The Unglamorous Life of a Writer

If you’ve hung around the writing world for long, you’ve heard it before . . . 

• Being a published author does not magically fix all your problems.
• Being a published author does not mean you’ll spend your days fending off random fans when you’re buying groceries.
• Being a published author does not mean you’ll spend your days in a lovely office overlooking a serene pastoral setting as you churn out novel after novel. 

But . . . come on. It has to help. Right? It has to be more good than bad. At least when you get “The Call” or reach new writing milestones, there will be parties and well-wishes and celebratory balloons falling from the ceiling. Right?

Well . . .

I did hear one story where an author went to check in for a flight and the ticket clerk looked at her license, and then looked at her, and then promptly bumped her to First Class after telling her that she reads everything she writes. 

So, it happens! But my highly (un)scientific research has revealed that these kinds of events happen about as often as a total solar eclipse traverses the entire country. 

In the interest of bringing you the true side of the publishing life, here are a few representative samples of the real, (un)glamorous lives of published authors.

It's the first Thursday of the month so as always, I'm over at The Write Conversation. Click on over to read the rest of the story!