Guest blogger Valerie Douglas on the success of others.
You've worked hard as a writer, honed your book, edited it, tried the traditional route and endured the rejection slips. For moral support you've joined writer's groups and cheered each other on for weeks or months. Then the day comes, the big announcement - a contract offer. Only... it's not you.
Maybe their book is merely good, or maybe it's GREAT, or you think it's garbage. It doesn't matter, because a part of you wishes... it was you. Maybe they handle it well, accepting that it's a mix of hard work and sheer luck, or maybe they don't. That doesn't matter either.
Graciously, you offer congratulations. Yet there's that little niggling touch of envy inside you. You may even ask yourself, "Why not me?"
That's okay. It's normal, to feel that way. As a wise man once said, it's not what happens to you that matters, but what you do with it. Another said, the test of someone's character is in how they handle a friend's success. So allow yourself to wallow for a few minutes, then pick yourself up, glue yourself to your favorite chair, and get back to writing. The success of others proves that it can be done, with a lot of hard work...and a little luck.
My own quote: "With Passion and Imagination, I will not stop writing."
ReplyDeleteI have heard that if you are really good, the publisher or agent will contact you. If they do, I do not know what I would do or say. Since I do not know how I am going to feel from one day to the next, I like the fact that I can control how many pages I write a day.
Self-publishing has been given a bad name. Read my blog on my website about that.