Inspired to write

I’ve mentioned on Twitter and Facebook recently that I’m started a video blog… It’s been difficult, but I’m almost ready to share some efforts with you all.

I invited my facebook and Twitter friends to submit questions for me to answer on film.

So before I share any of the answers I wanted to talk about being an author…

I still can’t quite believe that happened.

You probably already heard the story by now but when I was 8, I had to write a sentence to demonstrate my understanding of the word ambition. I wrote, my ambition is to be an author like Jackie Collins.

Now in my defence, as a child, I didn’t know if my teacher knew what an author was. So I wanted to let her know what I meant, and I wasn’t sure if she would have heard of the authors I was reading at that time, you know, Enid blyton or Ronald Dahl,

But my sister is 13 years older than me, and she was reading Rockstar by Jackie Collins, so I figured, my teacher would probably know who she was.

Now, I haven’t actually read anything by Jackie Collins, but my understanding is that she is the queen of the bonk buster so I’m guessing I achieved that particular ambition in more ways than I initially intended to.

Having said all that, I don’t really think of myself as an author. If someone asks me what I do I say I’m a web designer. I’m actually the managing director of a digital media social enterprise, but that doesn’t roll off the tongue quite as easily as web designer.

For me, I won’t label myself as an author until it’s my day job.

I got my first royalty payment last week. £14.90.

Yes. £14.90. After spending around 500 hours writing, editing, proof reading and marketing the damn thing, it’s earned me £14.90. Not going to put much bread on the table is it?

But it’s early days yet. I’m on the low rungs of the ladder, and I hope that sharing some of my experience will help other first time authors too.

Inspired to write