17 Ways that Creative Writing is Way Better than Marketing!

I'm writing again.

I stopped writing for a couple of weeks for perfectly good and valid reasons, but I missed it and now I'm writing again.

I published an eBook three weeks ago, and haven't written much since then ... except for blogging and marketing and such.  Blogging and marketing and such are part of the gig when you self-publish, but they're not why we self-publish ... the writing is....

I started on the next book in my ongoing series yesterday, and had a ball getting through some planning and research and a bit more than 1,000 words.  I'm hoping to get in a couple of hours of writing this afternoon, and every day until I finish a first draft.

The happy glow that I brought to the dinner table last night was due to my writing, and it made me reflect on why I love writing (and dislike marketing) so much ... I'm going to share some of the reasons with you now.

1. creative writing is telling stories
2. marketing is selling stories
3. creative writing lets my brain out to play, running past the "Don't walk on the Grass" signs
4. marketing forces my brain to wait in lines and march in step
5. creative writing allows me to explore different worlds and people and endless possibilities
6. marketing asks me to focus on the numbers and the reach of my words/efforts
7. creative writing makes the people who read my stuff ... happy
8. marketing makes the people who read my stuff ... buy my stuff
9.  creative writing makes me smarter and happier and hopefuller and creativer (see, I made up those last two awesome words!)

I skipped numbers ten through seventeen because I was getting bored, and am certain that if you've read this far down, that you can supply your own author/reader-specific answers.

I love the creative writing process, but can appreciate the need for the marketing side of my self-publishing efforts.  Without crap on my boots, I might not appreciate watching (and interpreting) the clouds and stars so much.

Having spent a couple of weeks away from the process of daily writing sharpened my focus, whet my appetite, and allowed my back-brain to toss around and sort and polish ideas while I busied myself with other things (like the rock tumbler that chugged along for weeks in my closet when I was a kid).

It's possible that if I didn't spend my time on other, not-creative-writing stuff, that I would be less ready now to start, work on, and finish my current project.

Morning meditations, with coffee and dogs ....

Thanks,

Jamie