The Hard Part

The hard part isn't the writing
That comes easy, like dinner
when you know someone else
will pick up the check
The hard part is where the hard part always is
The hard part is selling
Getting someone interested enough
in the shoes you cobble
or the nuts and bolts of words
to pay you for them

Shoes and nuts and bolts of words are product
Stuff that slides off the line and needs a home
Peddler's work
Market forces intercede in good times and bad times
A million people sewing leather
ten million more pulling punch presses
and stringing words together, properly spelt
You got product, you gotta move it
Don't tell me if it's good, don't tell me how you sweat
Tell me the hard part, will it sell