On Writing

Well, if you read the title of this post, you know that I no longer have a day job. Unfortunately, this was not my choice. Like so many other folks, I was the victim of job cuts.

I worked as a features page designer at a daily newspaper. Basically, my job involved designing feature pages for publication, editing stories, working with freelancers, posting stories/photos to the newspaper’s website, etc. There had been rumors that there would be job cuts (they called it copy desk consolidation) at my newspaper since the summer of 2009. If there’s an industry you don’t want to be in right now, it’s newspapers/journalism. Newspapers across the country are dying a slow, painful death, which is sad. If newspapers are still being printed in five years, I’ll be very surprised. They’ll either be online — or not exist at all.

But nobody at my newspaper ever really confirmed anything about the job cuts, and all the rumors I heard kept pushing the date back and back. Plus, the newspaper won a Pulitzer Prize in 2010. Well, on Nov. 8, 2010, the axe finally fell. I and several other folks (other copy editors/page designers) got called into an office and were each given a letter telling us our last day at work would be Dec. 13.

Happy holidays, huh?

So I am now unemployed as far as the day job goes. I thought a long time about writing this post because my personal life is just that — personal. I don’t talk about it very much, if at all. But there are so many folks who are out of work out there — I thought posting this might help someone, if only to let folks know they are not alone. (And the reason I waited so long to post this is that I was waiting for all the final paperwork to go through.)

I have a lot of mixed feelings about losing my day job. Obviously, losing that steady paycheck and insurance is the most troubling thing. I don’t think the job cuts were handled well either, but I’m not going to get into that here. I’ll also miss a lot of the folks I worked with. People always talk about the stages of grief. I think I’ve been through all of them at this point. LOL.

But part of me is also really excited by this change, and I’ve decided to look at this as my chance to see if I can make it as a full-time author. I have four books coming out in 2011 — Tangled Threads, Touch of Frost, Spider’s Revenge, and Kiss of Frost, plus an Elemental Assassin short story in The Mammoth Book of Ghost Romance anthology — so I’ve already got enough work with revisions, copy edits, page proofs, blogging, and promotion to keep me busy for the year.

Honestly, the book stuff had been getting to be more than I could handle and still work full-time too. I was super-busy and super-stressed all the time, so much so that I’d been thinking about trying to cut back and only work part-time at the newspaper. (I asked about working part-time after the job cuts were announced, but that was not an option.)

So one good thing about losing my day job is that I will hopefully have time to do some book stuff that I’ve been wanting to for a while now. For example, I have an idea for a new urban fantasy series that I’d like to write. I also want to do something with the fourth Bigtime book that I’ve written — maybe post it on Amazon or get it published through an e-press. I want to write some more short stories and maybe even try my hand at something new — like writing category romance for Harlequin.

I’m treating writing as a full-time job, and I’ve been working 40 hours a week (and more) ever since I was laid off. There’s always something to do, whether it’s blogging or revisions or looking over page proofs. I’ve been busy, but so far, it’s been a lot of fun. I’m not nearly as stressed as I was before, which I think is a good thing.

Some folks have asked what they can do to help. Well, if you like my books, I hope that you’ll tell your friends or your local libraries about them. Hopefully, I’ll sell enough books that my publishers will want to continue my Elemental Assassin and Mythos Academy series. Fingers crossed.

I’ve been sending out resumes — lots and lots of resumes — in hopes of finding a part-time job. I currently do some freelance book reviews, and I’m thinking about using my writing/design skills to offer a promotions package to authors — a press release, a bookmark design, and a flyer design. Maybe even do some book editing. We’ll see.

So don’t cry for me, Argentina. I’ll be all right. I’d seen the writing on the wall for a while, and I’d been planning accordingly. It’s a brave and scary new world, but I’ll land on my feet.

Who knows? Maybe this time next year, I’ll be glad that I lost my day job because it will have led to an opportunity that I might not have had otherwise. It’s a nice thing to hope for, anyway. 😉

So we’ve come to the end of another year, and I thought I’d take a few moments to reflect. Really, though, there’s only one thing to say: 2010 was by far the best year I’ve ever had as an author.

I had three books out in 2010 — Spider’s Bite, Web of Lies, and Venom — and the response to them was just fantastic and so much more than I let myself hope for. I’ve gotten so many wonderful e-mails from folks who just love Gin Blanco and the rest of the gang at the Pork Pit. So a big thanks goes out to everyone who’s e-mailed me to tell me how much they’re enjoying the Elemental Assassin series. I appreciate all your comments. 😉

And my sales were better too. Spider’s Bite and Web of Lies are both in their third printings, and Venom is in its second printing. This is the first time any of my books have gone back to press. Now, my printings weren’t huge to start with, but the books seem to keep selling at a steady pace, which is really awesome and gratifying. I really am grateful for the success of the books.

I also sold a new series in 2010 — my Mythos Academy young adult series — and I’ve got my fingers crossed that it gets the same response that the Elemental Assassin books have. So now, I’ll have books out in two series in 2011, and I’m hoping to get a third series under way as well — as soon as I find time to write something new. LOL.

As for resolutions for 2011, I’m going to keep them simple:

1) Write more.

2) Read more.

3) Eat healthier/exercise more.

4) Lose weight.

5) Be a better person.

Hopefully, the first two won’t be too hard to keep. Numbers three and four will probably trip me up, though. As for number five, well, I guess it will depend on how stressed I am on any given day. LOL.

But here’s to a clean slate and the possibilities that the new year presents. Cheers, everyone! 😉

What about you guys? What are your resolutions? What are you looking forward to in the new year?