Today was the day. Out of the blue, my husband re-entered our home, announcing that I had a package from Akashic books: advance copies of the anthology with my short fiction debut.
It was an amazing feeling. In fact, I haven’t been able to focus since, and he brought the package in maybe three hours ago. I’ve officially entered the ranks of published authors.
What, exactly, does this mean?
Well, in the immediate, literal sense, it means that I can say “yes” whenever someone learns I’m a writer and invariably asks the question, “Have you published?” (By the way, in case you didn’t know, this is an incredibly rude question to ask. It implies that one’s merit as a writer depends on external acceptance. Instead, try asking, “What do you write?” and see where the conversation goes.)
Contradicting the above statement and my previous post, this accomplishment has given me a huge rush that I want to repeat. Doing so will require a number of things, not the least of which is finishing this darn novel draft so I can work on some shorter, faster-moving pieces.
This milestone in my writing life also inspires me to work harder to develop my craft. This piece represents a snapshot of my fiction writing abilities at a specific point in time. Is it perfect? Of course not, but it’s where I was then. Now the goal is to improve and to keep improving.
My plan moving forward is to alternate long and short pieces in hopes of developing agility as a writer – and in spurring myself on with the occasional byline. Does this represent a fundamental contradiction with my previous posts? Am I the only one out there struggling to find balance between the need for external approval and the importance of personal satisfaction during the writing journey?
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Congratulations on the book.
And I think that all writers struggle with the external approval and personal satisfaction question every time they sit down to write.
Thanks, Glen.
Your comment raises an interesting question… Do you consider how the work will be received each time you sit down to write?
I find myself wavering between slogging through a more tedious passage (moving characters from point A to point B) and scribbling away to see how things turn out. Only after the writing is on the page do I stop and panic about how “good” it is.
Unless it’s a bad writing day, and then I’m convinced that every single word is crispy fried dog doo.
I usually just let my stories lead me.
It’s after it’s written or I’ve hit post that I start to think about how it will be received.
And I try to bury stories that seem wrong as fast as I can with other content, hoping no one will notice them, ha,ha..
Moving characters from point A to point B isn’t my strength.
I did try to write a long story once as part of NaNoWriMo but I just ended up killing off my main characters at the end of every chapter or I just never spoke of them again.
The story did have a lot of unrelated adventures though, ha,ha..
And your question in this post inspired a post on my site which has inspired a post on another readers site. So thanks..
I don’t really think about the external approval while I’m in the middle of writing, but if I don’t think it measures up or that it’s not of general interest, I just don’t post it publicly. I have to admit, though, that I do enjoy feedback. Well, as long as it’s nice feedback, or at least constructive (rather than mean-spirited).
Congratulations on becoming a published author! I remember how great it felt the first time something I wrote was published. It didn’t matter to me that it was only in the school newspaper. There was a sense of pride in just having something in print. Like that even when I’m long gone, my words might still be out there somewhere.
Glen, isn’t it great that blogs can cause chain reactions of thought across cyberspace? That’s totally cool, and I appreciate you sharing. I’ll check it out.
I’m with you, Skye. Both constructive and positive feedback are welcome – the former even more so. But you’ve really struck the core with your last comment: our writing as legacy. We know we’re only here for a short time, but there’s the chance that our words might remain long after.
Glen, what are your thoughts on this matter?
Our stories are our legacy whether we write them or tell them.
I don’t know anything about J.R.Tolkien’s day to day life but I remember The Lord of the Rings.
And I remember Tom Sawyer not Mark Twain.
It’s not the story of the first Thanksgiving we remember it’s the story of the event.
I could go on forever..
I’m somewhat fanatical in my thoughts on the importance of stories, ha,ha..
We are nothing but a series of stories.
That should read it’s not the people of the first Thanksgiving..
Excellent points. Some people, however, never get around to telling their stories, yet they inspire others to do so for them.
Have you read If You Want to Write by Brenda Ueland? It’s an excellent book on living the writing life. Ueland herself was an amazingly prolific writer, a journalist. So most of her writing is literally yesterday’s news. This one book, however, remains an inspiring legacy to generations of writers, both past and present.