It's a long weekend up here in the Great White North - and I think we all buggered off to cooler lakeside pastures. Didn't we? I did. But before we left I got some amazing news. Harlequin is contracting me for three more books. Three more books they would like delivered within a year. This is the biggest contract I've ever gotten from them and will allow me not to have to worry about going back to any one of the crummy jobs I've held in order to keep the writing dream alive once my maternity leave is up.
I am a writer who just...writes. Crazy.
Of course I'm also a new mother FREAKING out about book delivery dates, editorial turn around time and naps. My sons - not mine, though I do enjoy a little day time shut eye, which I can, for the next year, kiss good bye.
I can not believe this is actually happening. This was the dream and now it's working out according to my drunken plans and really I'm wondering what I am going to do to screw it up. Because I will. This is a stiuation ripe for writer's block. And weight gain.
Writing is such a strange job - because it's not nine to five - it actually swells to take over the whole day. If I'm not writing, I'm thinking about writing or checking emails or making some lame attempt at promotion. How am I going to squeeze writing three books into a years worth of naps and weekends? Is this really possible? Is it really possible to be a new mom, write three books, try to at least tell my husband to do the laundry, and maybe for the sake of sanity go for the odd run? Pedicure? Movie? Night of drinking to excess? I may never have sex again.
So many romance authors I've spoken with started writing when thier children were small. Nearly all the big names have managed to find balance between motherhood and a writing career. Sinead has managed to keep up a chapter a week almost without fail and her nearly full time red wine habit. This is tremendous -- please someone WHAT IS THE SECRET?
Many of my writer friend's work full time jobs and write on the weekends and all of them lament a social life. How are any of us keeping any kind of balance in our lives with the writing monkey on our backs?
Clearly - I'm going to need some discipline. And a drink.
3 comments:
HUGE Congrats on the contracts Molly! So well deserved.
Juggling is what we all do... I know I've got things pretty easy in that regard compared to most... but because I've got lots of time to write, I just end up wasting huge amounts of it.
I think when time is a scarcer resource, we use it more wisely.
Molly,
Many many congratulations.
And like so many things in life, the books will get done.
Just remember to breathe.
Nancy
Kudos. You're obviously doing something right, so don't mess with it until it's not working anymore.
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