Very few book authors write nothing but books all day every day. Leaving aside the necessity of submissions of unpublished manuscripts, publicizing published books, and all the other requisite miscellany in an author’s professional life, most book authors do other types of writing as well.Some have day jobs that involve writing. Some, like me, are freelancers, who write articles, business materials, ads, and more for a variety of clients. Some do something else that involves writing during the hours they’re not working on The Great American Novel or their next how-to.
Myself, I like the variety, going from one task to another, meeting new challenges, trading out one project for another, not working on the same project, book or otherwise, all day every day.
Last Saturday was such a day. A recurring client had commissioned me to write five short articles on the subject of one of his businesses. I had told him I would have time to write them on Saturday. Then another recurring client, a web designer who calls on me when he needs copy written for whatever website he’s working on, tasked me with writing four short, evocative pieces for a new client. Still later, he called me with a sudden and urgent—though brief—additional assignment.
Somehow I managed to get it all done in one day—and what a glorious day it was, project-hopping from one article to the next to the next and so on, then changing gears and writing the four evocative pieces, then switching tracks again and writing that last brief assignment. I revelled in it.
Sunday saw me start the day by writing what I called a “backgrounder” for want of a better term—an article for all intents and purposes, but not intended to be published as-is but rather to inform another writer, who wanted something more structured than notes. It was a bit of an unusual situation. But it was easy, and the pay (yet to come) will be decent.
After that I settled into what promises to be a long spate of editing, though it will be—already has been—interrupted by various other tasks as they pop up.
My worklife feels like a Chinese menu plan: One from Column A, one from Column B, three from Column C.
I love it!