…And will she ever get it back? More to the point, does she want to?
I have made only sporadic progress on the book I started writing in the summer of 2024. It’s titled LARCENY IN THE LIGHTHOUSE and is intended to be the first in a new cozy series called The Seahorse Bay Mysteries. I’m 62k words into book one, with only about another 18k to go. The plot excites me, the pacing is solid, the characters are entertaining, and the premise seems to work. I even have a really cute cover for the book.
Why, then, do I continue to go weeks and weeks without adding a word?
A little backstory:
My writing career began in 2020 when I started the Callie Cassidy Mystery series. I published the first book in January 2021 and subsequently wrote and published five additional books, the most recent one in April 2024. That’s six books in just over three years, for those of you keeping count. Not a bad pace. I attended a few conferences, won a few awards, garnered some decent sales and reviews. All in all, a heady pursuit.
Then the hubby retired. We moved from Texas to Colorado Springs, into a 55+ community filled with so many nice people and a plethora of fun activities. All my grandkids are local, as, obviously, are my daughters and their husbands. There’s so much to do, so much to see, so many people to enjoy. Writing began to seem like an after-thought instead of a passion. With three-quarters of the draft complete, I just can’t seem to accelerate to the finish line.
I’ve also been negligent on all things regarding marketing. I stopped tending to my social media. I do little in the way of advertising. And in-person events? I wasn’t good at those when I was all in, much less these days.
As I was discussing my lagging sales and non-existent writing schedule with my brother-in-law, a retired tax accountant, he said this:
“Do you know what we call that kind of career in tax circles? A hobby.”
I’ve been doing a lot of self-reflection since that statement. What is it I actually want? I’ve considered giving up writing, and when I think about that, a tightness grows in my gut. Being an author has provided me with pleasure, confidence, friends, psychological healing—so many good things have come from writing.
And I feel in my heart I shouldn’t…can’t…quit.
So, here’s my plan: devote a few hours MOST days to finishing this book. Rebuild the writing habit. Commit to this for six months and see how I feel at the end of that time. Maybe it doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing pursuit. Maybe the line between career and hobby is nebulous, and I can find a way to straddle it.
It’s not a perfect plan, but it’s what I have right now. My path toward getting my groove back.
Thanks for attending my personal therapy session. I would love to hear your experiences, thoughts, and advice.
The Callie Cassidy Mystery series is available on Amazon Kindle, Kindle Unlimited, and paperback.
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Lori Roberts Herbst writes the Callie Cassidy Mysteries, a cozy mystery series set in Rock Creek Village, Colorado, and the soon-to-be-released Seahorse Bay Mysteries, set in a Texas cruise port town. To find out more and to sign up for her newsletter, go to www.lorirobertsherbst.com
