Well, technically, not the mouth attached to my own body, but nevertheless.

Readers always say they want a peak into the writer's life.

Well, let me tell ya. That peak can be pretty boring. I mean...sticking in headphones, cranking the music, putting fingers to keyboard, and typing away to paint with words that pictures that are going through my mind. Taking a break for the potty or to eat, then back to fingers pounding keys. Yes, it's so entirely utterly amazingly glamorous. Ahem.

Ok, ok. I do happen to have a quick story I can share today about my writer's life.

Took two of my kids walking today. Been trying to do that some since the weather is nice enough, now. Took them around my complex as I have a few times. Today, walking around one corner, we saw another child. Cool. Maybe a new friend for my two year old girl.

My little girl just watched this new child. Watched with much interest. So, that mom and I start talking. Her name is Karen. She introduces me to her mom, whom she lives with. Before long we're talking about tattoos and a local artist that people confuse me with. That takes us to writing. This leads them to tell me that her mom is published in a local publication back home.

Then, my blabber mouth tries to change the subject. No, not the mouth on my own body. My blabber mouth is my 7 year old son. It's an affectionate name, really. Thing is, he'll tell a total stranger all about our entire family. What we do, where we go, who is in our family, etc. Every detail. So he tries, as is his custom. The subject gets abruptly changed...back to writing, haha. Not by me, mind you. I'm listening. After all, if I so much as tried to interrupt my lovely blabber mouth, he would go right back to his story. I've tried, haha.

So, back to writing we go.

And then...voila! Mr. Blabber Mouth takes off again. He desperately wants to change the subject. After all, daddy's writing is boring. Haha! Not really. It's just that he doesn't understand it yet. So, attention needs to be focused back on him. Not daddy. That's cool with daddy, though. He start unleashing some more details.

And, voila! Yes, the subject is changed back to...writing.

Then, drum roll please, my son changes it back to what SHOULD be the gold topic of the day. HIM. Gotta love him. Actually, if it was HIM that was the topic, I would be delighted with it. But when it's family details to a stranger. Eh, not so much.

So, two opposing forces battle between talking about....well, themselves. A 7 year old continues his power play and an adult continues her power play, seeing who has the biggest will or most staying power, or....something like that. Who will win? Hehe, my son won't give in that easy. Then again, neither should most writers. But, alas, most writers do give in that easy.

So, we end this verbal tug of war and agree that we'll see each other outside again soon, since the weather is nice.

Yes, a glimpse into a writer's life.

It's all glamorous and glitzy and, well...braggarty. Or something like that. Especially when it's not you bragging.

What's your glamorous life like? Gotta more glitzy than mine :)
 
It hit me today. Yes, I'm becoming more "independent" with my work, in that it's getting out there more. My writing is in more hands. More eyes are reading what I've written.

Yet, that independence leads to dependence. Sort of.

I realized that around 10,000 people have a copy of one book. I then realized that those people could be riding a bus or a train, sitting in a doctor's office, sitting in a corner shutting the world out, killing time while waiting for a loved one to come home, or sitting on a beach somewhere...while reading my book. People all over the country have a copy of my book on their ereader.

This actually leads to more dependence, while giving the writer more independence. It's in the business side of things. If a person is simply a writer and not a business person, that person can simply write whatever they want and not care. They won't care if anyone ever reads their work. They won't care if their work is shared. They won't care if their work is bought. They won't care if their work is popular. They simply write to write. Period.

However, for the write that's also a business person, the independence and dependence are actually tied together. In order for us to be independent, we must also realize that we are dependent. We are dependent on the reader to actually enjoy what we write. After all, if the reader doesn't enjoy it, the work will never go far.

So yes, I have around 10,000 people with a copy of one of my books. Now I wonder how many of those are enjoying with they are reading. I'm sure at least some are, because I've had great reviews. I'm also sure some are, because they've bought the first sequel. I'm also sure some are, because they've bought the short story prequel.

In the end, yes, I'm dependent on these readers to be happy. To spread word-of-mouth. To help me build my brand and my series, to please their reading tastes.

So, in this case, being dependent to be independent feels so good.
 
Here you are, minding your own business and next thing you know, a flash of inspiration hits you. An idea. A seed. You've been "seeded" or....inseminated. This is the pleasure point.

Then you feed and nourish the seed, helping it grow. You have to constantly feed it so it doesn't wither away. As you feed it, and it grows, it requires more time and nutrition to fatten up, to flesh out, to form something resembling the finished product. This may last a few months.

Once you've gone through that process, the time is close to polishing your baby for the world to see. You now begin to labor through the important stuff to consider keeping for it's long term life. What will be best to help it prosper for years to come? What will make it as healthy as possible? What will help it get along with others? Or even outperform others? This stage normally needs input from other, more experienced people.

Now it's time to share your new creation with the world. You're nervous and anxious. You're excited and glowing. You're sweating and bloating. And that's all normal. You've spent months getting to this point. Now you're ready to push the final creation out to the world at large. There are likely to be screams of anguish side by side with craving love and support from family and friends. "Will the world like and accept my new creation?" This is one question among many flying through your  mind.

You realize you'll have conflicting emotions about your new creation for a lifetime to come. You'll have unending love and pride, alongside disappointment and fear. But, you figure you'll handle those as they come.

Finally, you take that last deep breath, squeeze hard one last time....and push your new creation out to the world. It's time to set it free and let the world love it or hate it as they will. Either way, you'll always love it.

Wow...who knew giving birth to a kid was so similar to giving birth to a book? Ok ladies, you have my permission to now bash me over the head. Just leave the bricks at home when you do so. Thank you.