My first pitfall is called "Too Eager." Oh, I do look longingly at folks who seem to jump out of the nest and soar into the sky instead of slamming their way down a bunch of branches and landing in a heap on the forest floor. Over eagerness is a true pitfall. Different kinds of birds fly at different times. Stop comparing yourself to others. (I mean it. STOP!) You must wait until your writing matures before you get to move forward. Your worth is not part of your work, so if you have those two things connected, please disconnect them now. Appearing desperate is not the way to get published. Confidence is something that is born in you. It comes with your experience. Let it grow.
It can be a blow to the ego to write your first fab book and then have all the gatekeepers say no. Then you write another book and they say no. Around book 5 or 6 they start saying you are better than 99% of what they see and still they say no. Dang, gatekeepers. You have some choices. Don't take things too personally. Publishing is a competitive business and you are doing an excellent job by getting your books into honest discussions. Write your next book. Open up to new ideas. Innovate. Spread good karma. Celebrate your work. Enjoy it and keep trying. I have never seen a dedicated creative person fail. Not one time.
I hope this little discussion helps keep you on your true course. Keep creating and I will see you next with for another friendly chat about pitfalls and what you should do.
Here is a little doodle: "A Row of Kids".
7 comments:
Isn't that the truth? My first crack at YA, a 127,000-word collection of crap was my first pitfall. I can't even seem to sift through the bad writing enough to even try to make it something. Lately, I've been thinking, maybe I had to write it, flesh it out on paper, characterize, plot, write, and research as a learning experience to better my writing. I'm disappointed, but not discouraged.
Since I wrote that particular draft, I've completed 4 picture books, two of which, I've been submitting to picture book agents, only to have rejections come in.
Now, I've moved on to one of my adult, chick-lit mysteries I started a year ago. Can I just say, I'm having a ton of fun drafting this story?! What a switch in gears writing for the adult. Who knows, maybe this will be my breakout piece.
As creatives, we have to be open to all angles of the business, right?
Looking forward to your next post. :)
I'm laughing, Molly. What we envision for ourselves is beyond our skill level. Amen to keep working at the craft.
Hi, Candi! Oh, I hear your disappointment. Part of the journey is figuring out how to take story dough and form it into a story loaf. I'm convinced sometimes your make dough, but are off on the measurements and you just have to toss the dough out. Other times you have to handle the dough carefully or you will ruin it. Sometimes magic happens. Keep on and keep searching for your place
Hi, Vijaya! :) I know, right. Still envisioning is a good first step of the journey. Love ya, Molly
"I have never seen a dedicated creative person fail" is a powerful line.
Hi, Marcia! I'm glad my thought hit a chord with you.
Dang gatekeepers! I love it. I hear you. Of course you are right, but I'm still impatient. Sigh. I need to breathe a little, huh? Okay, I'm going to relax just a smidge and keep trying to get better. Thanks to your blog place, I get a lot of good advice.
Post a Comment