Guest post by S.M. Boyce, author of Lichgates, and giveaway.

I read a quote once that was something along the lines of, โwriters have several careers because they canโt admit to themselves that they are, in fact, writers.โ I canโt for the life of me find it now (so if you do, please pipe in down in the comments), but man, is it true.
In my employment history, Iโve done everything short of joining the CIAโฆand Iโm pretty sure thatโs for everyoneโs benefit because you donโt want me to have a gun. Iโve been a software tester, barista, jewelry sales associate, bartender, marketing intern, wedding planner, BeautiControl saleswoman, assistant to a nosy stained glass artist, manager, waitress, Yankee Candle sales associate (those candles smell like heaven)โฆIโm probably missing about seventeen jobs, but you get the idea.
The weird thing? I wasnโt fired from any of them. Not one. I moved on because it just wasnโt what I wanted to do anymore, and Iโm not a fickle person or anything. I worked hard, even if I hated the job, because my parents taught me to always do my best, no matter what. No, I quit because the jobs just didnโt make me happy. I wasnโt passionate about any of them. The only problem was I didnโt know what I wanted to do with my life. Who does, right?
Throughout it all, I scribbled plot outlines and character sketches in the corners of napkins. I escaped from the stresses of life by creating my own worlds, with complex people that had problems of their own but always found some crazy way to overcome their obstacles. It made me jealous, I tell you. Yes, jealous of fictional characters. I know. Hush.
Publishing a book had always been a dream. I loved to write and tell stories, but it didnโt seem like a feasible way to make a living. For starters, didnโt authors eat paper and warm themselves by burning their returned books? Thatโs what it seemed like, at least. Plus, Iโd always thought that it would be too stressful to turn my passion into my primary means of making money. Wouldnโt deadlines and expectations take all of the fun out of it? Iโd heard so many freelancers tell me so that I was hesitant to make the leap.
Iโm not sure what snapped. Not sure what changed my mind, but I eventually told myself that enough was enough. Iโd been developing and planning a rather intricate book series since 2005, and I was going to write the damn thing. I sat down, and in six months, Iโd written my first rough draft of my first book. I did Nanowrimo one year, but I donโt count that. My Nanowrimo book was only 50,000 words of impromptu plot. But thisโฆthis was 130,000 words of oh-my-god-I-did-it.
Of course, editing was a beast. I cut the word count down to what was appropriate for young adult fantasy. I changed names. I rewrote the ending three times. I erased two characters completely because they just didnโt need to exist. I cut, cut, cut. I polished. I slaved over it while my husband patted my back and let me do my thing. Goodness, is he a trooper.
My book was released in October of 2011, and I can now write full time. Iโm a full time author. Haha! And I love it. I realized that all those hourly and salaried positions were just J-O-Bs: the means to an end. But now, I finally started my career. And Iโve never been happier working overtime.
I guess the snuggly-hug-fest moral of the story is to keep going. I wrote Lichgates at nights and on weekends, and largely sacrificed much of my personal life for it. But now that the book is out thereโnow that itโs realโit was worth every ounce of caffeine I consumed to keep me going.
Thanks for having me here today! And to everyone interested in a fun comments discussion: what was your craziest/oddest/most-fun job ever?
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Wonderful to read your success story. Thank you for the giveaway.
To be honest I'm 16 and I never had a crazy job except babysitting and construction with my father. One day ill have to start off with bad jobs I hate until I finally reach my dream of being a famous author. But I also want to be a forensic scientist. I just hope I reach this goal one day.
Just want to confirm the giveaway is international. Sorry I'm not running round promoting the blog tour but my laptop adapter started smoking so am relying on my iPhone until a new one arrives ๐
Incidentally, I work in software testing and have no desire to give it up to write a book ๐
This was refreshing to read. I was always hesitant (and I still am to a certain extent) about having writing be a "career" or "job." While it still isn't as of yet for me, it is what I went to college for, like you yourself have done. It took me awhile to accept the fact that I couldn't think of anything else I'd like to do with myself. In some ways the fun was taken out of the writing process, but other things soon took their place as I learned more of the craft. It helped me learn much more about myself and open up parts of me I didn't know existed. I don't think another line of study/work could have done this.
I guess the moral of what I have to say is: working hard for what you have a passion for is always rewarding in the end. Getting there is hard (and I'm still struggling on the path,) and don't give up. Myself or other people who read this could wind up in your position some day; we can enjoy a writing career ๐
Thanks for the giveaway! It's always good to hear about things that turn out as a happy ending : )
I loved reading this entry.
I enjoyed your post.
I really loved this post!
Thank you, everyone! Glad you enjoyed the post. Thanks so much for stopping by and for giving Lichgates a chance.
Another side of SM Boyce. Love the guest post!
Great post, was nice hearing your success story. It took me a year to decide what I was going to study. I have 2 years left to graduate and even though I like what I'm studying, I know that's still not what I actually want to do. And I still don't know.
Great post! Congratulations on your book and it sounds really good ๐ I always dream of writing a fantasy book and sometimes I jot down ideas and a few maps but never seems to go any further…maybe now I should pick it back up again ๐
thanks for the giveaway… ๐