The One About Being a Writer

vs. Being an Author

Ew, this sounds heavy and boring and a tad bit downer-ish.

It’s not I swear. AND I’m going to share an experience I have had with a THC infused booze so you definitely want to stick around for that.

First off, though, being a writer.

It means that you write. Not necessarily that you are published, although you could be. It means that you write words whether in prose or poetry form, on the regular. Maybe you write one these substacks. Maybe you write a blog (a.k.a. the OG Substack). Maybe you write ad copy or “content” for social media. In short, you use your imagination and your finger dexterity and words come out.

I enjoyed being a writer. I wrote on the regular. Hell, I wrote during every single snatched moment I could find between selling houses, starting a brewery and making it successful, raising busy kids, being married, with a house and dogs to walk. I wrote books. blogs, content, lather rinse repeat. I wrote and I wrote and I enjoyed it—the process I mean.

Once I made the mental/emotional leap from “writer,” over here having fun with my little words and shit, to “author,” with books to promote and shit, everything changed. I got first one, then two, then three, the FOUR (OMG squee!) four real publishers. Small ones, mind you but still I got to make those super fun tweets and posts saying “HOLY CRAP YOU GUYS I JUST SIGNED A PUBLISHING CONTRACT!” and sit back to let the happy dancing, hearts, upturned thumbs, and more cascade over me like rose petals. (All of this pre TikTok so “tweets” and “posts” actually meant something then)

Behind the scenes, I was a mess. My first brushes with professional editors were hard, until I learned that I could disagree with them and even ask for a different one if one of them kept INSISTING THAT I DID NOT KNOW THAT BEER KEGS WERE NOT STAINLESS STEEL THEY WERE WOOD (seriously, that happened to me, lolz). I also realized that I could learn from really good ones, and some of those lessons resonate with me every time I write.

Then came the even tougher publishing-life lesson that I would be 100% responsible for getting sales a.k.a. Making Money as an Author. Smaller publishers have a method and a business model and it involves gathering in as many authors as possible in the hopes that one of them becomes, I don’t know, like that one with the dragon books. I get that and respect it. It’s not worked out for some a whole hell of a lot of them. Many have folded due to bad management, unstable folks at the top, lack of accountability, and a basic misunderstanding that THAT particular business model is risky at best. But many have not folded, and I am still with 3 of them although I don’t anticipate that will last once I get rights back to my entire backlist, but I digress.

My point is that even The Big Dawg Publishers are not going to spend a ton of money and time on you with your debut and so you are still responsible for the bulk of the promotional heavy lifting. And so as you might imagine the Lil’ Pups who are out here publishing every single genre and accepting 87.9% of what is sent to them are even less inclined to do that.

So here I sit, 15 (fifteen) whole years from the moment of my first published book (a terrible one, do NOT ask me about it I might cry), having tried every possible publicity, promotional, advertising, content-making, cringe video producing possibility out there, and I kinda sorta wish I could back to that moment when I looked forward to stretches of time open to me for writing without interruption.

Of course, I’m the only one who can do this for myself, I know that. So I’m taking this, the 785th day of January, the year of our edge-meme-lord 2025 in the midst of a literal daily dumpster fire of “he did NOT say thats” and “they canNOT DO thats” and “Is my passport up to date” and “Why am I even trying” moments to declare that I am going back to it. February 3 I will stop making excuses and whining into my carefully frothed mushroom coffee and get over myself.

Because I Am A Writer.

Are you? At what stage of being a writer/being an author are you? What motivates you to keep trying? Share your thoughts with me in a comment. Who knows what I might say back or what author writers/authors need to hear when it comes to motivation.

Now about that booze…

I never know what’s what, booze-wise in the state I currently inhabit. While it’s one with a rich history of UP YOURS to authority and my hubs and I love to say “Freedom” as in “freedom from turn signals, yellow lights, common sense when it comes to driving your small children around in golf carts” it is still a strictly regulated place when it comes to the Sins of Man. You know, like booze. Can’t buy alcohol under the same roof as you buy beer and wine (why? No, really WHY?) plus you can only buy beer or wine on Sundays. (Again, Why?)

So imagine my surprise when we walked into our local Bottles store and there was a beaming guy handing out teensy samples of this:

We tasted it. We chatted with him. He convinced us that it it’s a great option that has zero hangover potential and could be mixed “like tequila” or “rum” (yuck, but whatever) with citrus and/ or coconut type mixers and even with stuff like sprite. I could sense mild skunk weed in the back of my mouth for hours after that teensy taste but I also felt ever so slightly less fraught about life. So what the hell we bought a bottle.

And now that it’s the 785th day of January of 2025 (the year we find out, even if we did not fuck around) I’ve decided to open that sucker up and try it.

I mixed some with Sprite. I mixed some with tonic water and lime. I mixed some with lemon seltzer water. I mixed some with coconut water and soda water. I still tasted the mild, residual/sneaky skunkiness but I can attest that the buzz is most pleasant. I don’t feel over stuffed like when drinking beer, or mildly poisoned when imbibing the same amount of brown liquor or (god help me) tequila. And I’ve been writing. So there.

Thanks Reframe. I will keep trying you.

I’m also going to pick up a few other of the cannabis/low THC options I can here and try those and will report back.

I’ll keep you posted on the hangover thing.

What’s in your glass this fine Friday?

I’ll have book reviews of the first 3 of my 2025 reading year next week PLUS a sneak peek at something I am writing. You know, because I Am a Writer.

Happy Weekend.

xoxo

Liz

p.s. I’m putting together some super fun promotional boxes for my upcoming pharma bros and oligarchs take over and ruin the world medical thriller releasing in July. Are you a reader influencer? Hit me up. I’ll send you one. liz@lizcrowe.com

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