Thursday, February 4, 2010

Me? I'm Bookless. How about you?

Bookless

"I don’t have a book. There, I said it.

Oh, I own books. Thousands. They line my living room, accumulate in my bathroom, peek out from my purse. But none of them have my name along the spine. That’s right, I am a writer but I don’t have a published book. It’s not that my words have never appeared in a book; I’ve written for several published essay collections. But this, it appears, doesn’t count..."

That's how my essay begins in the Jan/Feb issue of Foreword Reviews magazine, where I've also been regularly reviewing books. In the print copy of the magazine, it's running on the back page, in the Afterword column. Or, you can read the entire (very short) piece here.

6 comments:

Julie said...

What a wonderful essay Lisa. I know how you feel, kind of, but then I'm a writer but without any published work at all, book or otherwise and no fancy degree. So, while I long to be a published author of a memoir someday soon (fingers crossed), I so look up to you, a writer who sees her name in print often, and can teach. Just your blog has taught me a lot, so thank you.

drew said...

Lisa,
This is right on the mark.

Thanks for articulating what I have felt, too.

* said...

Me, too, that is, currently bookless. I'm working towards changing that, though. :)

Congrats on your article published!! (That's more than I've got at this point!) I'm off to read it now.

tim said...

Us writers have to stick together. I loved your piece over at Sweet. Keep trying. I'll do the same.

kario said...

Thanks for this! I am continually struggling against the instinct to compare myself to other writers in my quest to "get published" and I have to keep reminding myself that that's not my only goal as a writer.

fullsoulahead.com said...

Great essay!