I know. I know. I shouldn’t show my love so openly, but my love for you grows deep (like trees).
Let’s see here.
How does the blog world show love vs. people in my real life?
Conversations with PICS (people I can see-duh):
Jen: I wrote a book.
PICS: Nice *stares* what’s it about?
Jen: *blinks* Um, it’s complicated, but it’s about a girl who’s a witch-
PICS: Oh like Harry Potter?
Jen: No, Harry is a boy, my character is a girl (so clearly not Harry Potter related).
PICS: Hmm *blinks* *yawns* so can I buy it at a store?
Jen: Not yet.
PICS: So you really didn’t write a book then?
Jen: *mind slaps them* I wrote a book. Publishing is just a hard place to get into.
PICS: Oh. *awkward silence* Well good luck. I’m sure you’ll be rich soon.
Jen: *blinks* yeah *walks away
TWO MONTHS LATER
PICS: Is your book in stores yet?
Jen: *blank stare*
PICS: So is it?
Jen: No, it’s complicated.
PICS: Have you called any publishers?
Jen: *laughs hysterically* *clearly crazy* Um, no, you don’t call publishers.
PICS: Sure you do, my friend did. It worked for her.
Jen: Who is your friend? *what a liar*
PICS: Oh no one you know…
Jen: *figures*
PICS: okay, well she was self-published, and it was about flowers.
Jen: flowers?
PICS: Yeah, she’s a florist
Jen: Cool
PICS & Jen: *silent stares* *walks away*
Conversations with BIL (bloggers I love-duh):
Jen: I finished my book!
BIL: OH MY GOD THAT’S HUGE! How did you celebrate?
Jen: Glass of wine, bubble bath, and read a book.
BIL: Perfect! What is this one about?
Jen: My MC is sick and tired of being treated like garbage from the queen bees in the school. When she finds that she’s a witch her mother moves her to give her a fresh start and my MC decides that this time she’ll take down the queen bee before the queen bee takes down her.
BIL: WOW! That sounds SO good! Oh my gosh I can’t wait to hear when you query.
TWO MONTHS LATER
Jen: My MC hates me.
BIL: Dreaded writers block?
Jen: Ugh, yes. It’s awful. She won’t even talk once I told her I had to kill her friend.
BIL: Lost the element of surprise did ya? That stinks. Don’t worry it’ll come back to you.
Jen: I know you’re right. She just makes me angry.
BIL: Take a bubble bath, watch a chick flick, then try again in a few days.
Jen: Thanks.
See you. You guys get me. I don’t have to explain all the crap. So stay cool, stay sweet, stay solid.
How’s your experience in the real world?
Author Note: This is not everyone. For overdramatic purposes I chose an idiot, who isn’t my friend, I needed to make this work for me people. My husband is very supportive and several of my family members. THAT IS ALL. (Well not as in all who supports me. Just all the statements I have… CRAP!)
65 comments:
Hahahha...I know that feeling! Its like I would be listening to some of the people I know...hahha
Thanks for the smile,sweetie
Have a great day
Muah
Ps: I am hosting a stunning leather clutch GIVEAWAY later today, just in time for Holiday Parties!
Ha! The real world bites compared to my beautiful blogger friends.
HA!!!! Perfect. My experience exactly. PS: "PICS (people I can see-duh)" - that's brilliant. VERY CLEVER!!!!
Love this and it's so true. No one gets a writer, but a writer.
Love PICS.
YES. Yes. One thousand times, yes. Even people I am super super close to in the real world just... don't get it. It's amazing having an online community that speaks my language!!
SO true!!! :-)
This was PERFECT!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And so true! *hugs my blogger buddy*
Lol, love this! So true. :) This is my fave part:
Jen: *laughs hysterically* *clearly crazy* Um, no, you don’t call publishers.
PICS: Sure you do, my friend did. It worked for her.
Jen: Who is your friend? *what a liar*
PICS: Oh no one you know…
Jen: *figures*
Hahahaha, oh, you gotta love PICS!!!
Oh, man. You do have it down perfectly.
Sometimes I don't even talk about my writing to nonwriters because they wonder why the heck my book isn't on the shelves yet. Even my husband doesn't totally understand!
So perfect, this is how it goes for me.
Other person: What did you do this weekend?
Me: I worked on my book.
OP: Are you published?
Me: No it's sitting on my hard drive.
Op: Is this your first book.
Me: No, I've written three.
OP: Are any of them published?
Me: Nope, all three are sitting on my hard drive.
OP: Are you planning on getting it published?
