After NYC kidlitcon, my booklaunch and my online book party, there was still work to do! Wonderful readers from all over had ordered books from Porter Square Books, so Rain Dragon and I (with lovely Libby) returned to sign them. All 110 (!!!!) of them.
Needless to say, after the first 50, Rain Dragon got a little antsy in the stroller and I was soon signing with her in my lap. I was absolutely thrilled to be signing the books and so grateful to everyone who ordered, but it was a tricky juggling act.
I realize that this is symbolic of my life from now on. As I look ahead to the new house, new events and new books (hopefully), I can already see the complications. When I wrote Starry River of the Sky, it was a consuming process and it was purposefully so. I wanted to create a book to the best of my ability, dedicating all my time, focus and passion into it.
I don't know if I can do that now, yet, I worry that the quality of my work will suffer as a result. I've gotten used to focusing on one project at a time. But, I guess I will just have to learn to multitask.
And, of course, I wouldn't want it any other way...but would welcome any tips or suggestions on how!
3 comments:
Somehow I think you'll find a way to make it work Grace. You're very driven! Maybe with everything going on it'll take a bit longer to write a novel but I'm sure it'll get done and done well.
Yes, I agree -- and I've also noticed that once people have children, they usually change the way they used to work. One author friend used to ONLY be able to write when she had big chunks of time: having a baby ended those! She learned to write in the time she had, and now that her daughter is off at college, that good habit remains.
You will find your own way!
Multi-tasking is supposed to be something women are good at; I'm not.
After years of kicking myself for failing to do seven things simultaneously, I have learned to accept that I simply can't. So, I focused on my children for a good few years. Lovely and utterly treasurable though that whole experience is, my brain started to atrophy ..... so I slowly started to focus on other things, in bite-sized chunks, without the distractions of children in the background - because I simply cannot write a professional email if a fight over who's got the yellow lego brick has just broken out underneath my chair.
JK Rowling may have achieved great things in a coffee shop with a child in a pushchair, but everybody has to work out their own unique approach. (I bet that didn't work for her every day, either - how easy it is to be glib about writing with kids in the background when the book is successfully published.)
One of the great problems with having kids is how incredibly forthcoming people are about How To Do It Properly. (Maybe rivalled only by the swamps of advice one gets on How To Write A Book.)
My thoughts are - there is no single RIGHT way to raise kids and be a healthy adult at the same time. It's a careful balance of all the individuals involved - their needs and skills (and that includes the children who all have unique needs and skills, too!) and it takes real thought, care and dedication to get it right.
I have found it really tough. But I really wish somebody had said to me 'the only solution to this balance is your own solution: by all means listen to your parents, your in-laws, your heroes and your neighbours, but do not be discouraged from saying THIS is what works for me; and do not be discouraged when it takes a heck of a long time to really know what THIS is!'.
Good luck!
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