September 17th, 2009

I began this section of the website a few years ago to journal the daily life of a writer. By now the average visitor to the site is painfully aware of just how boring it can be. I enjoy writing – right now I’m working on a biography about Elizabeth Custer. The research is enjoyable and her story is fascinating. Combing over personal letters and digging through artifacts at the National Archives that once belonged to Libbie is thrilling. No one was more surprised than I was to find out that much of your day as an author would be spent building press packets, writing press releases, placing ads about the books in various magazines, contacting radio and television producers to arrange interviews, phoning individual book stores to tell them about your books and ask them to consider carrying it, and arranging scheduling book signings. Actual writing is secondary to all of this. If you do the job well, book sales increase. If you aren’t staying on top of that particular aspect of the job, sales fall off. I hope sales for Thunder Over the Prairie, the new book that just came out in June, will increase as the film’s executives get closer to the day we begin production on the story, but for now sales have slowed down considerably. Instead of working on chapter two of the Custer biography today, I’ll be trying to correct that problem. I am frequently approached by aspiring writers with great stories they want to put down on paper. They have the same look in their eyes I used to have. And I suspect that like me, they will hold onto their exuberant naiveté until they have to draft the a proposal to an editor explaining what the book is about and how the work will make money for the publishing house. That’s when the dream of writing the perfect story that will change – when dreams runs head-long into commerce. I’ve never seen any pictures of Hemingway struggling over the business aspect of writing. Yes, I know he was Hemingway, but the industry has changed substantial since then. Few things live up to what you have them built up in your mind to actually be. The few exceptions for me are as follows: Disneyland. I’m still just as excited to be there as I was making all the preparations to be there. Falling in love. Nothing comes close to that glorious sickness you feel when you know you can’t wait to see that special someone again. Of course nothing hurts worse than learning that same love of your life eventually married and his wife happens to be kind and beautiful. Rocky Road ice cream lives up to the hype. Pizza never disappoints. Bolgna. I’d wear Bolgna if it were socially acceptable. Holding my kids I teach at Wednesday night Bible study lives up to the hype. Harry Potter movies, Lanai, Hawaii, Bodie, California, and Christmas all live up to the hype. I’ll try to keep that in mind today as I phone stores across the U.S. to discuss my books. To add balance to the activity be assured I’ll be eating a carton of Rocky Road while I dial.