ME: maybe, don't know. It's really hard industry.
Op: Then why do you do it?
Me: it's either write or rob 7-11s and I won't last long in jail.
Umm...I only have like three or four real world ppl I talk to at this point. Those three or four RW ppl are pretty supportive, though only one of them actually reads what I write. Haha. But Bils are awesome!!!!
beth-project52.blogspot.com
No, you're absolutely right. This is totally true. Not with everyone, but most people, definitely! Even my own husband says, "please don't talk about the book" the moment I open my mouth.
Thank goodness for the blogging community.
OMG this is so true and I LOVE to see how you played it out "on stage"
Great dialogue here. Personally I only talk to one real life person about writing: my daughter. She wants to be a writer too, but being 14 even she doesn't fully understand. Still, she is the closest thing I have to someone who gets it ... besides all of you amazing BILDs (bloggers I love ... DUH!).
Thanks Jen, this post rules.
That is so true. My PICS ususally just avoid any discussion of my "writing", like it's some type of tropical disease.
I love PICS, by the way. Great post.
So, so true. I did a similar post last year about a conv. wherein a kind friend kept asking me "which publisher I was going to choose"...like I had a choice between Random House or Penguin. ha! Then, when I tried to explain it she said, "Don't you believe in your work?"
*sigh*
Oh.MY.Gosh! This is so freaking true!!!
*stare* lol (exactly how I feel when talking about writing to NEPOTISTS (Normal Everyday People Only Trying to Indifferently Seem Trivially Sincere -duh))
Mwahaha! So, so true. When people say, "I hear you have a finished novel. When is it coming out?" I usually say, "I have a pretty good feeling about 2013." That usually makes their eyes bug out. Then I say, "breaking in is a very slow process, but thanks for asking. I appreciate knowing that you're cheering me on."
Funny. It's quite true to life, however. Some people "get" you some, some don't. Thank God for the blog world!
oh how true! Most people do not really understand because most times all they hear are these amazing stories about authors who become an instant success - not the ones who have worked hard and labored long over numerous novels before finally breaking into print. And of course the publishing business IS complicated. I have a large family but only 2 real supporters. All you bloggers are way more supportive of my writing than my relatives. Great post.
I am so all about this!!
Wait a second, you mean, there are people out there who will get me? I disbelieve. :)
That is SOOOO true! You captured it beautifully!
haha we love you to jen!
Hope you have a wonderful day!!!!
Haha, yep, this is totally my experience. My best friends are starting to get it, but everyone else who's not a writer is just totally confused! Love the blogging world :)
Oh! I can so relate. Especially when people dont understand that you can write a book and never actually finish it!
I've had several-hour long conversations about the processes with the people I feel deserve the energy for it... but for the most part I just kind of smooth over the edges of things.
Haha, I love my converstations with fellow bloggers/writers about these things...with others? Not so much. My friends and family are very supportive, but yeah..I get those odd conversations with people I just meet or don't know very well. Thats why not a lot of people know I'm writing a book- it's just so awkward sometimes!
PICS = humm wish I had thought of that
BIL - for a moment I thought you had sometime going on with your broter in law (eww, okay eww about my bil)
You wrote a book? Really?
hahah & lol I crack myself up, it's a good thing I have some left over wood glue.
K-bye
The real world? What is that? And do I want to know?
Fun post!
Yep, non-writers don't get us. It isn't there fault, we speak a different language of sorts. My experiences are very similar!
Clever, clever girl - loved this!! Aside from family, I kind of generally avoid telling PICS that I wrote a book. I'm not good with AIP....(awkward in person) :)
Some people are a little slow to catch on and even rude.
I've been lucky with PICS. My friends do get it. But yeah, it needs explaining. They think you just write a book (and what could be easier, right?)and it magically turns into a big bestseller.If only...:)
Pretty much the same as this. I do have a book coming out and everyone still asks me when it's coming out. Then they say they can't wait, and won't June hurry up? And I'm like, "You're not helping."
LOL! But it's fun to talk to real people, sometimes.
Oh, my gosh! So true. I'll choose BILs over PICs any day when it comes to writing talk. :-)
That about sums it up!
Oh, and add that online friends are more likely to actually buy the book than real life friends.
haha cute read! Bloggers have a language of their own.
Hahahah totally true! Laughed my arse of with these dialogues! =D
And about your comment: I secretly love Ramsey and Simon too. Shhhh Dont tell anyone!
It's so true! People can't believe I'm still waiting to hear from the same agent after months have passed... Oh well!
