Janet Reid at Fine Literary had a great link to a Rachel Gardner's post yesterday which is just what I needed. No matter what your personal views are, or what you believe it - the premise of this post is so true.
Also Pub Rants post on hope for the debut author. Good news for us newbies. Keep to your calling and know there will always be markets for good writers/stories.
All good points.
Right now, I realize the journey of me being a published writer is not about the end result (yes it is! yes it is! says the crummy little book devil sitting on my shoulder!)
But I know deep down, it's really not. Writing is about the journey (blah blah blah :) I have to have faith that I believe in myself and my writing with my whole heart and soul.
This is my calling.
I gave up so much to be a writer - an executive job, great pay, my ego - all to walk along the ledge on the mountain of publishing.
If I can't write, I am not living. My soul does not sing and my spirit just wants to sleep.
I am focusing on how far I've come. It is about the journey. It is about faith. It is about hope. It is about the process. It is about the feeling we get when we write. I know I will make it. I will be passionate. I will make revisions with a smile on my face. I will work so hard! When (not if) I am given the chance.
I'd like to take a moment and celebrate how far we've come.
So to all my fellow writers - no matter what stage you are in - writing your first book, published, unpublished, pre-published - this song's for you:
Somewhere over the rainbow
Blue birds fly
And the dreams that you dreamed of
Dreams really do come true ooh ooooh
Somewhere over the rainbow
Blue birds fly
And the dream that you dare to
why, oh why can't I?
Hang in there and follow your dreams. If writing was not your calling - you wouldn't be reading this right now :)
Good luck
10 comments:
Great post! I love the positive attitude.
Those are very positive comments - keep looking for that Special Agent X!
You'll find him/her!
Hi Shelli - it's such a rollercoaster, isn't it? So hard sometimes to keep believing. My skin's gotten thicker over the years, but those rejection notices still sting. You are so wise to focus on the positive comments you've received... looking forward to meeting your Mr/Ms X. :)
Lovely and so full of hope. Good luck finding Agent X. Maybe just maybe I will find the courage to try my hand at writing. It's a life long goal so why not start sooner then later. Thanks for the encouragement.
I know exactly how you feel. It's tough keeping the faith. The one thing that's helped me is to get involved in the local writing community. I've surrounded myself with people who believe in me and want to help me succeed. When I get too down I let them boost me up. It's so much easier when you don't have to do it all on your own!
thanks guys for the positive vibes :)
Looked at the PUB RANTS link you had in the post and was struck by this line: "I would be concentrating on writing the best freaking novel you are capable of writing because lots of debuts astound the market." The best freaking novel. But what if your best freakin' novel isn't good enuf? Oh, oh--my shadow brand is showing...
That's such a good point. We're writers, not publishers. So WRITE. Write like the wind. Write like no one's watching. Um... I'm out of cliches now, but I think I made my point. :)
I love that you posted the lyrics to "Somewhere over the Rainbow." no matter how old I get, my throat always tightens when I hear that song.
Playing it again...:) Thanks!
Great song. Great post.
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