A writer's life is often more about being an author than the writing itself.
Currently, I'm waiting for a revision letter on my next novel from DW at CP, and on weekends, when we're not traveling, GLS and I are working on an anthology story for LB (CC and HB).
Consequently, during the week, the writer hat has been off, and the author hat has been on.
Often when I speak, people ask me what I do on a typical day. It's a hard question because the days vary so much and are often filled with less than glamorous minutia. This inspired me to try to pin it down, just once.
Here's what author Cyn did one day last week:
woke up and got ready for the day (dressed, etc.);
sent two posts to a listserv for YA writers;
responded to a follow-up post by a member of that list;
sent a lead on a new agent to a writer;
sent flight information to GLS for the following weekend;
made and gobbled down breakfast (scrambled eggs and turkey bacon);
made decaffeinated iced tea to drink throughout the day;
reported to an illustrator on the "cumulative brain's" take on a burning question;
sent a blog-post URL to an author in which I featured news of her website update;
sent a reassuring note to a second author feeling at a loss;
sent another reassuring note to a writer-illustrator juggling a lot of responsibilities;
touched base with a debut author whose book I'm interested in reading;
sent a set of interview questions to a YA fantasy author;
sent a set of interview questions to a librarian-blogger;
wrote and sent an evaluation of a candidate for the VCFA program to the admissions office;
corresponded with an author-industry journalist about an upcoming feature;
congratulated pals who were finalists for the WLT Teddy Award;
contracted area YA authors about featuring signed copies of their recent books at a forthcoming librarian event;
corresponded with a prospective MFA student;
fielded two queries from beginning writers, referring them to SCBWI and relevant pages of my site:
autographed 15 bookplates and 7 bookmarks upon reader request and packaged them to go out;
autographed 25 bookmarks for a YA library reading group and packaged them to go out;
wrote back to about 10 YA readers on MySpace (and one YA librarian);
calculated the cost of postcard postage to Canada, Italy, Australia, China, etc. and stamped Santa Knows cards to go out internationally;
addressed more postcards to bookstores which we've worked with recently (about 20);
wrote a two-and-a-half minute script for a podcast;
sent thank yous to everyone who had entered the predator or prey? giveaway contest (deadline is today!);
picked up guacamole from the larger Randall's on Exposition;
dropped off dry-cleaning;
dined with GLS--ostrich tacos with whole-wheat tortillas (he of course cooked);
continued watching season one "Bones" (second time through) while signing my name with a green Sharpie to 2,300+ postcards (note: wouldn't normally do such a big mailing for a book--especially past season, but holiday books have a very short sales window, and reviews usually come out toward the end/after it);
slept.
