What's the
best thing someone has ever said about your writing?
When I
started out writing as a teenager, before I knew anything about the writing
craft, having only the knowledge of following my gut instinct for
story-telling, I sent the beginning chapters of a few of my completed WIP's to
several editors at the big-time publishing houses (Harlequin, Dorchester, etc). To my
dismay, I received rejection letters from each of these, although each with
comments and recommendations on how to improve my writing. Encouraged, I
continued to write as well as study the craft as those editor's comments
suggested.
I assumed,
as a beginner, this was how the process worked. I didn't learn until a year or
two later how lucky I was to receive those positive editor's comments.
One day, I
spoke with two published romance authors who were both signing their books at the
Waldenbooks where I worked. I eagerly chatted with them in between customers,
telling them how much I admired their books and admitting that I was trying to
get my work published, too. They asked how it was going. I told them about the
encouraging rejections. They were both astonished that I had received anything
other than a standard rejection letter. According to them, most editor's didn't
have the time to bother with making comments or suggestions of any kind and
just sent a form letter in response. Out of all the rejections I collected, I
still have never received a plain form letter. Every editor has written
something positive about my writing. I could clearly see the surprise on these
author's faces as I told them this.
I knew at
that moment, I would never give up writing or my efforts to get published. The
look on their faces told me more than their words that I was on to something
here. I had a long way to go, learning about writing and story-telling, but if
those big-time NY editors were encouraging me to continue writing and working
on improving my craft, then that's what I would do.
Now,
several years later, I'm a published romance author, too!
With every
completed manuscript and every published book, I strive to keep learning how to
write a better story. And whenever I have doubts (which I still have many!)
about whether I should continue writing, then I think back to that conversation
with those two authors and think about how fortunate I really am.
How about you? What's the best thing someone has ever said about your writing? Share in the comments section below! Also, be sure to check out the other blogs in the Insecure Writer's Support Group!
