Hello there, my beautiful writing tribe! You’ve made it through another week with all its challenges and trials. Congratulations!!!
And it has been a week! One of ups and downs. Of deadlines and submissions. Of sadly lost ideas and new projects. The one thing that threads each of these together is support.
I get it. Writing is a solitary endeavor. An emotional journey mostly comprised of introverts who bleed their very souls onto a blank page. It’s hard to open up to one another. ESPECIALLY when that includes sharing aforementioned bloody soul with someone else. Or multiple someone elses.
But just as we know that ugly first drafts, edits, and rejections are all part and parcel to the writing life, so is sharing your work. If you are smarter than I, you will be certain to share your work with good, trusted, helpful betas and critique partners before submitting anywhere. I mean, I now have the best and you can’t have mine, but I’m sure you can find some good ones. Also… you can’t have mine. Just sayin.
Sharing your work can come with boundless fear and anxiety. Okay, who are we kidding, unless you are completely delusional, it will come with boundless fear and anxiety. That is simply the nature of the beast. Something my week has been fraught with.
So in addition to the invaluable services of betas and critique partners, get thee a designated Hand Holder. At least one. Maybe more if you are super needy and riddled with anxiety on a daily basis which only ramps up to epic levels when submitting your book baby somewhere (clearly, I can not identify with this AT ALL). Someone who will agree that this whole process is so very hard, but so very worth it. Someone to cheerlead you through the dark days where you are pretty sure you forgot what words even are. Someone to support you when you are too weak to see your own awesome. And someone who will scream at you until you hit that blankety blank “submit” button.
Writers are islands unto themselves in so many ways, but beauty deserves to be a tourist destination and the creative soul is a stunning place. Don’t be afraid to allow visitors in that will marvel at your splendor and love you along the bumps this journey provides.
And now I leave you with an ear worm…
Amelia Foster 