The business of writing (then publishing, then selling) a novel is almost an “against-all-odds” venture. There are no guarantees. None. Not even when you have mega talent, decent financial resources to build your team, and marketing knowledge . . . not even if you are picked by a traditional publisher and coddled (which seems like not such a great thing anymore) . . . not even if you are poor as a church mouse and a grammar disaster, but have a creative mind that explodes daily with brain-boggling plots and characters. There are just no guarantees, and for all the work that goes into publishing a novel, seems like we’d get a guarantee or two along the way.
Here’s one: You’ll have the most immense sense of accomplishment when you’re done. You’ll feel the American Dream, or the equivalent thereof, in its fullest sense. You’ll have separated yourself from the nonbelievers and the quitters, who just couldn’t do it anymore, those people to whom you related and with whom you sympathized, as you teetered on the brink of the same negative abyss. You’ll have become a new face in a big crowd, a face that is unique and unlike any others. And whether one person or 100,000 people notice that, it is a thrilling, inspirational accomplishment. Your spine will be like steel and your shoulders will easily bear the weight of a thousand novels. Your walk will sing with triumph.
That’s a profound perspective. Hold fast to that one guarantee, because in the grand scheme of things, the odds don’t matter. Not one wordy bit.
~~ Janet Green
Janet is an author, editor and "Champion for Authors." She heads up thewordverve inc, a writing, editing, and general transcription service in Georgia - www.thewordverve.com
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