I would like to be able to say
that I am always 100% confident that I will be able to finish my novel, publish
it, and that it will be at least somewhat successful.
Unfortunately, that would be a
complete and utter lie. In reality, most of the time I’m honestly wondering if
I’ll be able to do that at all. Will I actually be able to tell a good enough
story that someone will be willing to publish it? If not, would I be able to
self-publish it? I’m not great at using social media and talking to people, so
if I did self-publish how could I even be remotely successful with it? What if
everyone hates it?
I think it’s fairly safe to
say that I’m plagued with way too many self-doubts when it comes to writing.
And I’m probably not the only person out there who feels this way. Whenever I
look at articles and blogs about publishing, so many mention that a writer’s
first novel may never be published. Rejection is a huge part of the publication
process. And that isn’t exactly the most encouraging thing to see when you’re
working on your first novel. At times I start to wonder, am I just wasting my
time? I saw that JK Rowling recently posted some of her rejection letters. Seeing that, there's that little voice screaming, "If JK Rowling was rejected, what chance do I have!?"
The thing is, thinking like
this doesn’t do any good. If I spend so much time worrying about failing, then
I will fail. I’ll never accomplish anything if I don’t try. Maybe I will fail.
But I’ll never know if I don’t try. This is my dream, and it’s not something I
can give up on easily.
If I do fail, I can learn from
my mistakes and give it another go. Because if there is one thing that I do
know, it’s that I love writing. I love coming up with story ideas and the
characters that inhabit them. And I am determined that this is something I want
to do for the rest of my life. So I will try to prepare myself for the
struggles I know will lie ahead, and to try to stay positive at the same time.
I’ll keep reading inspiring
quotes of the day. That always seems to be a good pick me up! So can I do this? I'm sure gonna try!
