STAY COMMITTED TO YOUR DECISIONS,
BUT STAY FLEXIBLE IN YOUR APPROACH.
(Anthony Robbins)
This is something I've taken to heart lately. My goal for many (many!) years was to have a novel traditionally published, sitting out there on the shelves of major bookstores. Pretty much everything I did - and didn't do - was toward this goal. Plowing forward, head down in determination, I kept going. It has been a long, rough, heart-breaking road - and I'm still not there yet.
But, recently, I stopped and looked up, taking in my surroundings. The world has changed. So has technology. And the publishing industry. And me. I've changed to the point where I now realize my true goal is not the novel on the shelves. It's wanting to move people, affect them, with my words, characters, and stories the way I was - and still am - by what I read.
Now, don't get me wrong. The idea of the traditionally published novel is not gone for good. I've still got my eye on that prize, believe me. But it has shifted from being the goal to being one way of achieving the true goal. And you know what? There are a number of ways to get my words and my work out there - traditional publishing, self-publishing, e-books, apps, and some new ways we don't even know about yet. And I'm not restricted to novels - novellas, short stories, flash, twitter fic, poems, essays and blog posts - are more ways to give people what I've been given.
So, this week, let's try not to get too stuck in one way of doing something, of achieving that dream, of getting that goal. Join me in stopping for a moment and looking around, taking it all in, seeing what's new and exciting and...possible.
I agree that options are opening and it is good for us to be well-informed. You have to carve out your own road for your publishing journey!
ReplyDeleteI know exactly what you mean here, Madeline! I realized that on the way to writing my novel (and working towards traditional publishing, too), I was finding myself in every little thing I wrote. Know what else? I found a theme that kept appearing.
ReplyDeleteThat's when I knew that I had stopped writing just to get a book published. I wrote because I wanted to "get" me and the world around me. It was a smack upside the head moment, you might say. ;-)
P.S. Thanks SO much for dropping by the Muffin today, and good luck on the Blogging A to Z Challenge. You're a better (wo)man than I am, Gunga Madeline. ;-)
It's so true, Emily. :)
ReplyDeleteOh, Cathy, a smack upside the head sounds so much harsher than Oprah's "Ah-ha" moments but I get what you mean and I agree. I'm seeing my own themes popping up over and over...
ReplyDeleteGlad to have you back in the blogosphere - you've been missed here at The Shellshank Redemption. :)
I'm still holding out for a traditionally published novel, but I'm starting to lean toward subbing to small presses instead of trying to snag the attention of an agent.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you, Milo, but it's nice to know we have so many more options to allow our words and stories to get out there.
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