I wasn’t going to write a blog post today. I spent the day at the park, chatting with some friends while my daughter played, and I came home sunburnt, and with a headache! But then I went across and read Joel Friedlander’s post on Why You Should be Blogging about your Origins, and I thought that sounded like a fun post!
So today I’m going to be talking about the people who have supported me in my journey to become a writer. I have a lot of writer friends, and one of the things people talk about is the number of people who have told them that they could never make money from writing books. Sometimes this comes from complete strangers, but often from people close to them, their families and partners.
I think I’ve been really lucky. I loved creative writing in school, and would happily write all day. My mum would encourage me when I said I wanted to write books, and even tell me that I didn’t need to wait until I was grown up, but I could write a book now. (I might have done it too, if I’d had a computer, but alas, writing by hand, or even worse, editing by hand, never did it for me.) When I started writing more seriously in 2006, she was just as encouraging, and when I decided to self publish, she was right behind me.
My hubby is just as supportive. Even long before I had any plans to actually make money from my writing, he supported it because it was something I enjoyed, and that was important to me. He cheered me on through NaNoWriMo each year, and helped me to find writing time, even when he was working full time. When I decided to self publish, he was my best proofreader, and he’s cheered on every sale I’ve made.
My sister, who’s designed every one of my covers, and my webpage graphics, proofread my books, and given countless hours of discussion to knotty plot problems, helps in a more practical way.
Even my daughter, who’s 9 years old, loves to tell everyone about Mummy’s book, gets excited when a print copy arrives, and wants to write books too.
I’m very lucky to have all these supportive people around me. It certainly makes writing easier, and I’m sure I wouldn’t be where I was today without their help.
Who’s supported you in your writing journey? Give them a shout out in the comments below.
What a lovely post. I’ve been lucky too with a hugely supportive family (hubbie, Mum, stepdad and sister) and I’m appreciative every day, especially in these early days, when money isn’t really coming in. I do get the odd raised eyebrow from my business friends when I assure them I will make money one day, but they still buy my books (or say they do!) and read my blog. More recently the online community has been amazing in supporting me. I’m a lucky lady!
Having a supportive family really does make a big difference. And yes, the online community! I forgot to mention them, but I’ve definitely learned so much, and had so much support from people I’ve never even met! I love the internet!
You are very blessed to have such supportive people around you.
Thanks Nana. I am very lucky.
What she doesn’t mention here is how much she gives back to those around her. As the aforementioned sister, she goes out of her way to help me too – looking after my cat while I’m away, helping me learn to write, acting as hand model for photos, and generally keeping me sane.
Aww. Thanks. (Although seriously, keeping you sane? That might be too much to ask. 🙂 I’m not sure I’m succeeding at keeping myself sane!) Glad to know it goes both ways.