Working for a living: Women in the Arts, V

   What is the name of your business and what do you tell other people you do?

  My name is Linda Mercury, and I am a writer. 

   When did you know it was time to stop treating your art as a hobby and start it as a career?

On September 11, 2011, I went to work in the Children's section of the Hillsboro Public Library. My fellow librarians and I were talking about the attacks when I said something intelligent (hey, it happens now and again) about Islam. When she asked how I knew that, I replied that my first Master's degree was in Middle Eastern History. In the year following, I contributed to a book she was editing. During this process, I realized that my childhood dream of writing was not silly, was possible, and that I had things to contribute to making the world a better place.

It felt like coming home.

   What are some of the aspects of your job that people don’t see? For example, most people don’t understand how much marketing is done by the authors themselves instead of a publisher, and most audience members don’t see how costumes and props are designed/chosen.

I enjoy having a flexible schedule. Sometimes, people will see that I'm going to a museum or taking a nap and think that writing is easy. It's not. I'm constantly at work, no matter what I'm doing.

 

   Who inspired/inspires you on those inevitable rough days?'

My Beloved, the Charming Man. The women I've interviewed for this series. Michael Baxter, the brilliant photographer. All the writers out there getting their words down. And, of course, Cherry Adair, who tells you to Finish the Damn Book!

   Name a few of your current projects. For example, conferences, publicity, design process, what you have for sale. This question is a chance to meander or talk in greater depth if you’d like. Here you can talk about what hobbies you pursue, how you refresh your well of ideas, what you would recommend to other women interested in a career in the arts.

Dracula Unleashed, the third book in my Blood Wings series, comes out on March  21, 2013. 

I'm currently writing a synopsis for a fourth book in the series I'm going to submit to my editor at Kensington. Also, I'm participating in the nine-part New Year Resolutions blog tour that starts on the 1st.

As for advice? If you want to write a book, do it! Don't worry about making it Perfect or The Kind of Book People Will Study in School. Just get the damn thing out of your head and on paper. Let it suck!

Then, you get in there and edit, edit, edit.

Working for a Living: Women in the Arts IV

Ladies and gentlemen, meet the multi-talented Jessa Slade, author of the Marked Souls series.

1.      What is the name of your business and what do you tell other people you do? (such as author, teacher, designer)

Hello, I’m Jessa Slade, and I’m an author. (This sounds like a 12-step program intro, except I use my last name because I’m dying for people to know how word-addicted I am.) When people ask what I do, I say I am a writer. I say writer instead of author because I like to emphasize the verb part. I’m a writer when I write. That’s the part I control. Technically, I suppose you could say I control the author part too, now that I am self published, but personally, I consider the author part of myself subject to the whims of being read. And that part I can’t control. Sadly!

2.      When did you know it was time to stop treating your art as a hobby and start it as a career?

When I got paid! That sounds a little mercenary, doesn’t it? I guess I’m going by the IRS’s definition :) I’ve always written with the intent of being read, and until that happened, I wasn’t ready to call myself an author, which is the career part. But to be honest, I didn’t make that many changes moving from writer to author. The deadlines are more deadly :) but the work is pretty much the same: words on the page, one after the other.

3.      What are some of the aspects of your job that people don’t see? For example, most people don’t understand how much marketing is done by the authors themselves instead of a publisher, and most audience members don’t see how costumes and props are designed/chosen.

I did a booksigning at the Powell’s Books at the Portland International Airport with a couple other authors, and I was surprised how many people were surprised we were authors! I mean, we were sitting at tables surrounded by our books next to a sign that said Meet The Authors, and yet when we said we were the authors, people invariably said, “You’re the authors?” in simultaneous tones of surprise, pleasure and suspicion. Apparently we did not look like authors! I wonder what would have convinced people.

Most people don’t see the hours that go into writing a book. Nathaniel Hawthorne said “Easy reading is damn hard writing.” I suspect most people think writing is easy because all of us learn our alphabet from our very earliest years, so how hard could it be, stringing those same 26 letters together over a blank page? (Insert maniacal laughter here.)

4.      Who inspired/inspires you on those inevitable rough days?

I belong to a great romance writers’ organization, Romance Writers of America. The women and men in my local chapter are a fabulous source of inspiration and energy. There is always someone querying or getting published, just starting or just finishing a book, touring blogs or going off-line to concentrate. Seeing that constantly ebb and flow of mindful effort, excitement, determination, and passion helps keep me going when the works aren’t going.

5.      Name a few of your current projects. For example, conferences, publicity, design process, what you have for sale.

 

For the holiday season, I published a Christmas novella in my Marked Souls demonic possession series. (What? Christmas and demons go together like children and lots of sugar.) THE DARKEST NIGHT is about two lost souls finding each other at the darkest time of the year. Also, the second book in my Steel Born dark fairy series, A LITTLE NIGHT MUSE, is out in January. I’m currently working on the second book in my science fiction romance anthology series and the third book of the Steel Born. I gotta write faster!

6. (OPTIONAL)   This question is a chance to meander or talk in greater depth if you’d like. Here you can talk about what hobbies you pursue, how you refresh your well of ideas, what you would recommend to other women interested in a career in the arts, or just anything you'd like other people to know.

I truly believe in the power of a creative outlet to change for the better the way we live, think and love. I don’t doubt that entropy is out to get us, and our only way to battle the inevitable chaos is to create. Whether that’s writing, music, painting, sewing, cooking, gardening, or compiling supercuts of cute baby animal videos, find the thing you love and share it with the universe. The universe is waiting for your art!

You can find me online at:

My website, My newsletter, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Goodreads