Allowing yourself to take the risk of writing

"Writing is hard and feels like pulling your own teeth at times, and the humbling, and often humiliating, act of trying to get published can shred your self-confidence. To paraphrase a famous politician's line about the Irish, what's the point of being a writer if the world doesn't break your heart once in a while? With all the anguish and bother, it's still worth it. The grief, pain, and sorrow writers experience are easily bested by the delight of looking at the page and realizing that they've exceeded their highest expectations and satisfied even their own worst doubts." -- Pat Walsh in 78 Reasons Why Your Book May Never Be Published & 14 Reasons Why It Just Might

When you write, you are putting yourself on the page. When you sell insurance, write software, work aas a school principal, or work as a lineman for the county, you can be equally dedicated as any writer, but you're much less naked.

After you take the risk of placing your dreams on a page so the world can see them, you're most likely to see a form rejection slip from an agent, publisher or magazine editor. It will say: Your work doesn't meet our present needs; we wish you the best of luck in placing it elsewhere.

It's almost worse than a rejected marriage proposal: "Dear Whoever, Your marriage proposal doesn't meet my present needs, but I hope you'll find somebody else (and the sooner the better)."

Walsh says it's worth it, all these discounting form-letter turn downs, all those who don't bother to respond to queries at all, those who won't look at queries but suggest that one might seek a writing teacher who, she s/he thinks you're good enough, might contact the agent and validate your personal self engraved in ink on white paper.

It's a risk. Can you walk naked in public while people say, wow, are you ugly, wow, are you lacking, well, something or other, wow if you'd only done that last year when people that look like you were in demand, but now, well take a look at yourself for God's sake.

You decide. If you decide to keep trying, then good for you. When you see your work in print, it may not make everything right, but it will come close.

Today's Video. Try not to sound like this guy.

Comments

[Montucky]

I enjoy reading these posts and appreciate them more than you know, Malcolm! I don't comment often because I have little to add, but they do a great job of promoting the thought process.

[Malcolm Campbell]

Thanks for the kind words, Montucky. Sometimes I write what I write because I'm facing down a related issue and have been thinking about the subject for days.

Malcolm