Thursday, June 24, 2010

Little Successes: From Straw to Gold (and sometimes back again)


The writing biz is exciting. Nobody can deny that months and months of solitary work followed by months and months of solitary waiting...

Okay, maybe that part is a little dull.

But the publishing biz is an ever-evolving jack-in-the-box of possibility. That's what made me fall in love with publishing, aside from a tenacious desire to see my work on a shelf (weird dream, I know). One day, you might be languishing over a spot of dialogue or a fight scene that just won't sing, and the next, you're winning an online contest or pitching to an agent at a conference (and they like it).

Things can go from crummy to pure YAY in a matter of seconds as you refresh your email inbox over and over and over....

And, unfortunately, at any step of the process they can turn right back around and land you in Crummyville once more.

This is why our spouses, children, and BFFs describe our lives and moods as a roller-coaster ride.

But I submit that the little successes that put us over the moon on our sometimes lonely journey are worth the preceding (and sometimes subsequent) downs.

Agent/author Mandy Hubbard has a motto: "A published author is an amateur who didn't quit. Don't quit."

She's so right (as usual). I don't have much more to say about this, so I'll open it up to my faithful readers (hi guys!). Shout out about your successes. Whisper your failures (these comments can be in all lower-case). Share the roller-coaster ride.

3 comments:

  1. I was approached about writing the first few chapters of a middle grade series by an editor, but they ultimately went with someone else. That was an interesting experience. I went from so incredibly high on happiness to Crummyville as you so wonderfully named it. :) But I had a professor of mine whose focus is children's lit tell me it was great and I definitely had a future in writing, so that made of for the sting of rejection.

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  2. Lovely post, Katrina. There is so much waiting when it comes to writing, but there is definitely the possibility, too. And maybe the road is long, but the end is worth it. And I love that quote by Mandy Hubbard!

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  3. Amanda- That is a great story! Perfect roller-coaster example. I'm so glad your professor encouraged you, or we might have missed out on your unique voice. Where would any of us be w/o people like that?

    Sandy- I believe that, too. The end will def be worth it, and it will also be a new beginning.

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