I ended up focusing – oh dear, writing my saving salve! – on putting out “Rider”, a YA science fiction novella. I want to know how people would react to the story. Should I continue? Perhaps I have something to think about after work. I have been reading the posts in my f-list and one post struck me.
We all fight with our insecurities when it comes to publishing and I think we hurt the hardest when our stories fail or we think they fail. Perhaps we might not be as good as the “A List” authors in the scene and perhaps we wrestle with the thought we are bargain-bin authors. The self-doubt is overwhelming.
To the writers in this position (and I feel that I am in it too): Do. Not. Give. Up. Our readers are out there. They might not even be as vocal as we want to be (“Oh, look at Author So-So and hir enthusiastic fans falling over each other to help hir!”). But they are there.
So. These are my thoughts for tonight. A lot of my brain power/creativity is now siphoned off by my work. work.
A Wolf's Tale 
Oct 13, 2010 @ 08:05:05
When stories are rejected or we get harsh critiques, it’s easy to think we’re a writing failure. BUT: One of my favorite authors once wrote that her early stories belonging to a now famous series were crap. That she might be able to publish them now, and the fans would buy and love them, but it was right that they had been rejected. We only learn by writing and failing. Or, as one of my Japanese teachers once said, “Make as many mistakes as possible while you’re still learning.”
Oct 13, 2010 @ 09:00:44
Yes, definitely. I read my friend’s post and I found myself empathizing with her… because I have been (or am) in the same situation. Failure is hard to take, especially for writers. Or harsh criticism. Writing and publishing is a harsh business. The writer has to learn how to take rejection. But easier said than done.