Writing as a profession

2010-02-01 · Maureen Johnson · watch on YouTube · Books & writing · advice recommendation

Filling in for John, Maureen Johnson spends her book's release day writing to a deadline in England, explains why authors need deadlines, and tells aspiring teenage writers that writing is not a career path but a lot of work: write constantly for years and worry about publishing later.

What is said

00:00:00 — In England on Monday; Scarlett Fever goes on sale today and she celebrates by sitting in a little room; deadline magic

★★★ Maureen, in England, says today is an enormous day for her: her book Scarlett Fever goes on sale, mostly in America. — 00:00:00 · United States
★ To celebrate the release, she says, she is sitting in a little room. (playful) — 00:00:00

00:00:51 — Why professional writers need deadlines; her draft of the 13 Little Blue Envelopes sequel is due Friday; writing is sitting in a room

★★★ Maureen says without deadlines only about three authors she has met would ever turn anything in, because a book is never done; publishing has to draw a line and demand it. (playful) — 00:00:51
★★ Her deadline this week is the draft of the sequel to 13 Little Blue Envelopes, due Friday, which is why she is in the little room. — 00:01:20
★★ Maureen says she likes sitting in little rooms writing, most of the time, because that is the whole job of a writer: you sit in a room and write. — 00:01:20

00:01:49 — 'Should I be a writer?': not a career path, like driftwood sculpture; lucky to do it, but a lot of work

★★★ Asked whether writing is a good career path, Maureen answers that it is not actually a career path at all; it is crazy, like being a driftwood sculptor or interpretive dancer. (playful) — 00:01:49
★★ She says she is shocked and thrilled every day to write for a living, as few people do, and very lucky; but it is a lot of work, an actual job. — 00:01:49

00:02:18 — Advice to teenagers: write a book, write all the time, practise for years; publishing is a business; authors were the teens who read and wrote; procrastination mastery

★★★ Maureen tells teenagers who want to write a book to write all the time, and not to worry yet about publication: they need years of practice, and publishing is a business, a job. (hedged) — 00:02:18
★★ She says wanting to write a book and wanting to be published are very different things. — 00:02:18
★★ Maureen says every author she knows was the teenager who sat in their room reading and writing; that is who becomes an author. — 00:02:46

00:03:16 — The fort test; send writing and publishing questions for Friday's video, probably her last; sign-off

★★ Maureen asks viewers to leave questions about writing or publishing in the comments or on Twitter, which she may answer in her Friday video. (hedged) — 00:03:16 · Twitter
★★ Maureen says her video on Friday will probably be her last as John's stand-in. (hedged) — 00:03:16

Humor (significant)

Writers never finish a book on their own. — 00:00:51 > «It's only done when they pry it from your cold, half-dead hand.»
Her answer to 'Should I be a writer? Is that a good career path?' — 00:01:49 > «It's like being a driftwood sculptor or an interpretive dancer.»
Teenagers haven't properly learned to procrastinate; it takes years to reach professional-author mastery. — 00:02:46 > «Because let me tell you, we are exceptionally good at it.»
Aspiring authors will be tested on their ability to make a fort; she shows hers. — 00:03:16 > «I made this one in under 30 seconds, but that's because I am a professional.»

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