The Exciting Life of a Published Author

Nancy Mehl is a USA Today best-selling author. She’s been a finalist for the Carol Award twice and won the award once. She was also a finalist for two Reviewers’ Choice Awards from RT Book Reviews, and was a finalist for the coveted Christy Award. She lives in Missouri with her husband, Norman, and her Puggle, Watson. She’s authored over forty books and is currently working on a new series for Bethany House about an FBI profiler, and a cozy mystery series with Guideposts, set in Savannah, Georgia.

Readers can learn more about Nancy through her Web site: www.nancymehl.com. She is part of The Suspense Sisters: www.suspensesisters.blogspot.com, along with several other popular suspense authors. She is also very active on Facebook.

Writing is a tough profession. If you want to be published, don’t jump in with rose-colored glasses. Yes, you get to stay home and work in your p.j.s., which is appropriate because you may be working through many nights when you’d rather be in bed. You will probably gain an addiction to caffeine. You may miss family get-togethers, vacations, and hanging out with friends. You’ll deal with good editors, bad editors, good reviews, terrible reviews, and requests for rewrites that make you wonder if you’ve suddenly lost the ability to write. Sometimes good writers get dropped by their publisher for reasons that are hard to understand. (Usually poor sales.) Thankfully, this hasn’t happened to me, but I’ve watched some incredibly talented authors go through this. Rejection is painful and can make gifted people question their career choice. And please don’t plan to get rich. I read once that the average published writer (leaving out the Stephen Kings and J.K. Rowlings) makes between $10,000 and $12,000 a year. Yep. Exciting, huh?

Then there are the little surprises in life. You know, like family emergencies, illness, injury, etc.  You can’t plan for these, they just drop into your life like unpleasant visitors from out of town who knock on your door and insist they stay with you for a while. Suddenly, the deadline you were certain you could make becomes impossible. So now you have to ask your publisher for more time. That in itself is scary…and it’s where I am right now. So…this post will be short.

I realize I sound a little negative, but the truth is, I love being a writer. I can't imagine doing anything else. (I may need professional help. Sigh.)

Leave a comment below, along with your contact information. Someone will win an eBook copy of DEAD END. I’ll pick a winner on Monday.

“I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.” Douglas Adams