It’s interesting going to writer’s conferences and seeing writers at all stages of their careers. Some have been the bestseller’s lists and others are just launching their first books. Some have made writing their full-time profession, while others squeeze it in to their already busy lives.
One feeling that you have to watch for is the inevitable envy that can come when you see those more successful than you. It’s easy just to look at the results and forget the hard work and dedication it took to get a person to where they are today.
It is a little bit like the experience you have when leaving your parents household to start one of your own. All of the sudden, you wish you could have everything that your parents have so that you could maintain the same kind of lifestyle they do. You want immediately what it has taken them 20-30 years to obtain. As a writer, you cannot expect the same thing.
Not only does it do you no good to covet the success of others, but it wastes the time you could be using to improve yourself. If you find yourself falling into this trap, which I think we all do sometimes, there is a simple way to turn it around: find some other writer who could use your help, and reach out to them. Offer to read their manuscript, see if one of your contacts could help, or just talk to them and offer them encouragement. It is impossible to feel sorry for yourself when you are lifting someone else up.
In exciting news this week, “The Last Archangel” is going to be available on Kindle. You can already download a sample from amazon.com.
The launch party is going to be July 16th in Orem, UT. More details to follow.
I sure hope I can make the launch party. That was really good advice. It is so easy to become envious. It was fun seeing you and being on a panel with you at Conduit!
Awesome post! I think that's why blogging is so helpful to writers-- you get to know others, realize all the steps in the journey, and don't feel so alone and out of it. Other writers become your friends, not your competition.