Weekly Roundup 6: Labors of Love

 

It's always around this time of year, as tax preparation season gears up, that I am reminded of how little income I generate as a writer. There are reasons for this. More published books now than any time in history, for example. And less industry support for authors.

But one of the biggest reasons is that I'm terrible at selling books. I get overwhelmed by the number of social media platforms that all but require my participation. I suffer from imposter syndrome. I choose fun (writing) over not-fun (marketing). And, yes, I perhaps like Netflix a little too much.

I'm no stranger to labors of love. When I stayed home with our young sons, I did a tremendous amount of work without a traditional paycheck. Now I'm increasingly doing the same for my mother. Throughout it all, the writing tugs at my sleeve, the ever-present companion who compels me to spend hours and hours on projects that will never earn me a living wage.

And you know what? I'm okay with it. When I was younger, writing as a labor of love wasn't enough. But as I've gotten older and (hopefully) wiser, I've started to measure success differently. I strongly suspect I'll never be a Colleen Hoover, but when I'm a finalist in a short story contest or have a friend tell me she still thinks about the characters in my novels months later, it's a different kind of payment.

Show Romance Some Love: There's still time to read a romance novel before the month of March is upon us. For ideas, Bookriot has a list of the bestselling romance books of all time. Yes, the gray one is on there. And the vampire one. After all, the list is bestselling, not critically acclaimed. But like heart shaped boxes of chocolates, romance novels can be a guilty pleasure. (A special shoutout to my friend who is trying to make it through Twilight. You can do it!)