In many ways, you could say I have My Dream Job right now.
As a self-published author of science fiction romance, I do something I love as
a vocation. My work has produced four mainstream novels (and one short story)
of which I am proud, all of which have won recognition from my peers in some
way. I have a voice, a platform, and a (very) modest following on social media. I set my own
schedule and make my own creative and marketing decisions (for better or
worse!). I’m not bad to work for, either, compared to some other bosses I’ve
had.
Although I’ve been writing stories since I could hold the big
pencil, I haven’t always wanted to be a writer for a living. As a kid, when I
wasn’t dreaming of running like Jim Thorpe or using sign language like Helen
Keller (two of my childhood heroes), I was telling everyone I wanted to grow up
to be an Egyptologist. Not just an archaeologist, mind you, but one that
specializes in the ancient treasures of Egypt. I was a weird kid.
By middle school, my teachers were pushing me in the
direction of using what was clearly a talent for writing. But no one was
starry-eyed enough to think fiction should be my weapon of choice, least of all
me. I saved the Beatles (and, later, STAR TREK) fan fiction for my spare time
and focused on essays for school contests and journalism as a career goal. My
Dream Job by the time I graduated from high school was Foreign Correspondent,
or maybe Ace Cub Reporter for a decent-sized urban newspaper.
As I planned for the right college course to land that
Dream Job, I got a great piece of advice from a reporter at the Nashville Tennessean,
my hometown daily newspaper, then edited by the legendary John Siegenthaler.
That reporter (whose name I don’t remember) told me no one could teach me how
to write—I either had it or I didn’t. But I needed to know all the other stuff
about how the world works—history, government, philosophy, science. He advised
me to get a broad liberal arts degree and soak up all the job experience I
could in journalism. So I went for an International Relations degree, worked
for my school newspaper and radio, and interned at a major religious publishing
house in Nashville.
By the time I graduated in 1975, though, everyone wanted
to be Woodward and Bernstein. Jobs in media were hard to get, and, in fact, I never did
succeed at snagging one. I’ve often thought that was a blessing in disguise, in this time that
has seen the greatest disruption of the news media since the years preceding
World War II. At least I’m not scrambling to keep my newspaper job now!
Instead my “Dream Job” just kept getting redefined over
the years. I was a Peace Corps Volunteer, then Peace Corps staff. A freelance
editor and writer. An organic farmer. A stay-at-home mom. A community activist.
A karate instructor. A taiji instructor. A wannabe romance writer. And,
finally, an honest-to-God published author. At times, I’ve been all these
things at once. I’ve been thankful, very often, for that reporter’s advice. My
liberal arts education gave me flexibility!
I love my regular (author) job, though I could wish for the cursed Amazon Algorithm to stop throwing up outdated editions of my books when I search for my titles. And it would be great to actually get paid. Still, I
have another Dream Job that hangs just out of reach. If someone would pay me to
review movies for a living, now, that would be the Dream Job of all
Dream Jobs. I get to do some of that here on Spacefreighters, but I’d love to
have a blog dedicated just to film reviews. Or a podcast! What about a podcast?
Well, a girl can dream.
Cheers, Donna
NOTE: I'll be taking a break with family for the Thanksgiving holiday next week. See you all in two weeks!
