Things I don’t particularly like about being a writer:

Marketing
Publicity
Talking to people, especially answering questions on the spot (Crotchety!)
Not getting paid for long periods of work
Tweeting
Distractions (from working at home)
Not being taken seriously
Self doubt
Snooty writers and snooty critics
Needing a GRE or 12 conferences in Hawaii
Editors, agents, and publishers (OK, not really, but I don’t like not being read)
Poor royalties for little to no representation
Longevity of each project
Discouragement
Being asked to write and edit everything (Does this really happen?)

Things I really like about being a writer:

Sudden spurts of creativity
Writing
Reading back over the stuff and realizing it’s not all bad, and far from it
Having people talk about characters like they are real people
Reading about writing, or just plain reading
The challenge
The adventure
Creating my own deadlines, job description, and projects
Doing what I’m clearly built to do
Design elements
Working at home, or wherever
People assuming I am as poor a writer as the next guy
Taking one step at a time until I realize how far I’ve come
Saying I’m a writer and making it be so
Ruminating on story/brain-storming
Having my daughter ask me to read my own stuff to her
Being sassy
Having a “cool” job
The smell of a new book

Things I could take or leave:

Blogging
Editing and keying
Computer stuff
Book readings
Being an entrepreneur
The community
Career day

Things I look forward to:

My first check
Making money doing what I love
Travel
Coming across a nice review or an admirirer
Re-meeting old friends
Financing my own career and my own projects
Legitimacy
Awards

Speaking of things I don’t like, I am often getting a (completely understandable) question: “What is your book about?” I only hate this because I am terrible at answering questions like that, and I often end my blundering by saying that’s why I WROTE the book, because I can’t TALK it. But let’s face it: I need a schtick if I want people to pick the darn thing up and read it. So let’s do this thing once and for all. By the time I blog next week, I will have a complete short and long version in answer to that question, which will also mean I have something I can use for online and book cover promotion. Sweet.