Stephanie here.
Back in October, I had the joy of going on a writing retreat with Jill Williamson and Shannon Dittemore.
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| Jill, me,and Shan out for a scenic lunch break |
Shannon picked me up at the airport in Sacramento, and we enjoyed a few hours in the car as we drove to Lake Tahoe to meet Jill at the hotel. We talked about all kinds of things but predominately writing and the business and our “how I got published” stories. I shared some frustrations of mine and Shannon shared hers, and then she said something that’s reverberated in my heart ever since.
After talking about friends who have churned out book after book or who are writing in genres they don’t enjoy, Shan said, “I had to ask myself, ‘What kind of writer do I want to be?'”
This is a brilliant question, friends. Because here’s the thing about getting published—the desperation can make you nutty. That’s why there are vanity presses out there who pretend to be real publishing houses and routinely talk writers into handing them thousands of dollars for nothing. Because the desire to get your hand stamped by a publisher, to be validated as a “real writer,” can make a person do crazy things. Heck, it can (and has!) make me do crazy things.
I’ve asked myself Shannon’s question a lot these last few months, and it’s really helped me to sort through that sensation of, “I’m not doing enough!” or, “I’m not doing this the way that successful writer over there is.”
To be sure, there are compromises worth making on the road to being published. But you’ll do yourself a big favor if you figure out ahead of time what you’re flexible on and what you’re not.