Nicole Smith

I Don’t Just Write Books: A Guest Ramble by Allie Burke

Today I’d like to welcome author Allie Burke to The Evolution of Nikki. Allie is the author of three-part series The Enchanters, which includes Violet Midnight, Emerald Destiny and Amber Passion.

You can find out more about The Enchanters series and Allie via her official website. If you’d like to connect with her, you can find her on Twitter and Facebook.

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I’m a writer.

An… indie… writer.

What’s the difference? If you write, you write. Right?

Um. I think the writers in us like to think so.

But, I don’t just write books. I… write… on Twitter. I write on my blog. On other’s blogs. On Facebook. I write e-mails to writers who I think are amazing. I did that today, now that I’m thinking about it. Actually, all of this I did today.

I haven’t written in a while. In about a week. I mean, I’ve written a little bit here and there, but, for me, sitting down to accomplish anything less than a couple thousand words is kind of… bleh.

A week? A week can’t be that bad, right? Some writers don’t write for months at a time.

True. But, I don’t… I don’t do that. I write every day. In two years I’ve written two books, half of another one, and am about halfway through my latest project. Is that a lot? I really have no idea. I don’t really force myself to write or have some strict goal that says I must write every day. I just… well, I love it. I love writing. I love books. I love what I do. It’s a passion, really.

So, how, as I praise this love of mine, can I say that I haven’t written lately? Writers block? A lack of inspiration? A blank mind void of ideas? Um. No. Not really.

The truth is… I don’t have time. I know. I shouldn’t have said that. I’m sorry.

The moment that I sit down at my computer I open Facebook. Maybe I shouldn’t do that. I don’t know. But, I need to know what’s going on in my community. Guest blogs. Interviews. Giveaways. Releases. Excerpts. Short Stories. What are my nerds doing?!

Twitter is next. It’s important to me that peeps are following those who they should be following.

Goodreads. Books that need to be added to my list. Then, my own reviews. My sales. My blog. My promises of “go buy Violet Midnight and I’ll love you forever”.

There’s more. I follow a lot of blogs. Some deeply inspire me. Every single day I type in their URL, in the back of my mind figuratively crossing my fingers with hopes that there will be a new post to read.

And, between the reposts, the comments, the blogging, the tweeting, the… reading, by the time I’m ready to shut it all down and write, its midnight, four hours before I have to get up for work, and I realize I forgot to eat again.

Yes. I get up at 4 A.M. And yes. I work full time.

I work as a Case Manager at… are you ready for this? Go ahead, take a deep breath. I’ll wait.

I work as a Case Manager at… a call center. Yeah. This writer who speaks of love, of love for rock music, books, art and the rain, of other worlds and imaginary friends, spends eight hours of every day hidden inside a cubicle that exists in the deepest level of Corporate America.

Customer Service. I’ve learned it. I’ve managed it. For seven years I’ve dedicated myself to it. Some people say Customer Service is the hardest job in the world. I like to say that I’m pretty good at it. Most days.

It’s not bad. I like my job. In my line of work, where I get to speak to people all over the world, all day long—it’s interesting. Fun, at times.

But it is not fulfilling. What did I say? I’m a writer. Call center? That’s not writerish.

I’m a writer. A writer who hasn’t written anything. Lately.

But, what I do now, I cannot stop. The day I believe my journey REALLY started, months after my first book was released and after my second book was ready to release, the day I was inspired by one amazing writer, a writer who, today, I am proud to call my Epic friend, I blogged about what had touched my heart. The title of my blog that day was simple.

Love. Support. Read. Write. Repeat.

I love my friends. My WRITER friends (not to say I don’t love my friends that aren’t writers, or anything… I love you guys, too!). I read all books. Indie published or not, YA, paranormal, romance, suspense, mystery, fiction… you name it. I. Read. Everything. I write books that could be considered as members of many different genres. And…

I support. SUPPORT. Why? Because people need… someone. That someone does not necessarily need to be me, but… why not? I’m here. Why not me?

Late one night last week, as I stared at my computer screen, trying to remember the last time I ate something, I saw a tweet that broke my heart.

I wish I had the confidence that all of these other amazing aspiring authors have. Seriously. #AmJealous #MustFixThis

I don’t know how or why other writers are so confident. I only know why I am. First of all. That writer I spoke of? Who inspired me? This writer, a couple more writers, and a group of nerds known as the #BNFF’s (BestNerdFriendsForever), instilled it in me. They invited me to join them. As they read what I’d written, they said “Wow”. They said, “You are a very gifted writer”. They said that, with my words, I have inspired. Me. An inspiration. What. Are. You. Talking. About.

What else gives me confidence? Supporters of me. People that LOVE to not only write, but love those that are like them. A five star review. Yeah. Those help, too.

So, the tweet. I couldn’t answer her question, because I didn’t know about everyone else. But, she’s a writer. She knows that. She loves what she does. I know that. ‘Cause if she didn’t, she wouldn’t do it. People get discouraged. It happens. I was discouraged this morning, until one of my #BNFF’s stepped in and made me laugh. Then, I wasn’t.

How could I let something like that go unanswered?

There’s no reason you shouldn’t. Keep your head up. Do what you do. <3

This is what I wrote back. I couldn’t tell you why. Where it came from. At that moment my heart bled through my fingertips like it often does.

The moment that I received the next tweet would be the moment that the most fulfilling smile would reflect in my expression. I would fall asleep that night with that smile pasted on my face.

thank you! <3 i’m working on it! 🙂

I really don’t know if, in the days or weeks or months that would follow, if this aspiring writer would, as her own heart bled through her fingertips, feel confidence. If I helped at all. But, as I think of it now, I still smile. I smile, because, it feels like I did… something… to help. Anything is better than nothing, I think.

As a writer, I obviously have some time issues I need to work out. I should… not… forget to eat. That’s probably bad. I should set a more… structured… writing goal. Maybe I shouldn’t drink so much coffee. What that has to do with anything, I really don’t know. While I’m throwing stuff out there. Just saying.

But, I believe writing is many things. Supporting your fellows, reading their books, blogging about them, blogging about you, for hours disappearing within that wild imagination of yours…

Writing. It’s quite unlike anything else in the world. Only writers… know writing. Honestly. The other day I attempted to explain writing to someone… who is not a writer. It did not go well.

I, personally, as a writer, would love your support. Your love. Supporting you, all of you, it’s the right thing to do. Deeply, I feel it. I know it. I embrace it.

I don’t just write books. I write… indie. How about you?

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If you’re interested in writing a guest blog post for my site, please contact me at [email protected] for more info. I look forward to hearing from you.