Putting our work 'out there'
It's a daunting task, but eventually, if you want to rise to the next level as a writer, you have to put your work 'out there.' I am in the midst of doing this with a colleague in Washington state. She's been in the publishing world for 25 years and offered to take a look at my non-fiction book-in-progress. How could I not take her up on the opportunity?
As I polish the first 30 pages or so to send it to her, I encountered two surprises about myself. One is I can be very obsessed with editing. It seems I can't open the file without changing something. Arrgh.
The other issue is not really a surprise, but more of a wake up call. It seems my inner gremlin thinks she has power over me. She says things like, 'it's rubbish, throw it in the can, for crying out loud.' Oooh, she's a wicked one. I let her vent. But, no more than half a day. Then, I lift my chest, punch the air and tell her to back off. Back to the work I go. The Writing gets better only when the Writer gets better--at beating the inner critic!
Seems Overwhelming
I've just received my booklet from NHWP and am overwhelmed. Being a fledgling author I've just been writing away believing that when I was finished I'd just pop it into a manila and send it on it's way to a publisher. Oh, how naive! Agents? Editors? Publishers? I was ready to throw my hands up in dispair. It's to overwhelming. I'll never figure this all out, never mind being successful at it! Then I decided that I'd just keep writing even if it was just to get my story from my heart and mind onto the page. I'll figure out how to do the rest as I get more information. I plan on joining NHWP and hopefully link up with people there. Have any of you gone through that period of dispair when you didn't think you had the knowledge to successfully get your work seen nevermind published? Arlene
Getting work published
Nothing can plunge my spirit faster than an afternoon spent searching out potential publications for my essays. This is the "business" of writing and the part I struggle with the most. It is lonely work that often ends in tears. But what good is an essay without readers? Writers need readers. The writing itself needs readers or the thoughts die a thousand deaths dormant in a manila folder or static in a word file never opened.
So, what to do but set aside some time when you know you've got a good piece of writing begging to be shared, to sift through the web sites, the contests, the Writer's Market, the publication adds and keep trying...and then one day, an editor responds and says, "this piece is good, we can use this..." and then, a writer knows true happiness.
hello
Hey Marcia,
it's taking me this long to actually see your entry. Thanks for the input! I've been meaning to drop you a line, sorry I've been lapsed. Hope all is well. Let me know if you receive this. K
writing
This is very helpful, Kathleen
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