The Business Part 4

This is the fourth part of a series on the business of writing. Click here to go to Part One.


I am not a full-time writer. I have a career and I own a business. All things being equal, though, I'd rather earn my living as a writer. What I am is prolific. I am a very productive writer. I put words to paper (or processor) every day of the week. Sometimes, they're good, sometimes they suck. The important thing is to do the things that must be done.


A DAY IN THE LIFE

Monday through Friday: I am usually awake by 5:00AM. This is not to say I am always out of bed by that time. My wife usually wakes up a little later. She and the girls are out the door by 6:30. I usually start working by 5:30, pausing to say goodbye to the family and make coffee. I usually put in anywhere from 1-3 hours of work in every weekday morning. I then shower and shave and go to work. I try not to think too much about what I'm working on when I'm not actually working on it but sometimes an idea pops in my head. When this happens, I usually write it down.

I sometimes have creative bursts throughout the day. I carry a pen and pad around for just such an occasion. If not, my iPhone has a nifty little notepad feature.

I rarely work on my main project at night. This time is usually reserved for reading, sleeping, and the making of the love.

I dedicate some time to social media but I am no expert. I am trying to learn how to promote myself. Once I master this, all bets are off.

See, writing is the hard part, because it is lonely and exhausting. When I tell people I write but don't make significant money from it (yet) they ask me why I bother. The truth is I do it for me. I do it because I love it. When it eventually becomes my living, all the better.

Follow me on this journey. It ought to be fun.



Adolfo Jimenez is an author, poet, and blogger. He lives in Hollywood, Florida with his family.  He has published eight books, which you can check out here. 

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Who matters as much as Why - A Quickie Post.

Why are you writing?

Who are you writing for?

If you are writing for anyone other than yourself, you are writing for the wrong reason. You are the only person who will definitely read every word you write, so make sure they are words you love and can be proud of? Or, at the very least, make sure they are words you can live with.


Adolfo Jimenez is an author, poet, and blogger. He lives in Hollywood, Florida with his family.  He has published eight books, which can be seen here. 

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The Business Part 3

This is the third part of a series on the business of writing. Click here to go to Part One.


Too many wannabe writers are in love with the idea of being known as a writer. They are not in love with the lonely drudgery of writing. Singers and actors get on stage and are cheered and adored, or jeered and booed. But at least they are known. When Andy Warhol promised those fifteen minutes of fame, he excluded most writers.

My point is that you have to write if you want to be a writer. You have to put out a page a day. I don't care if it's a good page. Ernest Hemingway said the first draft of anything is shit. He was right. Sometimes it's better quality shit than other times, but it's still shit.

So you sit down and write a page a day. You do this for 200 days. You have a first draft. Guess what? It's shit! Let it go for a while. Put it out of your mind. Think of other things. Get drunk. Get stoned. Get laid. Definitely get laid if possible.

After you've done other things and taken your mind off the work, come back to it with fresh eyes. It's time to write. Remember that words are cheap. A word means little by itself. It's when we put it in the right place with other words that it starts to mean something. What I mean to tell you is that you shouldn't be afraid to delete a word. Or a sentence. Or a paragraph. Or even an entire chapter. Don't be afraid to replace words or move them around. Ditto sentences and paragraphs. Nothing is  sacred. Don't be a little pussy. Just edit it.

So it's been a year since you started this book. You've done your first re-write. Are you ready to send it to the publisher? Hell no. Put it away. Get drunk. Get stoned. Get laid. The manuscript ain't going nowhere.

Come back to it a couple of weeks or even a month or two later. Rewrite it again. Be ruthless. Words mean nothing until they are put in the right order.

Adolfo Jimenez is an author, poet, and blogger. He lives in Hollywood, Florida. He has published eight books, which you can find here.

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The Business Part 2

If you'd like to read the first part of this blog series, click here.


I was talking about the difference or the contrast between writing and the business of writing. I am not good at the business side of writing. I know I can be and I have no doubt I will be, but at the moment, I suck at it.

I suck at it because I haven't learned how to do it. Once I learn it, look out world!

I have earned my living for the past several years in sales. I know how to sell. I make a fine living at it. I have just always found it easier to sell things, than it is to sell myself.

I wake up very early every morning. Usually before five AM. I start writing around six AM. Writing is the only thing I've ever been disciplined about.

I mention that because if you don't have the discipline to write, you're wasting your time reading this. Be gone!

I should also mention that this is being written for those who wish to go the self-publishing route.  If you are hoping to be published by a big house and they are going to throw big money into promoting your books, you are dismissed. I don't want you laughing at me. Be gone!

