This week, I’ve learned just how hard it can be to juggle multiple responsibilities in the “real world.”
That post-college job search is no joke. After a lot of resume revisions, creative cover letters, and too many job listings to count, I’ve accepted a job as a clerk at my local library. On top of being in kid-Randi’s Top 5 Dream Jobs, working at the library has a lot of other benefits for me, too. And yeah, sure, one of them is that I get to spend every day surrounded by a ton of books that I’ve been meaning to read.
The other perk—and, no, I’m not talking job benefits here, although I do have some of those—is that I’m only working part-time. Some people might not find this too thrilling, but as someone who’s living at home anyway, I don’t mind avoiding the daily “grind.” Besides, this book isn’t writing itself (unfortunately), and with four hours a day at the library, I still have plenty of time after work to hit my daily word count goals and get in some editorial freelancing on the side.
What more could an aspiring-author want?
I just completed my first week of training at the library, and besides the nausea and anxiety that always follows me like a doomsday cloud whenever I don’t know what I’m doing, I can honestly say that I’m having such a great time. Everyone on staff has been super nice and welcoming, and the people in my department have shown themselves to be especially kind and generous. They’ve rallied around me in the smallest of ways, from giving me chocolate banana bread (yum!) to celebrate my first full week to donating desk supplies to help me get started.
And, without getting into any spoilers for my yet-unfinished manuscript, getting an inside look at a library has been super eye opening. Let’s just say my book deals with library workers on a much smaller scale, and it’s really interesting for me to see some inner-workings that I could reference in my own story.
As I near the 75% mark of my manuscript, I’ve been letting the idea of multiple drafts linger in my mind. When my motivation is low, I often turn to some minor editing to get the creative juices flowing, but I do know that before I turn my manuscript into anyone, I at least want to go through one full look at the story as a whole. It’s in this glance-over that I plan to add in some of these minor observations of mine—nothing that anyone would care about unless they knew what it was.
An easter egg for all the librarians of the world, I guess. Man, that does sound kind of fun. Or maybe really nerdy. I can live with that.
Probably the best part about working at a library is that I’ve been told I’m allowed to check out whatever books I want! That’ll be one of my tasks—checking books in and out—so I know the system well (or will, once my training officially ends). Who knew that as an adult I could spend my fifteen minute break browsing and checking out books at a library. I still can’t get over how perfect this feels for me.
After spending a summer working from home, it feels strangely nice to have an office and a breakroom and a key card to scan all the time. I know it’s awfully mundane, but this is something I’ve been waiting since I was a kid. I guess I’m a corporate girl at heart. I like the idea of having a desk to decorate with supplies and pushpins, a computer to save my work passwords on, and a bunch of funny colleagues to ask questions and chat with.
It’s so adult. Grown up. I guess it’ll feel old soon, but right now, I feel an enthusiasm that I guess must come from things finally coming together in your life. I mean, after three months of searching, I finally found a job! In my field! With good pay, good hours, and good people! That doesn’t happen to everyone.
I will say, week one of training has taught me to cherish the weekends. I spent a lot of Saturday cleaning, and I couldn’t help but worry that I wouldn’t have enough time to relax over the weekend (it’s a good thing I’m starting out part-time instead of full-time, am I right?). I’ve been fortunate to spend a lot of time with family, friends, and even my cats.
I’m also trying not to beat myself up over this major adjustment in my schedule. I’m sure you’re all unsurprised that I’m a little behind on my word count goals for the week. It happens. I’ve been working on a big editorial project on the side for my internship, and I’ve definitely been prioritizing that this week over my writing.
I’m hoping that this next week will be just as quiet and a little less busy. I’m still doing good as far as my overall deadline, but I do miss the rush of serotonin from hitting my goals every day/week. I’m sure if I don’t figure things out by next Monday, you’ll all hear about it.
And before I go, I have an offer for all of you: what do you want to know? I can’t promise any concrete story details, but I’m happy to answer any questions or comment on any thoughts you all may have for an aspiring-author. You can use the comment section as a place to put your questions, and I’ll put together a Q&A in an upcoming newsletter.
I look forward to answering your questions! And if any of you want any good library book recommendations, you can throw that in the comment section too!
Doing something you love. quoting Dolly, “what a way to make a living…”