So true. I get the 'have you finished the editing yet' all the time! Thank God for writer friends like you.
Hahahaha! So true. I actually only share things about my writing with a few (like, literally two or three) PICS because of this.
OMG, I loved this. Every word is so true!!! You should do another one in which PICS talks about how they always wanted to write a novel, have a killer idea, and how it'll take them one night to write it.
This is why writers need other writers. Otherwise we'd be stuck in the big void that is life surrounded by non-writers. It's ok for a bit but horrible day in day out.
Jai
This is so true and so funny. Sometimes I wish fewer of the PICS even knew I wrote books. (Unless they buy them, that is)
ha! Love it! It's so true. It's hard to explain to people who don't write what you've done and how things work to get published. It's good to have people who speak 'writerese' (I recently read a writing buddy's blog post that used that term!)
Hi, Jen, thanks for stopping by my blog. So, uh, I wrote a book. Well, co-authored. We're going on two years of post-editing. Getting an agent is hard. Getting a publisher is harder. When do we shelve it and start over again?
Glad you like the blog. I will be stopping by from time to time.
UGH!! YES!!! So that way!!!!! I get that "how's your writing going?" "good!" And you know, you get that LOOK. That "huh I haven't seen your book in stores yet so can't be that good" look. Ugh! Hate it!
This is why I don't broach the subject of my writing with my PICS. I'll let them know when it's in the stores. LOL
can I come hang out with the voices in your head? they're more entertaining than the ones in mine right now....
this was so spot on! even friendly non-idiots don't understand like the BIL's do.
so, is it at B & N yet? JK!!!
hey, you should do this in that toon movie making thing, it'd be hilarious!
LOL! And that's exactly why I love blogland!
Reality is killing my fantasy. I need a good long holiday from reality to get my fantasy working again.
Oh wait...I took 2 days of vacation so I could have a 4 day weekend this weekend. Um, maybe I can drown reality for a few days?
LOL
I HATE telling most people how my writing's going. At least those that follow my blog or I tweet at on Twitter UNDERSTAND when I say that Sorcha's giving me fits or Cel's rebelling. Everyone else just looks at me like I'm nuts.
You're so right!! Blog buddies totally get it. PICS... not so much. :)
Oh, it is SO TRUE. If I hadn't found all my awesome BILs I think the PICS might have worn me down by now. We keep each other going!
Laughing with you! Had so many of these same conversations - even after my first MS was published, because it was an "e-book only."
Thus not in stores. Thus not real.
*sigh*
Thank goodness for the blogosphere...
Happy Holidays & Happy Writing!
KatieO
way cool. Sounds about right - even with the family disclaimer at the end.
Keep your writing spirits up.
.......dhole
Haha..what an entertaining way to start my morning, thank you! Well, my experience has been somewhat like that. My family has been trying to be supportive, but at first they didn't really understand how difficult it was. Once I got the internship with Variance, though, they shut up a little, but still they have no clue. With other people? I don't say much. I just say I'm a writer and move on. If they continue to ask, I tell them the truth, but most of the people I know understand the business.
-J.
hahaha love it!
There are very few people in the real world I will tell about this part of my life... I've selected the lucky few carefully, and have even inspired one or two of them to write something of their own. The rest (not counting my writers group) will find out when I have a solid book to show them. :)
LOL, this is a very clear way of showing the differences. Reaction of PICS is totally why I hesitate to tell people I write. XP
Fun post.
Well said, Jen!
This is so typical of what writers deal with. Great post - I don't feel so alone!
OMG, that might have been just slightly dramatized but not by much! It is so nice to be able to talk to other writers about this crazy dream of ours, because other people often don't really get it!
This is exactly why I don't talk about my writing in the real world and I spend so much time in front of a computer! :)
LOL. Wonderful post. People ask me what I do because I don't have a day job right now. So I tell them. Some people get excited, some people just stare so when they go quiet, it feels awkward. It's as if to say to me 'So what? Don't care. Don't wanna know.' LOL. You're absolutely not alone, Jen.
Other writers have saved my sanity on here. I don't even talk about my writing with non-bloggers anymore (even other writers I know don't understand the book publishing world and can't quite wrap their minds around what I've been doing all this time).
Oh sooooo true, Jen!
With the huge online writing community, and the fifteen million other writers out there competing to be that one-new-client-a-year your dream agent will take on, it feels like the world must be awash with fellow writers.
Until you go out into the big wide world and try to find someone, anyone, you can talk to face to face who really gets it.
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