I submitted my work to agents and publishers many years ago and then stopped. I wrote for myself and never shared a word. Now, I'm back and I want to do it myself. Wish me luck!

Before you try to sell your writing, make sure you have something to sell. I stalk Facebook and Reddit "writer" groups where people spend a lot of time asking questions like, "What should I name my character?" and other nonsense. I have news for you: if you don't know what to name your character, which should be the easiest part of the process, there is nothing on any social media group that will help you. You are dismissed, follow the best sellers.

If you have written the book and it is ready for release into the wild, read on...

Adolfo Jimenez is an author, poet, and blogger. He lives in Hollywood, Florida. He has published eight books, which you can find here.

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The Business

This is a confession.

Too late. You're here now. You must listen to my tale of woe. To do otherwise, to turn away, would be indecent. You are a decent person... aren't you?

There are two sides to being a writer. There is the hard part, which is the actual writing. Then there is the harder part, which is selling yourself. I like sharing my experiences. I really do. What I don't like is the business of selling those experiences once they are bound in a book or put in an e-book.

Don't get me wrong, I want to sell the books. I want to sell millions of copies of my books. In my other life,  I sell for a living. I understand the science and the art of sales. I've just never learned how to sell myself and my creations, and that is exactly what selling books is. It is an author selling bits of himself.

Every story I've written is personal, even if not autobiographical. They came from inside of me. It's easier to write about these things than it is to talk about them.

So, I've spent the greater part of the weekend, studying and creating a marketing plan. I am all over social media and I am compiling a list of independent bookstores and book clubs that I will be visiting. If you're reading this, and I am ever in your neighborhood, please stop by and say hello.

I think I may continue the theme I've started here. It ought to be fun. Who knows? I may end up not hating the business of selling my writing after all!

Adolfo Jimenez is an author, poet, and blogger. He lives in Hollywood, Florida. He has published eight books, which you can find here.

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Dogs Matter

My dog Baxter, who was the most bestest goodest good boy ever, died about six months ago. He'd been with us most of his life and we got to enjoy his yodeling (he didn't really bark) for 12 years.  I am not one to say that dogs are equal to kids, but I understand why people fall in love with them. Losing Baxter was a very painful experience. I sat up with him all night and held him when he took his last breath. I hope I was some comfort to him. He was my best friend.

I decided that I didn't want another dog. Too much heartache. Then Fred came along. Or are we naming him Gus? Or Max? Not sure. He is sort of a Chihuahua, a breed of which I am not a fan. I have a very personal Chihuahua trauma that I may choose to write about someday. Today is not the day.

He's a cute guy. He spent the day with us yesterday and he's sweet and a little territorial. My daughter and I found him and took him in. We walked him around looking for his owner and found nothing.  Our neighbor posted an ad. No answer yet. It's only been a day, but it's looking kinda permanent. He is sitting on the floor next to me as I write. He is a distraction. I am easily distracted.

Dogs are calming forces in your life. So are cats and goldfish. Dogs especially love us. They look up to us and make us feel good about ourselves. If Gus (or Fred or Max) sticks around, I will be reading my work to him. I will be able to take pride in knowing that I have a number one, super-loyal fan, who looks up to me. That's a win in this dog's life.


Adolfo Jimenez is an author, poet, blogger, and bank robber living in Hollywood, Florida with his wife, his daughters, two guinea pigs, a cockatiel, and now Fred or Gus, the Chihuahua-ish dog.

He has published eight books, which you can find here.

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Is It Worth It?

What an odd question? Is it worth it? Without knowing what it is or what the other it is, the answer must be yes, it is worth it.

When you wake up in the morning, as I do, and sit at your desk and write, pouring your heart and soul and mind onto the page or into the word processor, you are not doing it for anyone else. You are doing it for yourself. Why? Because the words you write may never reach another soul. Sometimes you erase them. Other times you decide to let them die of neglect. Some make it, some don't.

There's also the risk of rejection. What if no one likes what you wrote? Is there anything worse? Of course there is. But for the purposes of this discussion, we'll pretend there is nothing worse than someone not liking your work. So what can you do?

Simple. Just keep doing it. Do it and do it again. And when you're done doing it, you guessed it, do it some more!

It's worth it. Not because people want to read your work and not because it can make you rich and famous. It's worth it for its own sake. There can be no other reason. Any other reason is wrong. Do it because it was what you were born to do.

If that's not reason enough, you're in the wrong business.

Adolfo Jimenez is an author, poet, and blogger. He lives in Hollywood, Florida. He has published eight books, which you can find here.

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