Girls Write Out
Tuesday, February 13, 2007

The Process...
Do you ever wish you made a better use of your time? When I was just out of college, I worked at an advertising agency. Now ad agencies are like law firms and you have billable hours, meaning hours that can be directly attributed to clients and recouped. I remember accounting for minutes when I worked at the agency: 10 a.m. to 10:10 a.m. Spoke with client, addressed an envelope to meet their request.

I was thinking, I should work like that. Just for a day because it would be really telling. Yesterday I was doing laundry, my kids were yapping at me and my mind was on my new book. I'd been reading the first pages of books at the bookstore after church (bad habit, but it saves me cash $$) and I turned around and walked into the wall instead of the closet.

OH MY GOSH, THAT IS IT!! That is why my heroine can't succeed, she's got her head in the clouds with too many things going on around her. So I went to my computer, ripped out the beginning and started again. So I figure here's my time spent, vs. billable hours. Charged to the agency (ie., can't be recouped):
Browsing bookstore, reading first pages -- 1 hour.
Church, fellowship and character study - 2.5 hours.
Doing laundry, pondering what's wrong with the book -- 2 hours
Playing around on email pretending I'm working (only fooling self) -- 2 hours
Walking into the wall (5 seconds)
New beginning for book -- charged to client -- 5 minutes.

All I can say is there's a reason the ad agency life didn't work for me. Keeping track of my time is just depressing!
Kristin  
posted at 12:26 AM  
  Comments (9)
 
 
Delicious Delicious
9 Comments:
At 8:24 AM, Blogger Diann Hunt said...

But you proved for a writer, time is never wasted. I loved the running into the wall thing and how that made you find the problem with your story!! Priceless! You just never know when inspiration will strike!

 
At 8:59 AM, Blogger Suzanne said...

I was beginning to think something was wrong with me because that is how my brain functions too. I am usually off in the clouds and then something will suddenly hit me. Like Sunday morning during my husbands sermon while I was sitting on the front pew....

 
At 9:13 AM, Blogger Tina Ann Forkner said...

Brings new meaning to hitting the wall, but I'm glad it was inspiration! Love the cover, by the way.

 
At 10:06 AM, Blogger Cara Putman said...

Oh, I can so relate. That's one thing I HATE about practicing law. I can be extremely efficient and work for lots of clients, but at the same time you lose the ability to just think.

 
At 11:32 AM, Blogger Shauna said...

Can't hours spent brainstorming for a book be billable hours?? Even if it's during laundry? Call it research, or planning or, uh, something? LOL! Seems to me with all the voices and scenes that play through a writer's head, you're pretty much working 24/7! :-) Whether it's on your current project or future ones. That's a lot of work! You must be absolutely exhausted! You should go get yourself a nice hot cup of coffee and some chocolate. Sit down, relax and give yourself a much deserved break!

 
At 11:51 AM, Blogger Julie Carobini said...

"Church, fellowship, and character study" LOL That was my favorite part.

 
At 4:57 PM, Blogger Kayla said...

LOL. I have been so distracted and unfocused lately that when people talk to me I just stare at them blankly. But now that I have impending papers on Macbeth and Chaucer due, a huge test in poly sci, and an Arabic test it's time to come back to reality.

Okay, I'll wait until after tomorrow. In my fake world I have a man even better than Kevin Novak.

 
At 5:34 PM, Blogger Southern-fried Fiction said...

I was thrilled to walk into a wall yesterday. I finally got the ending for my WIP. But those billable hours? Ugh. I'm not even going to attemp that, Kristin. Way too depressing. ;)

 
At 10:20 AM, Blogger Unknown said...

LOL.....I can so relate. I look at how I "waste" time, but then again, when I look at it another way, nothing's wasted.

But, gotta ask...walking into a wall? LOL

 

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The Authors
Kristin Billerbeck
Kristin Billerbeck is a proud Californian, wife, mother of four, and connoisseur of the irrelevant. She writes Christian Chick Lit; where she finds need for most of the useless facts lulling about in her head.

www.KristinBillerbeck.com

Colleen Coble

Colleen Coble writes romantic suspense with a strong atmospheric element. A lovable animal of some kind--usually a dog--always populates her novels. She can be bribed with DeBrand mocha truffles.

www.ColleenCoble.com

Denise Hunter

Denise Hunter writes women's fiction and love stories with a strong emotional element. Her husband says he provides her with all her romantic material, but Denise insists a good imagination helps too.

www.DeniseHunterBooks.com

Diann Hunt

Diann Hunt writes romantic comedy and humorous women's fiction. She has been happily married forever, loves her family, chocolate, her friends, chocolate, her dog, and well, chocolate.

www.DiannHunt.com

Hannah Alexander

Cheryl Hodde writes romantic medical suspense under the pen name of Hannah Alexander, using all the input she can get from her husband, Mel, for the medical expertise. For fun she hikes and reads. Out of guilt, she rescues discarded cats. She and Mel are presently taking orders from four pampered strays.

www.HannahAlexander.com

 
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