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I have been asking this question of myself lately because I feel as if I have been scattering my efforts in all directions. Yes, I have to take care of my family and my home. Yes, I have to take care of my existing writing clients, but what do I want to do with regard to my career? Moreover, what have I been doing to further that goal?
Well, I know the goal. I want to be a novelist. Some may say that I already am a novelist, but I only have one novel published. In my, and many others’, eyes, one novel does not make a novel-writing career. I want to have my words reaching readers all over the world. I have story ideas coming at me all the time. I write them down, file them in my idea box, then go on with writing copy for paying clients because I have to contribute to the family’s bank account. In short, I need to work for money and not only pleasure.
This is the reason I have not been pursuing my goal whole-heartedly. Instead, I have been learning and applying what I know about marketing and public relations in order to further my writing services business. As I have been doing this, I have realized that it is more the conquest that excites me – getting the work rather than actually doing the work. This is bad. This is very bad because it leads to the scattered efforts and produces very little income in the end. Since I am not making much money right now anyway, I am going to change things up, hopefully for the better.
My new year is going to consist of writing my next novel. I am about 150 pages into it now, but after participating in the National Novel Writer’s Month this past November, I want to get back to my roots. Those roots are wrapped around a novelist’s life, not a copywriter’s or marketer’s life. That is what makes me happy. I am going to sit down with a spreadsheet and the bills, figure out a budget and finish writing that bestselling novel.
A colleague told me how fired up and excited I get when speaking about my novels and book signings. She tells me, as others have told me, that I am not as animated when I speak about writing website copy and press releases. I think she is right and I am going to make the change.
When I threw myself into my last novel, it was published. Yes, it takes a lot of hard work and not every manuscript is published, but I figure if I have one published already, chances are the second will meet the same fate (if I’m really lucky). In the meantime, I will have a blast doing what I love which is what I want my life to be about.
Are you pursuing your goal or just doing what you have to do? Tell me what you want to do and how you plan on getting there.
