My latest adventure was attending an authors/editors/agents event at Barnes & Noble on 6th Ave and West 8th Street. It was coordinated by Susan Shapiro, author of 8 books including Speed Shrinking, 5 Men Who Broke My Heart and Lighting Up. The discussion covered topics such as getting an agent, working with an editor and how the heck does a person decide on writing a book when they’re doing other things in life.
Each author started out in one direction in life only to end up as an author of book(s). One of my favorite moments was when Shapiro asked an author how long it had taken him to write his novel. He didn’t want to answer at first, but she coaxed it out of him. “15 years.” he said sheepishly. I heard the whole room of writers utter a sigh. It sure took the time pressure off. While it’s best to go Shapiro’s route: “One page a day is a book a year,” there is still hope if you’re like me—juggling multiple careers to pay inflated NYC bills while you’re plugging away on your book. The crowd lol’d when the panelists listed odd jobs they’d worked—from digging ditches, fetching dry cleaning to interning for free.
C’mon writers, let’s have a cumulative woo hoo for ourselves and keep on truckin’.