So, I've been looking around on the blogs of some authors and they have been blogging about their roads to publication including the many "bumps" they came across along the way in the form of rejections. All I can say is YIKES!
So I'm asking myself:
Do I really want to go down that path?
Can I take the rejection time after time after time?
Will anyone like my story?
Is it worth all the heartache I'll receive to get there.. if I EVER get there????
Will I ever measure up?
And my answer at this time is I don't know. These stories seriously make me reconsider trying to get published. Why? Fear, pure and simple. Fear of not being good enough. Fear of rejection. Fear that NO ONE will EVER like my stories. Fear of never being published. Well, maybe that fear isn't so simple after all. *wry grin*
So, do I take the plunge like Jaci Burton or Gena Showalter or Diana Peterfreund or Cheyenne McCray and work very hard to get published and roll with the punches, literally? Or do I quit while I'm ahead?
After weighing my fear against my desire for writing, it seems writing has won. But the fear of rejection and failure still makes me want to throw up. *G*
Friday, January 27, 2006
To Write Or Not To Write? That Is The Question.
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7 People Gabbed:
psst...sometimes lightening does strike, ya know. Not that I didn't have to work dang hard, coz I can't spell and am the Grammar-Idiot poster child, but you will NEVER be published if you chicken-out on sending the work in. SEND IT WOMAN.
YES you send it out!!! All that hard work down the drain? NO WAY!! GO FOR IT, Anne!!! I have faith in you!!
Unless you're satisfied that you are writing only for yourself, and can live happily with the fact that no one else will ever read your wonderful stories...
Winston Churchill said it best: If you are going through hell, keep going.
You can alter that to fit any negative emotion. If you're going through a fearful period, keep going. Never stop and flounder. Eventually you'll find your way out of it.
Wayne Gretsky's quote also helped me enormously while I was unpubbed: You miss 100% of the shots you never take.
And lastly, Aaron Brown of CNN fame said: Perseverance will win over beauty and talent every time.
So, pick and choose from a few picker-uppers there, then pick thyself up and submit! Remember, Editors want to find you. They really do! You have to help them. Once you get that first rejection over with, it gets a little easier. Truly.
With all of us back here rooting for you, you can dew eeet!Rah Rah Sheeshkoomba. GoooooOOOOOO Anne!
*gg*
Thank you all so much.. I'm in a doubting period right now... and I'll get over it, but I needed to make my thoughts known.
Lauren- Making note... Keep chocolate on hand. *check* No acceptance or rejection if you don't take the leap. *check*
Gail- Making note... Chicken's doing get published *G* *check*
Lori- Making note.. Lori is sneaky, playing on my guilt like that. *G* Unfair to keep the story to myself, must share. *check*
Ann- Making notes.. Great quotes. Editors want to find me. *check* I can do it. *check*
Thank you, my wonderful cheering squad for making me feel better. I guess I won't know how I rate til I take the plunge.. and that plunge will be taken fairly soon cause KarenS just informed me she's getting those edits back to me probably tomorrow. YIKES! She's a hard reader to please.. which is why I picked her. Gotta love people who can point out the things wrong with your book with brutal honesty... that's why I've got the critquers. To show me the flaws.
Thank you Chey. I've printed out that quote and have taped it to my PC. It's gonna be scary and crazy but I AM gonna do it... no matter what it takes. : )
I can't thank you enough for your encouragement, everyone! It means the world to me.
Anne, if writing is truly what you want to do, then you write. You will be rejected, probably more than once, (unless you're very lucky) but there aren't many NY authors who weren't. The thing is, you've got to keep on going.
No matter what anybody says.
It's all part of the joy, Anne. *G* Hang in there and definitely SUBMIT!!!
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