Long ago, I took a few creative writing courses at school, and I thought I was pretty good. I submitted a few stories, got the same few stories back (occasionally with an encouraging note), and ... well, ran out of things to say. I've never been a full-time writer and doubt I ever will be, but I kept my toe in the water with short nonfiction and some editing; my long sojourn through the workforce - I wouldn't ever dignify it by calling it a career - culminated with a few years of proofreading and sub-editing for a dictionary.
In the 1980s, I edited a hobbyzine about shortwave radio and wrote and published a book, also about shortwave, through the organization's auspices. It sold 46 copies, give or take a couple. Or maybe it went into a second printing and sold ± 96 copies; I forget. I lost my own copy along the way.
At this point, I do some proofreading for a philatelic magazine, and I've had a few short articles published about stamp-related topics. I guess I'm drawn to obsolete - er, make that steampunk - hobbies. Anyway, I'm about to start work on another one. I'm also editing for possible publication a manuscript left by a relative who died prematurely in 1962. I like editing, but this one's tough because it is a theological interpretation of John Milton's Paradise Regained and John Milton wasn't exactly the type of guy you'd want to call up on the phone and say, "Yo, Johnny! How's about we grab a few cool ones and watch da Red Sawx?" If I can turn this into a publishable book without distorting its meaning beyond all recognition, that'll be cool beans.
In the 1980s, I edited a hobbyzine about shortwave radio and wrote and published a book, also about shortwave, through the organization's auspices. It sold 46 copies, give or take a couple. Or maybe it went into a second printing and sold ± 96 copies; I forget. I lost my own copy along the way.
At this point, I do some proofreading for a philatelic magazine, and I've had a few short articles published about stamp-related topics. I guess I'm drawn to obsolete - er, make that steampunk - hobbies. Anyway, I'm about to start work on another one. I'm also editing for possible publication a manuscript left by a relative who died prematurely in 1962. I like editing, but this one's tough because it is a theological interpretation of John Milton's Paradise Regained and John Milton wasn't exactly the type of guy you'd want to call up on the phone and say, "Yo, Johnny! How's about we grab a few cool ones and watch da Red Sawx?" If I can turn this into a publishable book without distorting its meaning beyond all recognition, that'll be cool beans.
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I have started and stopped, trashed and rewritten countless things before I found the voice I was comfortable with. And now I'm an obsessed maniac that can't stop. Who knows if that voice is something other people want to read, but I'm comfortable with it, and now all I do is write -- and for fun! I hope that hits you the same way. Or maybe not. Did I just wish a curse on you?