Fan to Pro

This morning I stopped by Seventh Sanctum, one of my favorite online sites for writing inspiration, and saw that Sanctum Master Steven Savage has published Fan to Pro, a guide about using your fandom to take a new career direction or enhance your current job situation.

Over the years I've had so much fun playing with the generators at Seventh Sanctum that I believe I would happily buy Steven Savage's grocery list if he chose to publish it (what does that guy eat for breakfast, anyway?) However, as it happens the subject of his book is very timely for me.

At the quilt show this year every other pal I saw asked me when I'm going to publish a quilting book. As is, "You do this for a living, don't you? Write something for us!"

Actually I have already written a number of short e-books on different techniques and projects for my guild, and I'm still working on a photo e-book of my wedding ring quilt collection, but I've never pursued writing quilt books for profit. I think part of it is due to how I feel about my quilting. Like my poetry, it's a mostly private passion. In the past I've done commission work, taught some classes and entered a few competitions (and won a couple small ones) but I never tried to make the leap to turning pro. As a quilter I've never considered myself anything special, just an average hobbyist/home sewer -- much more of a fan than a pro.

At the same time I read a lot of quilt magazines and books; I use their patterns and methods and I discuss them with friends. After almost twenty years of that I have a lot of practical knowledge about what works and what doesn't for a quilter. I've designed my own patchwork patterns and invented some methods to handle common problems, especially in the restoration of antique quilts. Combine that with my experience as a writer, and how closely I relate quilting to writing, and obviously there is some potential there.

Lots to think about, anyway, and I'll report back on Fan to Pro after I read it. In the meantime, what non-writing hobby or passion do you enjoy that you think helps you with writing?

Helpful Hobbies

I had such a good time reading the entries for the Fruit, Strange & Otherwise giveaway. I'll never look at billboards, tabloid headlines or geese the same way again.

We put the magic hat to work, and the giveaway winners are:

Miri

Siobhan

Sherryl

Winners, please send your full name and ship-to info to LynnViehl@aol.com, and I'll get these books out to you. My thanks to everyone who joined in.

Writing is regarded by many outsiders as a hobby, not a career. This doesn't change when you turn pro. You can work twice as many hours as your spouse, and slog your way to the top of the industry, but not having an office, 9 to 5 hours or weekly paycheck somehow invalidates your labor as "a real job."

Some writers do view their work as a hobby, and there's nothing wrong with that. One of the great things about writing is that you can do it however and whenever you like.

As for me, people in my family stopped calling my work "Lynn's little hobby" when my books started showing up in airports and grocery stores. The only thing about my writing that ever genuinely impressed my teenager was finding Night Lost being sold at Wal-Mart. Evidently when you make it to Wal-Mart's shelves, you're the real deal.

Writers do a lot of things besides write, and we get as much pleasure out of our hobbies as anyone else. I've noticed two things about writer's real hobbies over the years: 1) there's almost always a creative aspect involved and 2) in some significant way they help with writing.

I think the most common hobby is some form of art. Whether a writer collects it or creates their own, art stimulates the imagination, provokes emotion and thoughts, and contributes to a creative environment, both inside and outside the writer's head. I'm very visual, and painting and sketching have helped me flesh out and nail down characters, settings and scenes. I put together sketches or digital art composites of character models to show my editors what I think a certain character looks like (very helpful during cover art conferences.)

Book binding is an interesting hobby as well as a labor of love, but it's also educational and an art form all on its own. I took one class in Japanese book binding and became so fascinated with the process that I've made most of my journals, private editions and gift books ever since. Being able to make my own books got me in touch with my work in a very different way, too. It's nice to be able to bypass the publishing process and do everything myself.

Many writers become serious book collectors. Collections range from rare editions to covers, authors or genres (I like to collect my favorite authors' complete works.) A few years ago I joined LibraryThing and began cataloguing my personal library online, and have since met some terrific collectors, swapped books with them and found some great new resources for rare editions. Being able to collect all the works by one author has given me a lot of insight into how writers change and grow over the course of a career.

There are probably as many types of crafts out there as there are writers. Whether you're a quilter, knitter, jewelry-maker or potter, your chosen craft allows you to express yourself in the same way a traditional artist does while still making something useful. Crafts are also an excellent way to work off writing- or life-related frustration. I often try crafts that I've chosen to be my characters' hobbies to get a more hands-on experience of what they do.

Do you guys have any hobbies that help you in some way with writing? Tell us about them in comments.

In Our Spare Time

Ten Things Writers Do (Other Than Writing Books)

1. Artist -- Sheila Kelly
2. Attorney -- Carol Stephenson
3. Auctioneer -- Cynthia Thomason
4. Cartographer -- Holly Lisle
5. Director -- Neil Gaiman
6. Musician -- Stephen King
7. Quilter -- Tamara Siler Jones
8. Photographer -- Lazette Gifford
9. Stray Rescuer -- Poppy Z. Brite
10. Teacher to the Homeless -- Linda Barrett