend a million hours (is that even possible?) achieving my dream will be well worth it!!
ReplyDeleteProbably a rather large number of hours. I love writing and I love the people I've met through that, so it never feels like a chore really. :)
ReplyDeleteTechnically, 5 years, though 3 have been way more involved than the first 2. And I haven't even gotten to the query stage yet. I was writing and learning how to write in those years and just now I have novels to rewrite. So, it may take a few more years.
ReplyDeleteDepends on the day, but not nearly enough this year with homeschooling. That's coming to an end very soon (woohoo!). I'll be working really hard once summer hits though, and I can't wait! The countdown to June 28th is on...
ReplyDeleteWhat?! No shortcuts! When did all this happen? ;)
ReplyDeleteI don't know the exact amount of time, but it was enough that I'll see it happen this fall.
ReplyDeleteI have to remind myself of this all the time and even though it might take me longer than others, patience is the key.
ReplyDeleteWell, let's put it this way. I have to try to remember to put time into doing things other than working towards the goal of being published. :P ;) Crazy girl.
ReplyDeleteMore than I thought I would when I started this crazy process. But it's all worth it. Like the quote said, you're BUILDING an audience. That doesn't happen overnight.
ReplyDeleteHappy Monday!
How much time have I put in? Hmm, this year or last? Lol.
ReplyDeleteWay more than seems rational some days. Other days, it seems not nearly enough! :)
ReplyDeleteI think this in unquantifiable for writers. We write when we're doing dishes, picking weeds and reading books to our children.
ReplyDeleteNow, if I could count the hours for my actually published book alongside the royalties - and work out the pittance I've made per hour, I would cry. So I won't ever do that. :)
Every night, and all the time during the day. Every time I zone out and whenever I'm concentrating really hard. Pretty much every moment of every day.
ReplyDeleteWhew. There's no way to count. But, I did have to force myself to realize that thinking about writing wasn't the same thing as actually putting pen to paper and, you know, WRITING!!
ReplyDeletesf
Years and years of writing and receiving rejections. Learning from my mistakes and doing it over again. BUT finally I sold and it's been all worth it. Now the blogging thing is another learning curve. Thank you so much for always posting a wonderful blog.
ReplyDeleteBut you know, once you're doing it, it's mostly worth it.
ReplyDeleteNot enough time. Writing is so, SO important to me, but I'm such a cheat. My MS is the first thing I put aside if I don't have enough time -- not family, not my day job, not blogging, but writing goes out the window first. I need to fix that. How much am I willing to put in? Way, way more.
ReplyDeleteHehe sometimes I feel like my whole life has been spent on this--but its so fun!
ReplyDeleteI have put in countless hours and will undoubtedly put in countless more, but I believe wholeheartedly that it's worth it!
ReplyDeleteWonderful post for Monday! How many hours? Impossible to even count! It's my life and has been from the day I first picked up a Beverley Cleary book and wanted to be her.
ReplyDeleteMore hours than I could possibly count! Since I was a child I've dreamed of being published and I have been taking steps towards it ever since! Thanks for making me think about it, though - I had to thank myself and that's always a good thing!
ReplyDeleteGreat post! :D
I've only worked on fictio a few years but have beeb writing et. for more than five.
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to put in my time. =]
ReplyDeleteGreat quote!
So. Much. Time... And still so long go to, lol. Man, writers can be such masochists! ha.
ReplyDeleteSometimes a bit too much, methinks. You have an award over on my blog. XOXO
ReplyDeleteI think tallying up the hours would horrify me, so I won't. I'll just keep telling myself it's only a couple hours a day if that, no big deal.
ReplyDeleteSo true! I'm getting there, but not enough yet for everywhere that I want to go:)
ReplyDeleteQuite a bit but I realize I still have a lot more to go. Thing is, I know its worth it :)
ReplyDelete5 years. 5 manuscripts (+ "sequel" manuscripts). Numerous picture books I've hardly tried to sell. My blog for the past 8 months. Critique groups. Exchange partners. Thousand of words. Hundreds of edits. 5 conferences. Many hours of sleep lost. Too many hours of doubt. Several breakdowns of tears.
ReplyDeleteBut only recently does it finally feel like it's coming together.
Hmm... I really don't think I want to figure out how many hours I've spent! Might be a little depressing :)
ReplyDeleteI'm on my third year of writing with the goal of publication...I have one magazine publication, one SCBWI Regional publication and some really nice personal rejections. :) I must be getting close. :)
ReplyDeleteAccording to Gladwell's book Outliers, it takes 10000 hours to become successful at something. I am working towards that goal!
ReplyDeleteNo idea how much time spent, but blogging is certainly a way to build an audience that is really exploding in popularity! I wonder what other ways people have of building audiences.
ReplyDeleteLove the illustration. :)
Shannon, I haven't counted up the hours, but I know a lot have been logged in. I think I may have reached the 10,000 I mentioned on Peace Garden Writer last week. :) Hope you are well! Tomorrow, I present at the Young Author Conference. You will be with me in spirit and through the words on your blog I'm sharing with the kids!
ReplyDeleteSuch great advice, if we just viewed finishing a novel the same way we do any other job we'd all get it finished a lot quicker. My hours? Not nearly enough. :-)
ReplyDeleteI put a lot into dreaming about publishing, but more into writing, editing and querying!
ReplyDeleteCertainly not as many as I could have. Or could be.
ReplyDeleteBut there's life to be lived...so I'll just say I put in what I can, when I can. It will all sort itself out eventually. ;-)