How to keep going...
The theme of my childhood was disappointment. I wasn’t athletic enough. I wasn’t social enough. I was odd before neurodivergent was a term.
But here’s the thing: I didn’t care. I knew this wasn’t my forever. I knew there was a bigger and better world out there, that this all was just a moment in time, and that one day I would find my place and people. Because reading was my superpower.
When you are a reader (and I hope most of you who read this newsletter are) it changes your brain. It gives you the ability to survive almost everything. I didn’t have a lot of friends or a great home life, but I had the characters in my books. I knew that there was always another page and there was (usually) a happy ending, no matter what it took to get there.
Choosing to write and choosing to share your writing with the world can set you up for a lot of disappointment. You’re sharing a piece of your heart with a business that is mostly known for rejection. You need to stoke that fire inside of you that tells you your readers are out there, you’ll find them, this isn’t a no forever but a no for now, and if you just keep writing you’ll write your way into your own happy ending.
My clients often ask me how I can be so optimistic. In fact, one of my clients told me she felt like she was dying of thirst on the side of the road and I was the only one who kept offering her water. I’ve been in this business for almost twenty-five years at this point. And the reason I am always so zen about rejections is because a rejection is just a rejection from one person. No matter how much it feels personal, no matter how much you wanted them to say yes…they were not your safe person. You will find the readers who need your writing. It might not look like what you expected, but hopefully it will be even better. I’ve seen it happen a hundred times and I know it will happen for all of you, as long as you keep writing, keep learning, keep revising and never give up.
The fire inside your belly needs to be bigger than all of the people trying to put it out. If you lose your flame, read some books. As you do, remember you’re only enjoying the end product. All of those authors you see on bookshelves…they had to find their perfect person too.
I’m always here.
By the way, I have eliminated all paywalls in my newsletters and have opened everything up to all readers. Being a writer is hard enough. It is so important to have good friends who support you throughout the uncertainty. I hope you can count me as a trusted, kind and experienced voice amidst all the noise. But I can only do this because of my very valuable paying subscribers. If you find yourself able, please consider helping with my efforts by upgrading your subscription or sending me a tip.
Love this line: "The fire inside your belly needs to be bigger than all of the people trying to put it out." Thank you!
I write military political technothrillers and when I meet people and tell them I'm a writer they've often replied "I could never do that. I'm not that creative." To me this is a sad statement as lack of creativity or imagination has never been a problem for me. Reigning it in, however, has gotten me into trouble at work, though now that I'm retired that's no longer a limiting factor.
I've written three novels though nothing published yet. I feel my third novel that I'm still working on is publishable so I'm working with an editor to get into final shape, then I'll look for a small publisher. I went to Bookcamp two years ago, a weeklong in residence program for writers working on novels. The professional authors on staff reviewed the first 30 pages of my book and two of them told me I'm writing at a professional level. The one author who described himself as a "word mercenary" told me if I wanted to get published to be insanely stubborn and not give up. I took his advice and know that one day I will get published.
A couple of months ago I sent my book out to a number of beta readers and received some really positive feedback. I know there's a market for what I write, I just have to find my readers. To do that I started a weekly Substack newsletter about what's in the news today inspires lots of science fiction and every week I share examples of books and movies on whatever the theme of the week is. I'm slowly gaining readers.
Thanks for the reminder that we writers are often one bubble off and that's OK, as well as the motivation to keep going!