Awakening Of The Novice Writer

I’m often asked to give advice to novice writers. Since I’ve recently graduated as a published author, the road to this success is still fresh in my mind. It’s was story full of heros and villans, pitfalls and characters along a bumpy road heading toward the climax of having a book published. In many ways it’s reminiscent of a fiction novel.
The ‘story’ begins with our heroine and her enthusiasm in achieving her goal. As the manuscript takes shape over several weeks, it becomes evident endurance will be put to the test. After perhaps a year or two, the writer’s vision is at risk to being consumed by a black hole.
Enter the next antagonist, the editor. If the writer’s ego has remained intact up to now, it will now experience the hammer of the editor. They are a species without mercy. After contract negotiations, payment agreements, and spirit nearly broken, the writer digs in with the last shreds of determination to survive. Surely the journey to publication can’t get worse. It does.
With renewed faith in your talent, the now perfect manuscript is sent to carefully selected publishers. While waiting for their response, a fantasy emerges. Millions around the planet are impatiently waiting for the chance to purchase your book. It has your name on it, your photo and bio. You’ll be famous. Better get your teeth fixed, maybe a face lift.
You wait. For months, you wait. The first rejection letter hurts. After the third, life support may be required.
Then one day you’ll be checking your messages. Only half paying attention to the message, you read, “We have received your manuscript. Our acquisition editor has recommended we publish your story. In the next… ” You stop. Blink your eyes a few times and reread those lines. A scream emerges from within. It explodes throughout the house bringing everyone to your side to see if you’ve finally succumb to your psychosis. The End
Well, it’s not actually the end. What happens if your story is not published? If you’re about to plunge into the world of writing, be prepared for a journey of awakening.
I had invested ten years of my life into The Guardian’s Wildchild. It had been my passion every waking moment of every day. I was a prisoner, gloriously happy, at the keyboard. It wasn’t until after I’d finished the first draft that I thought about getting it published. After rewrites and the third rejection from a publisher I had to deal with the possibility that my manuscript may never see a bookstore.
After considerable reflection it dawned on me that during the amazing journey of writing the story, my life had changed in beautiful ways that’s impossible to describe here.
If you write with your eye on the prize, publication, you may rob yourself of the joy of the journey. Free yourself from worry that your magnificent creation may not be acceptable to others.
Write because you feel the rapture. It is then the flow of your vision will fall uninhibited onto the page. If you truly love the story you write, it will awaken you. You will then know that being published is secondary to the experience of being a creator. Until you loved it, it didn’t exist.