What do you do?

 

What do you do?

 

Ask any author which two questions they are asked most often and they will cheerfully* cite variations on these two gems:

 

1.    Should I have heard of you?

 

2.    Do you make a lot of money?

 

There’s also a third question that’s more open to interpretation:

 

What do you do?

 

Rather than talk about what I write, I take the query to be about how I spend my time as a working writer. Not including the snacks of course.

 

In the interests of unstructured and biased research I kept a record of activities for the whole of June. I’ve excluded working on a novel or any freelance writing because they’re a given.

 

Okay, here we go…

 

I entered a micro poetry competition (wellbeing) and a short story competition (hell), and I submitted a short play (leaving home and community) to a theatre.

 

I submitted a children’s book (wellbeing, friendship and transformation) to a therapeutic publisher.

 

I reviewed the comms from two literary agents, who I’d sent representation requests and manuscript samples to 11 and 17 weeks ago.

 

I applied to be a mental health co-writer for a book project.

 

I contributed to research surveys about writing and creative coaching.

 

I delivered literary festival programmes to fifteen shops and galleries.

 

I attended a monthly local writing group, rescheduled an online writing group call, and joined an excellent writing community.

 

I made over 100 comments, with jokes included, on LinkedIn. Mostly puns but a few with commercial potential. To be honest I stopped counting after reaching the century. Among my LI tribe we’ll all pretty much volunteer jesters, satirists and wits.

 

 

If you’re on LinkedIn and you’re looking for a writer, here’s where to find me:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/professionalwriter1/

 

* or not