New Addition

I remember in times past, when water-filled welly boots and clothes to match, were part of my normal working day. Hey, this is Ireland after all.
Sometimes I wonder why I took up construction work in my 19th year. It also mystifies me why I continued in that line of work, until being ruthlessly dispatched when the Celtic Tiger ran it's course and forced 300,000 people to either become disillusioned or take a long hard look at things for themselves. I've been on both sides of that fence.

I suspect my liking for the good things in Irish life was part of my reasons to stay in that Industry for as long as I did. It paid well. There were times I considered going out and doing construction work for myself, but when I researched it (usually among construction employers) I usually met with a litany of excuses why I should not pursue it. High insurance costs, hard to get paid etc etc. 'It's just not worth it,' was another, as the employer would lean out of his spanking brand new 4x4, after arriving in for work around 11 and then heading off for breakfast.
I'm from the school where I believe in an honest days work for an honest days pay. In truth, toward the end of the Tiger, I gave and got both. It wasn't always the case. From a personal prospective, I always felt I made far more for any employer than what he had to dish out in pay to me. Others were smarter, sure they liked the pay, but effort, well that was best saved for endeavor outside the murky confines of an Irish building site. Given what happened, perhaps they had the right idea.

Today the work remains of the same ethic, what can I say, I'm dull and enjoy it. It has me thinking of late, especially now that my book is pretty much complete. (Some of my readers have picked up on minor errors still, mainly punctuation. Two reader to date, 4 mistakes)

As rejection replies limp through the door, my mind is always on the months ahead, and what I can do for myself. As such, research into that field is a daily task on my 'to-do list'. New doors open constantly and from my own point of view, there will come a day, not to far off into the future, where I will close the door on submitting my first book to publishers and agents. I'd dearly love an agent who's ambition matches my own, if for no other reason than to allow me much more time to concentrate on the area that fulfills me most in my current working (unpaid) life, and that's writing.

Over the coming time, I will be adding a new feature to the blog. There will be a series of conversations and interviews with various authors who have not only written books, but have them out there competing with other books in the market place.
I started this blog to write about the process of writing a book and maybe save others some time when it comes to specific areas based on one persons experience.
New writers taking up the task of writing books, may find the different takes on what to do when your manuscript is completed hopefully of benefit to them. Instead of one person's experience, let's have many, by those out there, doing it for themselves.