Do you daydream about just writing books? No day job, no fussing with social media or a newsletter or other marketing efforts. Just books and writing and a steady income to support a comfortable lifestyle. Is it possible? More on this below.

But first: I wrapped up a client project yesterday that reminded me exactly why I enjoy this work so much. Richard (let's call him) initially reached out to me because he's working on a novella and wanted a manuscript review from someone who knew the local area but who didn't know him. We live in a small community, but somehow our paths had never crossed.

Tip: While getting feedback from friends and family can be useful, feedback from someone who doesn't know you can be extra helpful. Let's face it: relationships can make getting an objective review difficult.

When Richard responded to my feedback yesterday, he wrote, "You understood my intention. That means a lot to me."

And I will tell you, as someone who cares deeply about stories, about doing good work, and about helping people express themselves as they intend, that means a lot to me!

You can tell when someone loves what they do, whether that's making espresso drinks at the local coffee shop, helping customers at the self-checkout, or filing tax returns. When someone enjoys their work, the interaction is always better, and I bet the quality of work is better, too.

I love working with writers, and I hope that's evident to you here.

Listen.

How do you build a writing career where you can just write all the time?

​Jane Friedman, who reports on the publishing industry and whose website is a wealth of information for anyone tackling the business of being a writer, recently spoke with Brad Listi on his Otherppl podcast about how to make a living as a writer. (YouTube/Apple) They addressed exactly this question.

Their conversation is a wide-ranging but useful one, lasting nearly 90 minutes. It's the perfect thing do turn on while you're tackling that deep clean in your kitchen—or hitting the treadmill, or the trails.

While it is technically possible to build a career where you focus only on writing, there are a lot of factors at play. Here are some useful, but grim, reminders from their conversation:

• You can't engineer a bestseller. You can write what you think will be a bestselling book, you can pay for reviews, hobnob with the best writers, get a bunch of great blurbs, but there's a lot you can't control: what's going on in the world, what readers are looking for, the reviews you get and the response to those reviews, etc. You can't make thousands of people buy your book.
• There is a pervasive romantic idea about writing, but the fact is it's hard work. Writing and publishing can be disappointing—the lack of money, the publishing process, how the work itself is received. You have to be internally motivated to do the work anyway, despite the hard facts about the writing business.
• Writers today aren't just doing one thing. They're teaching, they're writing newsletters, they're learning new social media platforms. A lot of ingenuity and hard work goes into it, and the money doesn't always follow.
• It is possible to build a career where you can just write all the time, but it requires time, persistence, and a healthy backlist.

Are you depressed yet? Are you thinking, "Well, that may be true, but I still want to write." Good! I do encourage you to listen in as there is so much more, including advice on marketing and how to focus your talents on what you do best. (YouTube/Apple)

Read.

• ​21 Observations from People-Watching - tender, insightful, useful for character building in your own work.
• Brooke Warner wrote today about alternative structures for memoir—a must-read if you've been schooled (as I have) in Freytag's Pyramid. It'll make you want to experiment with a different form.

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Wishing you a good writing week! ✨

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