Here Goes

                                        

My workspace competes with produce from the garden.

I am a writer and illustrator of children's books. While I may be no professional yet, in the sense that I have not been neither published nor paid to do these things, I can't get published without first doing a great deal of work. Thus, since I am already doing the work, it is already my profession. Therefore it would be in my best interest to start cultivating a professional attitude towards what I am doing.

Never mind that I am doing my writing on my smart phone while nursing, and painting on the kitchen table while the baby naps. If Stephen King admits that his writing/life balance didn't work until he traded the grand central mahogany desk for a family sofa and a bitsy workspace shoved into a corner, then I certainly won't be ashamed that my setup might look like a hobby setup to some layman whose opinion doesn't matter to me anyway.

But I suppose I should introduce myself before getting into details. My name is Michelle Clay. I have written blogs, newspaper articles, and a cookbook. I spent a decade making computer games. I got my bachelor's degree in illustration. I have done my homework on the children's book industry, and know that I am likely facing a year of queries and rejections before, if I am lucky, I get a small advance. I know that if I work my ass off and get seriously lucky, I might be able to produce a steady income of perhaps half of what I was making previously. Fame and fortune? Hah! Like I said, I've done my homework.

This blog is to be my professional attitude blog, to remind myself that what I am doing is real work, with a concrete goal: publication. And not just once. I want this to be a career. Here goes.