It’s weird to say hello. To think that this is the beginning.
I’ve been writing to myself for so long, it’s surreal to comprehend that I’m voluntarily inviting the outside world to read what is essentially me thinking my thoughts out loud. And yet, here you are. How nice of you to stop by, pleased to meet you!
Why am I here? Well, I’ve recently joined the ranks of so many that have come before me as a first-time author. For years, I’ve poured my writer’s mind onto crisp white pages until they accumulated into something like a novel. I started at the beginning and wrote it until it was finished. And now that it is, I find myself overjoyed and entirely perplexed on where to go next.
“Writing a book is an adventure. To begin with it is a toy and an amusement. Then it becomes a mistress, then it becomes a master, then it becomes a tyrant. The last phase is that just as you are about to be reconciled to your servitude, you kill the monster and fling him to the public.”
-Winston Churchill
And like so many before me in this age of book publishing, I have come to realize that getting a book published isn’t always about the writing. For me, personally, it’s about the writing. Of course. If I could sit by my lonesome all day and write, that would seem like something close to heaven for me. However, if I ever want anyone to be able to read the damn thing, I need to go beyond my notes and my trusty laptop and the red pen edits scattered across my office. This I’ve come to realize. And as much as it pains me to periodically leave the comforts of my own head space, it’s a thing that all modern writers must do. At least in the beginning anyway.
Then there’s this blog. This digital meeting place where we can get acquainted, you and I, and I can meet you and we can talk about books we love, ideas we share, and if it comes to it, maybe I can tell you a little bit about the book I’ve written.
Thus, begins this journey. This is the part where I embark on a complicated process to the end of which I have only one goal. When I meet a stranger or fill out paperwork that requires me to state an occupation…I want to say with confidence that I am an author.
What credentials allows one to be able to call themselves an author, a novelist, or a professional writer, you might ask? Well, to be quite honest, I’m hoping to figure that one out myself. And perhaps share it with you, here, on this page of mine, that is, if you’re so inclined to read it.
So, if you’re a writer too and looking for someone going through the same trials and tribulations of publishing or if you’re just someone hoping to find a good book to read, stick around.
Oh, and nice to meet you. My name is Erin.
ERIN WOLF 