Voices from the Dark Side (Roxann)

While many people envision the writing life as glamorous, those of us who actually tackle the task of putting words on paper know the truth: It ain't pretty, honey! Any one of us could name half a dozen to a dozen or even more cons of writing. That doesn't mean there aren't pros, nor does it even mean that the cons outweigh the pros, but this month some of us are tackling the tougher aspects aka the realities. Or as Pat so aptly put it, the Dark Side.

Every job/career has its downside. Writing isn't immune to darkness.

You've worked hard on that manuscript, that baby that's kept you up at night, driven you crazy with voices in your head, and produced backaches from sitting at the computer too long. The i's are dotted and the t's are crossed. It's polished so well you need sunglasses just to glance at it. And then you summon the courage to call it "finished," sending it away and hoping for at least an encouraging word from an editor, an agent, or even a judge in a contest. And then you wait. And wait. Sometimes several months go by, and you still keep waiting. And you begin to wonder if A) It didn't reach its destination, or B) It's so bad, no one has the nerve to tell you. Neither is probably true, but that doesn't mean every possible scenario of what could go wrong doesn't enter your very active imagination.

Then there's life after The Call. Published authors, if honest, will point out that the term "deadline" incorporates a key word. DEAD. Because if you don't meet that deadline with the finished product, be it a proposal or a full manuscript, copyedits or galleys, you may be putting a nail in the coffin of your career. But it doesn't end there. Working with an editor doesn't guarantee that your latest baby will be swept into the arms of your editor the minute it arrives and admired for its beauty. More than likely it could be three months or more before you even hear a peep from the person who holds your destiny in her (or his) hands. That editor has other submissions to read. You are one among many, and your latest baby will wait in line. (See photo above for a real view of manuscripts waiting to be read.) Unless, of course, you're Nora Roberts, Stephen King, Dan Brown, John Grisham... But they went through their own rejections, testing periods, and waiting in line. But it doesn't end there. Your editor isn't the last one to approve your baby. There's often a senior editor and, in some cases, a group or panel of people that must be convinced your baby is good enough for the world to see.

It won't be long before you're back at the keyboard, hearing voices, back aching and fuzzy-brained from lack of sleep, working on that next baby.

And they say childbirth is difficult and obviously why it's called labor. But, like childbirth, the joy of that baby being brought into the world for you and others to see is worth it. :)