For years now, I’ve been my own boss.
I mean, I have a dean at the community college and I have editors at publishing houses and I’ve been a hired gun, um, pen for more outfits and ideas than I care to remember.
But really, I’m in charge around here.
I decide how introverted or extroverted I want to be.
I decide which projects to pursue and how to divvy up my days.
I decide, when I wake up on an ordinary Wednesday, what to do.
Here’s an example.
Today.
Wake up early for a run in crisp, cool air.
Make oatmeal for girls, and pack lunches, and participate in long passionate discussion about mangos vs. peaches.
Bike with girls to school and hear long elaborate description of a tag game called Dragon Tails.
Come home to make beds, tend to breakfast dishes, feed dog.
Sit and breathe.
For 15 minutes.
Bloody near kills me but I feel sort of happy when I’m done.
And not just ’cause I’m done, I don’t think.
Open emails, one of which tells me about the launch & sales meeting for my next book.
This afternoon.
Fret about that for a bit.
Have a glass of juice and some trail mix.
Finish transcribing the beginning of a story from longhand to Word doc.
Read it aloud.
Read it again.
Tweak.
Read it again.
Break to blog, eat more trail mix and choose stack of books to take to class tonight.
Re-read notes for class tonight.
Tweak assignment for class tonight.
Re-print.
Go back to story.
Tweak.
Type more.
Tweak.
Read again.
Read very grim assessment of the publishing industry in New York Magazine.
Worry.
Breathe.
Eat more trail mix.
Tweak manuscript again.
And again.
And again.
Think about walking dog.
Breathe.
Still today is a stop at the bank, the post office and the office supply store.
An Arts in Education meeting at the girls’ school.
Their swim team practice.
My class.
And throughout, I’m tweaking or thinking about tweaking.
I’m writing.
I’m breathing…
What about you?
I need to do more breathing.
And less thinking/stressing/obsessing.
And more writing.
Boy, that article was grim, wasn’t it?
Me?
I’m eating cinammon rolls and preparing for tomorrow’s writing presentations (one as a member of an authors’ panel, one all by my lonesome).
Running, breathing, thinking, tweaking? Yep — all of the above.
And explaining to my 9-year-old (at his request) how the flow of money from customer to bookstore to publisher to agent to author goes. I spared him the details on softcover royalty rates, Scholastic sales, and bookstore returns. Those can wait until he’s 10…
random commenter
I would love to have that ammount of flexibility in my day.
wake up, shower, dress, go to work, work from 9am to 5:30pm, eat dinner, am so tired all I can do is zone out while watching TV until I fall asleep.