I am writing this entry in New England, where I came to do two presentations at the Seacoast Writing Conference at Chester College in New Hampshire. It was wonderful—a chance to meet with other writers and share experiences about the writing process.
That’s the best part about attending a writing conference—the opportunity to benefit from being part of a creative community as well as learning more about the craft of writing. Given how lonely the writing process can be, the interaction is even more valuable and treasured!
In my experience, writers are a generous bunch—we share horror stories about unreasonable editors and unprofessional agents as well as list those markets and contacts that are worth their weight on gold. And we find out that we are not the only people who struggle with expressing our thoughts, doubt our abilities and wonder if the last acceptance we had will be the last one we will ever see!
Writing is a tough business. Not only do we need to keep our own creativity alive (which can be difficult during those times when rejections outnumber acceptances) but we have to be business people as well: marketing, promoting, billing and collecting. And sometimes, the business side becomes so all-consuming that we realize we haven’t left time for the “writing” part.
Is this a problem you are dealing with in your own writing life? If so, please share your tips with the rest of us about how you handle the “business vs. creativity” battle!
