Authors are creatures of habit and
consistency. They are curious and willing
to explore new things but they don’t often go out of their comfort zone. So what do authors do when their entire world
shifts and they have to start anew?
I was lunching with a former high-level
publishing executive last week when he told me his briefcase was stolen. It contained a manuscript that he was editing
for someone. He never recovered it.
Thought the manuscript wasn’t lost, his
work was. For some writers, their work
gets lost or stolen. Computers crash,
files get corrupted, laptops get pilfered.
Fires, floods, and calamities don’t discriminate either. Bad things happen to good writers.
How do they start over?
If you recall watching The Brady Bunch,
classic family television fare about two single parents coming together with
their six kids, there was an episode where the dad, Mr. Brady, an architect
(who by the way failed to design a house that improves upon three people
sharing a room) worked hard to create design plans for a client, but lost his
plans when one of his kids mistook them for a poster at an amusement park. Mr. Brady couldn’t imagine how he’d meet his
deadline and recreate his masterpiece but he ended up putting together an even
better design the second time around.
It may seem frustrating, demoralizing, and
impossible to create what was done and then lost, but many writers use the loss
to drive them to excel beyond their perceived limits. No one wants their work to go missing, but
should it happen, writers dig down deep and craft their best work.
Writers will fall into depression from
time to time, but then they have an awakening, and start to get used to the new
landscape before them.
On a small level, I saw this happen with
our newly purchased pet, one I never thought I’d get – a hamster.
Chip, a four-week old hamster, came into
our house via Petco. When he first entered his little home, he was
frightened. Everything was new to him – from the surrounding sights and sounds to his food bowl and sleeping area. He was the writer who lost his work, who had
to start over and find a comfort level in his new situation.
I was the writer, too, dealing with my
home’s new landscape. The terrain was
disturbed and forever changed. I too was
transitioning, having my small world altered, though granted, Chip underwent
the greatest transformation of all.
Maybe the analogy between hamster and writer
doesn’t end there. I noticed how he explored every inch of his new world and
interpreted it to meet his needs. He had
no manual or mommy to explain things to him. He was on his own, in uncharted territory. Writers sniff out and nibble at the world they
are thrust in, too, seeking to define and make sense of all that happens to
them.
I’ve had many pets over the years –
turtles, fish, rabbits, parakeets, cat (for six weeks), and dogs. But now I have a hamster. He’ll help me re-write a chapter in my life as
he writes his own world in my home.
DON'T MISS THESE POSTS
What really makes for
a great writer?
Interview With Bloomsbury Executive
Managing Editor
Does book
publishing love hoaxes?
Synonyms
Define Authors’ Chances Of Success
10
Things Writers Are Doing To Achieve Success
5 ways to find
happiness as an author
How do you promote
books in the 21st century?
Sweet 16 Is Imperfect
For One Writer
Book Marketing in 2015
Can Writers Paddle To
Success?
The 7 Tenets of Author
Branding
How to make a blog
post go viral – or at least get opened
Don’t say this to the
media when promoting your book
Brian Feinblum’s
views, opinions, and ideas expressed in this blog are his alone and not that of
his employer. You can follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and email him
at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels more important when discussed in the
third-person. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog © 2015
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.