Let’s get friendly! Yep, we’re still talking friends here at TFC!
Since I’m a writer, I’ve got writer friends. Some who write books. Some write plays. A few write movies.
Then I’ve got my non-writing friends. Soon-to-be nurses. Students. Future lawyers.
When I talk to writer friends about my work in progress or different aspects of the publishing world, it’s SO different than talking to my non-writing friends.
Here’s how it goes:
Me to Writer Friend: OMG! I’m getting my ARCs soon!
Writer Friend: Yay! That’s awesome!
or…
Me to a Non-Writer Friend: OMG! I’m getting my ARCs soon!
Non-Writer Friend: Your what?!
I’ve only been in the book biz for a year and a half, but I forget how much lingo I’ve learned. When I talk to my NWF (non-writer friends), I forget that not long ago *I* didn’t know what ARCs, galleys or copy edits were.
It’s fun talking to WF (writer friends) who are knowledgeable about publishing, but it’s also just as fun explaining publishing to my NWF.
So, what about you? Are the majority of your friends writers? What do you like about having friends who are non-writers?
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10 comments:
I love talking to writer friends, because they understand so much about the ups and downs of the job--telling my mom that I probably won't get on Oprah for the Violet books is a weekly thing.
But I also like that my non-writer friends think I'm really cool for being a writer. It's fun. And to them, as long as they see my book in the bookstore, I am a huge success!
My writer friends are great because they know what I mean when I say trade paper or GMC or NAL.
My non-writer friends are great because they gripe about their stupid bosses or stupid coworkers, and I can think how happy I am, with only my stupid computer to complain about.
;-)
Cara
Most of my friends are writer friends. Or artist friends. Or performance artist friends. Or jewelry makers. Or editors. Or agents. I.e., they're almost all "creative" types. They get me.
I don't think I have any friends with "real" jobs. Corporate jobs. Few of them (just the editors) even work in offices.
I don't know . . . I think I am too weird for those "normal" types. ;-)
E
I typically prune out a lot of details when I'm talking to my NWFs, mainly because I don't want to bore them. Small talk with them consists of them asking me questions about my writing, so I keep the answers short and generic.
On the flip side, small talk with my WF consists of them asking me about my family or vacations, then we talk more in depth about the world of publishing.
Online, more friends are writers and some of them have become BFFs. They get me. They understand the agony and the ecstasy of the business. I go to them first with writing news.
Face-to-face, more friends are NWF, though a lot of them are creative types because that's who I relate to. Still, like Wendy, I condense writer talk. I save it for my writer friends.
Actually, now that I think of it, one of the nice things about my writing friends, back when I was writing Regencies, was that they all knew what "Regency" meant! At least vaguely.
With "civilians" (who were often my non-reading relatives) I would always have to explain. "Early 19th century England" never seemed to mean much to most of them. "In the time of Jane Austen" worked for some, but got blank looks (or, worse, expressions of panic) from others....
It's a bit easier with YA...as long as I remember to say "teen novels" I'm fine. ;-)
Cara
I'm surrounded by non-writers in my life. That's why the net is such a great communication tool for me and other writers. But Book people, I love! There are readers everyone and I just love to talk books without the writing. :)
The majority of my online friends are writers, and my offline friends- not writers. And I love them all for different reasons, but mostly because they all have the ability to make me laugh!
My online friends are all WF and a lot of my NWF live in the UK and we're now in NZ. So, now my face to face friends are in the main WF because of the writing groups I've joined over here.
These days I probably talk to my WF more than my NWF just because I don't want my NWF to think I'm crazy when I try to figure out a plot point or how to kill a villian off!!!!!
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