Tiffany M. Davis

I spent yesterday making changes to the print copy proof of The Camille Chronicles. Then I did a bit of writing, and set up some merchant accounts, and lined things up for the pre-release next week. Then I watched back episodes of NCIS (the Ziva days!).

That was it. And it felt strange.

Perhaps it’s a holdover from my days in Corporate America. Perhaps it’s our societal culture that mandates that doing is more important than not doing, even if you’re not doing anything significant. The confluence of both influences leads to a feeling of guilt when I take time to rest, or do something fun…something not work-related.

The strange feeling also comes from the fact that my “work” is now writing (it took me fourteen years to get to this point, so I’ve got a lot of personal deprogramming to do LOL). And while creating the book is key (you can’t really be an author if you don’t write anything), writing is also a business–at least, it is if you want to last as an author, and make money from your craft in the process. So since I’m starting out as a self-published author and don’t yet have anyone do to the grunt work for me, it’s left for me to do pesky things like setting up merchant accounts, maintaining social media sites, marketing, and anything else that positions my current and future books for maximum positive reception from the public. It’s things like those that remind me that the publishing and media business is, indeed, a business, and I must treat it accordingly. No creative person, in whatever media, can afford to play the dillettante artist and only focus on the craft. Even if you sell and distribute work through more traditional channels, you still have to look out for your best interests because you can’t depend on those around you to do it for you. Yes, this includes those whom you hire to do just that.

I say all this to say that, work doesn’t have to be a struggle. Life doesn’t have to be a struggle. Too often, we make it so because we think we have to (I am guilty of this). So much that when we enter an easier way of life, it feels strange. Life is too short for the madness, and madness takes its toll–make sure you have correct change. 😉

As the character Lydia Grant once said in the movie (and eventual TV show) Fame: “You want fame? Then fame costs. And right here is where you start paying…in sweat.”

Sweat is an essential part of building anything from scratch, but there is something to be said for working smarter, not harder.

Thanks for stopping by.